ISB ~ Acts 9 v2

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).