RSV ~ Acts 9 Notes

Acts 9:1-19 | ISB Notes

The conversion of Saul the Pharisee. Once a ruthless assailant of the Church, he became one of her most energetic apostles through a miraculous encounter with Christ (1 Cor 15:8-10). This complete turnaround of Saul’s life and mission sets the stage for his leading role in the missionary campaigns of chaps. 13-28. The event is twice retold in Acts (22:3-16; 26:2-18) and occurred in either A.D. 32 or 36.

• Saul stands in a long line of Hebrew prophets who saw the Lord in a vision and heard his voice sending them forth with a revealed message for Israel and the nations (Is 6:1-13; Jer 1:4-10; Ezek 1:1-3:11; Dan 8:15-26).

Acts 9:1 | ISB Notes

the high priest: The religious leaders of Israel held sway over the synagogue communities that paid annual taxes to the Jerusalem Temple.

Acts 9:2 | ISB Notes

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).

Acts 9:4 | ISB Notes

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).

Acts 9:7 | ISB Notes

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.

Acts 9:8 | ISB Notes

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.

Acts 9:15 | ISB Notes

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).

Acts 9:16 | ISB Notes

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).

Acts 9:18 | ISB Notes

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).

Acts 9:20 | ISB Notes

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.

Acts 9:23 | ISB Notes

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.

Acts 9:27 | ISB Notes

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).

Acts 9:29 | ISB Notes

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.

Acts 9:30 | ISB Notes

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.

Acts 9:32 | ISB Notes

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).

Acts 9:34 | ISB Notes

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).

Acts 9:36 | ISB Notes

Joppa: A seaport city on the western coast of Judea (Jon 1:3). Tabitha …

Dorcas: The respective Aramaic and Greek names meaning “gazelle”.

Acts 9:37 | ISB Notes

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

Acts 9:40 | ISB Notes

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.

Acts 9:43 | ISB Notes

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).