9:2 Damascus: A Syrian city just north of Palestine. Saul, armed with arrest warrants issued by the high priest, hoped to drag believers from its synagogues back to Jerusalem to stand trial before the Sanhedrin. See word study: Laid Waste at 8:3. the Way: Several times this expression appears elsewhere in Acts as a code name for the early Christian movement (18:26; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). It was similarly used by the Qumran community that wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls. • This unusual title has ties with Isaiah, whose visions of the messianic age focus on "the way" of the Lord (Is 40:3). The prophet is utilizing a key term from the Exodus story (Ex 13:21) to prophesy how Yahweh will effect a new Exodus by leading his people along a new "way" from sin to salvation (Is 35:8; 43:16-19; 48:17; 51:10; 62:10-12). The early Christians adopted this title to lay claim to the promises of Isaiah and to assert their identity as the newly redeemed people of God. This new "way" of life passes through Jesus (Jn 14:6). Back to text.

9:4 Saul, Saul: The original Hebrew name of Paul (26:14). As a member of the tribe of Benjamin (Rom 11:1), he was probably named after the first king of Israel, Saul the Benjaminite (1 Sam 9:1-2). • The repetition of one's name is characteristic of divine encounters in the Bible (Gen 22:11; 46:2; Ex 3:4; 1 Sam 3:10). why do you persecute me?: To attack the members of Christ's body is to attack Christ himself. This mystery of baptismal union between Jesus and his followers would occupy Paul's mind for years to come (1 Cor 12:1226; Eph 5:21-32; CCC 790-91). Back to text.

9:7 the voice: Or, "the sound". Paul heard Christ speaking words of instruction, while his companions must have heard an inarticulate rumble (compare with 22:9). For another instance of heaven speaking clearly to some and not to others, see Jn 12:28-29. Back to text.

9:8 see nothing: Saul was temporarily blinded by the light of Christ's glory. The effect of this ironically reversed his intentions: instead of hauling off Christians as prisoners from Damascus, he himself was taken captive by Christ and led helplessly by the hand into the city. Back to text.

9:15 a chosen instrument: Or, "an elect vessel". Saul was handpicked by Jesus to carry the gospel beyond the borders of Palestine. This would involve traveling missions to evangelize the Gentiles (Rom 11:13; Gal 1:16), governors and kings (13:7, 12; 26:2-23), and the sons of Israel living throughout the Roman world (9:20; 14:1; Rom 11:14; CCC 442). Back to text.

9:16 he must suffer: A prophecy amply confirmed in Acts (14:19; 16:22; 21:31) and in the Pauline epistles (1 Cor 4:11; 2 Cor 11:23-29; Phil 1:29). Back to text.

9:18 scales fell: Saul regained his physical sight and acquired a true spiritual vision of Christ. • The description may recall the temporary blindness of Tobit in the OT (Tob 11:13). was baptized: After three days of fasting (9:9) and praying (9:11). Back to text.

9:20 synagogues: Centers of Jewish fellowship, worship, and instruction in the Scriptures. Paul's initial preaching in the Damascus synagogues anticipated his missionary habit of using local synagogues as a platform to evangelize new territories (13:5, 14; 14:1; 17:1-3, 10, etc.). See note on Mt 4:23. Back to text.

9:23 many days had passed: Paul spent three years in Arabia before making his first trip to Jerusalem as a Christian (Gal 1:17-18). plotted to kill him: The conspiracy orchestrated by hostile Jews also involved the governor of Damascus (2 Cor 11:32-33). For similar escapes (9:25) from walled cities, see Josh 2:15 and 1 Sam 19:12. Back to text.

9:27 Barnabas: A Christian from the Israelite tribe of Levi. See note on Acts 4:36. to the apostles: Paul's first visit with the Jerusalem Church was spent with Peter and James (Gal 1:18-19). Back to text.

9:29 against the Hellenists: Paul debated with the same Greek-speaking Jews who had argued with Stephen (6:9-10). See note on Acts 6:1-6. Back to text.

9:30 Tarsus: Saul's birthplace (22:3). It was the capital of the Roman province of Cilicia (southeastern Turkey), a prestigious center of culture and education (21:39), and home to Jewish settlements dating back to the second century B.C. Saul remained in the city until he was summoned to Syrian Antioch in 11:25-26. Back to text.

9:32 Lydda: A Judean town 12 miles inland from the Mediterranean coast. It sat just north of the road between Jerusalem and the port of Joppa (9:36). Back to text.

9:34 Christ heals you: Jesus was working through Peter to unleash the same healing power he had manifested during his ministry (Lk 5:17-26; Jn 5:2-9). Both this and the following miracle were occasions of faith and conversion (9:35, 42). Back to text.

9:36 Joppa: A seaport city on the western coast of Judea (Jon 1:3). Tabitha . . . Dorcas: The respective Aramaic and Greek names meaning "gazelle". Back to text.

9:37 washed her: A ritual preparation for burial that could last up to three days in cities outside of Jerusalem. Back to text.

9:40 Tabitha, rise: Peter's resuscitation miracle recalls the one Jesus performed on the daughter of Jairus in Mk 5:35- 43. • It likewise evokes memories of Elijah, who revived the son of a widow to new life in the upper room of their house in 1 Kings 17:17-24. Back to text.

9:43 a tanner: A tradesman who lived in a state of perpetual uncleanness because of his frequent contact with animal skins and carcasses (Lev 5:2). Though association with such people was discouraged among religious Jews, Peter accepts Simon's hospitality with a new level of openness that anticipates his discovery in the following episode that no man is legally "unclean" in the age of the New Covenant (10:28). Back to text.

10:1-48 The Baptism of Cornelius and his household opens a new chapter in the history of Christianity. For the first time, Gentiles accept the gospel and become full members of the Church. The narrative stresses that God initiates, orchestrates, and approves this new missionary step: he instructs Cornelius by an angel (10:3), directs Peter by a vision (10:10-16), and pours out the Spirit as a tangible sign of acceptance (10:44). Back to text.

10:1 Caesarea: A port city 30 miles up the coast from Joppa (9:43). Herod the Great renovated and greatly expanded the city to serve as the Roman capital of Judea. See note on Mt 2:1. centurion: A military commander of 100 Roman soldiers. Back to text.

10:2 feared God: Cornelius was among a class of devout Gentiles who admired Judaism (13:16, 26). Known from antiquity as "God-fearers", they worshiped Yahweh, attended synagogue services, and followed many of the moral and religious precepts of the Torah. Because they stopped short of receiving circumcision, they were not considered Jewish converts in the full and strict sense. alms . . . prayed: Traditional acts of Jewish piety (Tob 12:8). Back to text.

10:3 the ninth hour: About 3 P.M., the time of the evening liturgy, when prayers and sacrifices were offered up in the Jerusalem Temple. See note on Acts 3:1. • Daniel was likewise visited by an angel while praying at the time of the evening sacrifices (Dan 9:20-21). According to the angel in this episode, the prayers and alms of the Gentile Cornelius have also ascended to heaven as a sacrificial "memorial" (10:4), i.e., as the equivalent of a cereal offering whose memorial portion ascended with the fire and smoke of the Temple altar (Lev 2:2, 9, 16; Sir 38:11). For earlier expressions of the same idea, see Tob 12:12 and Sir 35:2, 7. Back to text.

10:9 on the housetop: Palestinian homes often had an outside staircase leading up to a flat roof. the sixth hour: About noon. Back to text.

10:10 a trance: A mystical and visionary state of communion with God (22:17). Back to text.

10:14 common or unclean: As a faithful Jew, Peter declines to eat foods forbidden by the Torah (Lev 11). The vision labors to overcome his objection. It teaches him (1) that the dietary restrictions of the Mosaic Law that distinguish between acceptable (clean) and unacceptable (unclean) foods are now lifted in the New Covenant, and (2) that the distinction between foods is a legal allegory for the moral and religious distinction between Israel (clean) and the Gentiles (unclean) maintained under the Old Covenant. Lifting the Mosaic ban on unclean foods is thus a sign that the Gentiles are no longer banned from full and equal acceptance into the covenant (10:28). Back to text.

10:15 God has cleansed: Jesus revoked the Mosaic food laws when he declared "all foods clean" (Mk 7:19), a teaching echoed in the catechesis of the apostles (Rom 14:14; 1 Tim 4:3-5). Allegorically, Peter was to learn that God was cleansing the hearts of the Gentiles (15:9). Back to text.

10:26 I too am a man: Peter recoils, not from honor or veneration, but from worship (as did Barnabas and Paul, 14:1118). Not even the holy angels can accept the adoration that belongs to God alone (Rev 19:10). Back to text.

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