1. The sea passage from Alexandria Troas to Neapolis covered 119 nautical miles (220 km.), the journey from Neapolis to Philippi was a mere 10 miles (16 km.).
2. Cf. Richard S. Ascough, “Civic Pride at Philippi: The Text-Critical Problem of Acts 16.12,” NTS 44 (1998): 93–103, 96–100, for examples of cities competing for the honor of carrying the term “first” or “most honored” (πρώτη) in their title, claims that were meant to distinguish one city as greater than all the others in a region.
3. Cf. 13:14; 14:1; 17:1–2, 10, 17; 18:4, 19, 26; 19:8.
4. Cf. Peter Pilhofer, Philippi (2 vols.; WUNT 87.119; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1995–2000), 1:165–74. The third gate, called the Gate in the Marshes, is located 925 feet (300 m.) south of the Krenides Gate (or Amphipolis Gate) on the west side of the city. Pilhofer connects the phrase “by the river” with the city gate rather than with the synagogue.
5. Cf. Irina A. Levinskaya, The Book of Acts in Its Diaspora Setting (The Book of Acts in Its First-Century Setting 5; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996), 207–15; Horsley and Llewelyn, New Documents, 3:121–22; 4:219–20.
6. H. Balz, “προσεύχομαι, προσευχή,” EDNT, 3:169; Pervo, Acts, 402.
7. Cf. Levine, Synagogue, 132, 316. Note Josephus, Ant. 14.258, who quotes a decree from Halicarnassus that specifically allowed the Jewish community to gather near the sea for prayer.
8. Cf. Horsley and Llewelyn, New Documents, 2:27–28.
9. Pilhofer, Philippi, 1:174–82.
10. Horsley and Llewelyn, New Documents, 2:25; for the following point see ibid. 3:53–55.
11. Ibid., 2:29, 32.
12. The verb is used in Luke 24:32 for the “opening” of the Scriptures by Jesus, in Luke 24:31 for the opening of the disciples’ eyes when they recognize the risen Jesus, and in Luke 24:45 for the opening of the disciples’ minds by the risen Lord Jesus.
13. According to 1 Cor 1:14–17, Paul did not baptized all of the new converts, since he did not think that it mattered who performed the baptism.
14. BDAG, s.v. οἶκος 1a, “house, dwelling,” and sense 2, “household, family.” In Greek culture, a “house” in the sense of “household” or “family” consisted of husband, wife, children, and slaves and included all possessions (Aristotle, Pol. 1252A–1254A); the group of persons included in a “house” could be expanded to include dependent relatives as well as other dependents. Cf. G. Thür, “Oikos,” BNP, 10:69–71.
15. In a Greek context, both simple hostels (πανδοχεῖον) and larger hostels (καταγώγιον) existed. Such buildings had a saloon with a bar, a dining room, and lockable guest rooms in a residential wing with separate access to the road; cf. B. Wagner-Hasel, “Hospitality III,” BNP, 6:529–32; idem, “Inn II,” BNP, 6:818–21.
16. Cf. Avemarie, Tauferzählungen, 91–92, who argues that this curious proviso indicates that the missionaries sought to ascertain the faith of the people whom they baptized.
17. Cf. T. Junk, “Python I,” BNP, 12:298. The earliest version of the myth is found in Hymni Homerici 3.300–374.
18. For the latter see Plutarch, Mor. 414E, who describes Apollo, the Pythian god, inspiring pythones (πύθωνες) or “belly-talkers” (ἐγγαστρίμυθοι), i.e., ventriloquists, persons who speak from their belly; cf. Pollianus 2.168.
19. Lev 19:31; 20:6, 27; Deut 18:11; 2 Chr 33:6; 35:19; Isa 8:19; 19:3; 44:25. For the witch of Endor cf. 1 Sam 28:7; 1 Chr 10:13. Cf. Twelftree, Exorcism, 146, who also notes the strong negative connotations of the verb μαντεύομαι (used only here in the New Testament) relating to false prophets in the LXX; cf. Deut 18:10; 1 Sam 28:8; 2 Kgs 17:17; Jer 34:9; Ezek 12:24.
20. In the LXX, the term “Most High” denotes “the powerful status of the God enthroned in Heaven” (TLOT, 892); e.g., Num 24:16; Deut 32:8; 2 Sam 22:14; Pss 9:3; 21:8 (LXX 20:8); Isa 14:14. For the following point see Pindar, Nem. 1.60; 11.2; Aeschylus, Eum. 28.
21. Cf. C. Breytenbach, “Hypsistos,” DDD, 822–30; F. Graf, “Hypsistos,” BNP, 6:650–52.
22. Hendrik S. Versnel, “Religious Mentality in Ancient Prayer,” in Faith, Hope and Worship: Aspects of Religious Mentality in the Ancient World (ed. H. S. Versnel; Studies in Greek and Roman Religion 2; Leiden: Brill, 1981), 1–64, 35.
23. Cf. Pilhofer, Philippi, 1:182–87.
24. Cf. Euripides, Ion 309; Dio Cassius 63.5.2. In the magical papyri, people are called “slaves of the Most High God” (PGM 12.71).
25. Cf. Luke 1:38, 48; 2:29; Acts 4:29; 1 Pet 2:16; Rev 1:1; 7:3; 10:7; 11:18; 19:2, 5; 22:3, 6.
26. Harris, Slave of Christ, 142, a view he criticizes.
27. Cf. Twelftree, Exorcism, 146–47.
28. F. Hauck, “παραγγέλλω,” TDNT, 5:763. In Luke 8:29 (Mark 5:8), Jesus also “commands” an evil spirit.
29. See on 2:38; 3:6, 16. Cf. Twelftree, Exorcism, 147–48.
30. The preposition ἐπί is here a “marker of legal proceeding, before” in the language of the law courts (BDAG, s.v. ἐπί 10).
31. Cf. P. J. Rhodes, “Archontes I. Office,” BNP, 1:1028–30: “In general, the term applied to all holders of archai [i.e. offices].”
32. This verb (προσάγω) is used sometimes used in the context of a defendant (or a witness) “brought” into a law court (LSJ, s.v. προσάγω I.8a).
33. Pilhofer, Philippi, 1:195–97; Heike Omerzu, Der Prozess des Paulus: Eine exegetische und rechtshistorische Untersuchung der Apostelgeschichte (BZNW 115; Berlin: De Gruyter, 2002), 142–43. The “chief magistrates” (στρατηγοί) should not be identified with the praetores, as suggested by Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller, 174–76.
34. Omerzu, Prozess, 124.
35. Cf. J. von Ungern-Sternberg, “Seditio,” BNP, 13:195–96; R. Gamauf, “Exilium,” BNP, 5:268–29; Z. Végh, “Relegatio,” BNP, 12:454. Luke distinguishes different kinds of disturbances: he speaks of rebellion (στάσις, Luke 23:19, 25; Acts 19:40; 24:5; ἀναστατόω, Acts 17:6; 21:38; this corresponds to Lat. seditio) and tumults (θόρυβος, 20:1; 21:34; 24:18; θορυβέω, 17:5; 20:10); the terms τάραχος and (ἐκ)ταράσσω (12:18; 15:24; 17:8; 19:23) designate tumults as well, but could overlap with turba.
36. Cf. 13:50; 14:5, 19. The characterization of Paul and Silas as “they are Jews” is thus, for Luke’s readers, ironic.
37. Cf. Louis H. Feldman, Jew and Gentile in the Ancient World: Attitudes and Interactions from Alexander to Justinian (Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, 1993), 107–76; for the following comment cf. ibid. 125–26.
38. W. Kierdorf, “Mos maiorum,” BNP, 9:216–17.
39. Lukas Bormann, Philippi—Stadt und Christengemeinde zur Zeit des Paulus (NovTSup 78; Leiden: Brill, 1995), 83–84.
40. Suetonius, Claud. 25.3–4 (many scholars think this “Chrestus” was Christos, i.e., Christ; see on 18:2). Cf. Riesner, Paul’s Early Period, 194.
41. Rapske, Paul in Roman Custody, 122; for the following comments see ibid. 130–34.
42. Since Paul was accused as a Jewish visitor in the city, he would have been asked to prove his citizenship had he protested with reference to his status of being a legal Roman citizen. Births of Roman citizens were registered in the tabularium publicum in one’s hometown. A Roman citizen could carry with him a copy of his birth certificate, usually attested by seven witnesses; at the end of such a testatio the letters c. r. e. were inscribed, signifying c(ivem) r(omanum) e(sse)—“he is a Roman.” Paul could have been required to prove the correctness of such a testatio, assuming that he carried one with him, which would have required sending envoys to Tarsus, which would have been both time-consuming and costly.
43. Rapske, Paul in Roman Custody, 134.
44. C. Gizewski, “Coercitio,” BNP 3:508.
45. Cf. BDAG, s.v. ξύλον 2b, “a device for confining the extremities of a prisoner, stocks.” These contraptions often consisted of “wood pierced at regular intervals with notches or holes and split along the length so that the feet of the prisoner could be set in a secured way” (Rapske, Paul in Roman Custody, 127).
46. Thus Bruce, Book of Acts, 315; Matson, Household Conversion Narratives, 156–57.
47. Civil administrations tended to recruit the personnel in charge of the municipal prison from among the public slaves (servi publici). Several public slaves are documented for Philippi; cf. Pilhofer, Philippi, 2:228–29. The fact that the jailer occupied a senior civic post explains indications of wealth, e.g., the reference to his “household” in vv. 31–33, which may have included slaves.
48. The accusation before the chief magistrates presumably took place before noon.
49. Rapske, Paul in Roman Custody, 200–204, with reference to Lucian, Toxaris 150–51: to be put in stocks overnight was a normal security precaution. Paul’s shout to the jailer that he and the other prisoners were still “here” (v. 28) and the jailer’s headlong rush into the inner cell (rather than the prison generally) can be readily explained by such an arrangement.
50. Cf. 5:19; 12:7–10.
51. The problem that commentators have with the behavior of the jailer, which is sometimes explained as not being entirely rational, are resolved, at least in part, by the recognition that the jailer was a slave of the city, not a Roman soldier or a veteran of the Roman army. Even if the jailer could have recaptured the prisoners (assuming that they had escaped), he could still be facing the most severe punishment for the dereliction of his duties.
52. Various scenarios are possible: Paul may have seen, through the now open door, the jailer’s preparation for suicide from the maximum security cell; the distress of the jailer reached a climax when he passed through the open doors of the prison, and he realized that this most important door (to the maximum security area) was open as well.
53. The reason why the prisoners did not escape and leave the prison may be explained by two considerations: first, they may have realized that the door of the maximum security cell was open, but they may not have known that all doors of the prison were open; second, since they were detained for shorter periods waiting for trial (rather than spending long years locked up in prison), running away would require leaving the city and the region permanently, an option that might be less attractive than waiting in prison for the conclusion of the ongoing legal proceedings. The total number of prisoners in the city jail was surely small, considering that Philippi had only 5,000 to 10,000 inhabitants.
54. Pervo, Acts, 412 n. 108.
55. Homer, Il. 20.57–58 calls Poseidon the “Earth-shaker.” Poseidon’s anger was considered to be the cause of earthquakes; cf. J. N. Bremmer, “Poseidon,” BNP 11:674.
56. Codex D adds that after the jailer had let Paul and Silas out of the cell, he secured the other prisoners; Rius-Camps and Read-Heimerdinger, Acts, 3:274, 292.
57. Rapske, Paul in Roman Custody, 264. The cruelty of jailers is attested by Philo: “Everyone knows well how jailers are filled with inhumanity and savagery. For by nature they are unmerciful, and by practice they are trained daily toward fierceness, as to become wild beasts. They see, say, and do nothing good, not even by change, but instead the most violent and cruel things…. Jailers, therefore, spend time with robbers, thieves, burglars, the wanton, the violent, corrupters, murderers, adulterers, and the sacrilegious. From each of these they draw and collect depravity, producing from that diverse blend a single mixture of thoroughly abominable evil” (Joseph 81, 84).
58. Less plausible is the interpretation of the word translated as “saved” (σωθῶ) in a purely secular sense, that the jailer asks what he can do to be “rescued” from the consequences of the possible escape of the prisoners (thus Barrett, Acts, 796–97); while the Greek verb certainly can have this “secular” meaning, it is less clear how Paul and Silas could be of any help to the jailer.
59. Cf. 2:38; 5:14; 9:42; 11:17; 13:38–39; 15:11.
60. Barrett, Acts, 797–98, astutely observes that the “household” (οἰκία) could hardly have included infants, “since not only were οἱ αὐτοῦ πάντες baptized (v. 33), all heard the word of the Lord spoken by Paul and Silas (v. 32) and as a result the whole household rejoiced (ἠγαλλιάσατο πανοικεί).”
61. Rapske, Paul in Roman Custody, 392.
62. Cf. Luke 15:24; Acts 8:39; 13:48.
63. For ἀπολύω in the sense of “set free, release from prison” see 5:40 (the Twelve); 17:9 (Jason); and 26:32; 28:18 (Paul), otherwise frequently in the gospel accounts of Jesus’ arrest and trial; cf. Luke 23:16, 18, 20, 22, 25 (with parallels in Matt and Mark). There is no reason to think that Luke wanted to evoke the connotation of Jesus’ trial.
64. This is the explanation in the addition in D: “when it was day, the magistrates came together in the agora. And because they remembered the earthquake that had occurred they grew frightened.”
65. Cf. Tannehill, Acts, 199, who adds that the omission of an explanation by Luke is not “a major disturbance to the integrity of the narrative.” Luke’s major interest is Paul’s behavior in response to the Roman city officials, while “the character and motives of these officials is a matter of slight interest.” The punishment of relegatio could be imposed only after a regular trial, which had to be conducted by the governor of the province.
66. Rapske, Paul in Roman Custody, 129, who continues, “it seems clear that the Philippian magistrates did not consciously pervert the law” (Paul had not asserted his Roman citizenship when he was arrested).
67. Cicero, Verr. 2.5.57 (147).
68. Cf. Juvenal, 6.474–485; cf. Rapske, Paul in Roman Custody, 139.
69. When Paul is arrested in Jerusalem and about to be interrogated under torture, he points out to the centurion that he is a Roman citizen from birth (22:25, 28).
70. The phrase “from the prison” is not in the Greek text, but is implied in the prefix ἐξ- of the verb; cf. GNB, NIV, TNIV. In view of Paul’s location in the jailer’s house in v. 34, the verb in v. 39 suggests that Paul and Silas were taken back into the prison; this is confirmed by v. 40.
71. Joseph H. Hellerman, Reconstructing Honor in Roman Philippi: Carmen Christi as Cursus Pudorum (SNTSMS 132; Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2005), 116.
72. Cf. Dunn, Beginning from Jerusalem, 676.
73. John P. Dickson, Mission-Commitment in Ancient Judaism and in the Pauline Communities: The Shape, Extent and Background of Early Christian Mission (WUNT 159; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2003), 207.
74. Stott, Acts, 268.