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Acts 8:26-40

King James Version (KJV)

“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”
— D.L. Moody

Scripture focus

26. And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. 27. And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, 28. Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. 29. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. 30. And Philip ran thither to [him], and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 31. And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. 32. The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: 33. In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. 34. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? 35. Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. 36. And as they went on [their] way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, [here is] water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? 37. And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 38. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. 39. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. 40. But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.

Acts 8:26-40 — KJV

Commentary

Commentary on Acts 8:26

Theological / Devotional

The angel. Rather, “an angel.” Luke is observant of angel ministry (cf. Luke 1:38 and Acts 10:7; Luke 2:9 and Acts 12:7; Luke 24:4 and Acts 1:10; 10:30). The Greek construction suggests that an angel spoke to Philip while Peter and John were doing their work of evangelism. The supernatural call may well have come in a vision (cf. Cornelius, Acts 10:3).

South. Greek mesembria, generally rendered “midday” or “noon.” However, in the Northern Hemisphere, the sun is in the south when it reaches its meridian; hence the word also came to signify locality, that is, “the south.” Some authorities prefer the translation “noon.”

Unto the way. Rather, “on the way,” or “along the road.”

Gaza. This name is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew ‘Azzah, which means “strong.” Gaza (also called Azzah in Deut. 2:23; 1 Kings 4:24; Jer. 25:20) was a southern border city of the early Canaanites (Gen. 10:19). It was occupied first by the Avim, and then by the Caphtorim (Deut. 2:23). Joshua failed to subdue it (Joshua 10:41; 11:22). Judah held it for a brief period (Judges 1:18), but soon lost it to the Philistines (Joshua 13:3; Judges 3:3), who made it the southernmost of their five great cities. The city was the scene of Samson’s humiliation and death (Judges 16), and continued to be held by the Philistines during the time of Samuel and onward (1 Sam. 6:17). Solomon (1 Kings 4:21, 24), and later Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:8), attacked it. It resisted Alexander the Great for five months, but was eventually captured and became an important military post during the struggles between the Ptolemies and the Seleucids, and in the wars of the Maccabees (1 Maccabees 11:61).

About 96 B.C. Gaza was destroyed and its people massacred by Alexander Jannaeus (Josephus Antiquities xiii. 13. 3), but it was rebuilt by the proconsul Gabinius, though it is said that the restored city was nearer the sea than the ancient one. There was more than one road from Jerusalem to Gaza, some 50 miles to the southwest. A northern route passed near Lydda, then ran parallel with the coast southward through Azotus to Gaza. Another went southward to Hebron, then due west through desert country to the city of Gaza. The latter is the more likely route of the narrative, especially if mesembria is translated “south.”

Desert. The clause literally reads, as if a separate sentence, “This is desert.” There is nothing to show whether these were the angel’s words or an explanatory note added by Luke. Neither is it clear whether “this” refers to the “way” or to the “city,” although it is unlikely that Luke would name a city and then describe it as “desert.” The RSV translates it, “This is a desert road.” In simple faith Philip was to go to the less frequented, less promising route from Jerusalem to Gaza, and without knowing that on the road he would meet a traveler whose conversion was to become so memorable.

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