Word Pictures in the New Testament - David Cox

Word Pictures in the NT [Acts: Chapter 20]
sharp letter to the church in Corinth (2Co 2:4) and in
denouncing the sensual apostates in Php 3:18. Adolphe Monod has
a wonderful sermon on the tears of Paul. Consider also the tears
of Jesus. {Trials which befell me} (\peirasm•n t•n sumbant•n
moi\). Construed also with \meta\. Second aorist active
participle of \sunbain•\, to walk with, to go with, to come
together, to happen, to befall. Very common in this sense in the
old Greek (cf. Ac 3:10). {By the plots of the Jews} (\en tais
epiboulais t•n Ioudai•n\). Like the plot (\epiboul•\) against him
in Corinth (20:3) as well as the earlier trial before Gallio
and the attacks in Thessalonica. In Ac 19:9 Luke shows the
hostile attitude of the Jews in Ephesus that drove Paul out of
the synagogue to the school of Tyrannus. He does not describe in
detail these "plots" which may easily be imagined from Paul's own
letters and may be even referred to in 1Co 4:10; 15:30ff.; 16:9;
2Co 1:4-10; 7:5; 11:23. In fact, one has only to dwell on the
allusions in 2Co 11 to picture what Paul's life was in Ephesus
during these three years. Luke gives in Ac 19 the outbreak of
Demetrius, but Paul had already fought with "wild-beasts" there.
20:20 {How that I shrank not} (\h•s ouden hupesteilamen\). Still
indirect discourse (question) after \epistasthe\ (ye know) with
\h•s\ like \p•s\ in verse 18. First aorist middle of
\hupostell•\, old verb to draw under or back. It was so used of
drawing back or down sails on a ship and, as Paul had so recently
been on the sea, that may be the metaphor here. But it is not
necessarily so as the direct middle here makes good sense and is
frequent, to withdraw oneself, to cower, to shrink, to conceal,
to dissemble as in Hab 2:4 (Heb 10:38). Demosthenes so used
it to shrink from declaring out of fear for others. This open
candour of Paul is supported by his Epistles (1Th 2:4,11; 2Co
4:2; Ga 1:10). {From declaring unto you} (\tou m• anaggeilai
humin\). Ablative case of the articular first aorist active
infinitive of \anaggell•\ with the redundant negative after verbs
of hindering, etc. (Robertson, _Grammar_, p. 1094). {Anything
that was profitable} (\t•n sumpheront•n\). Partitive genitive
after \ouden\ of the articular present active participle of
\sumpher•\, to bear together, be profitable. {Publicly}
(\d•mosi•i\, adverb) {and from house to house} (\kai kat'
oikous\). By (according to) houses. It is worth noting that this
greatest of preachers preached from house to house and did not
make his visits merely social calls. He was doing kingdom
business all the while as in the house of Aquila and Priscilla
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