27:1-11 It was determined by the counsel of God, before it was determined by the counsel of Festus, that Paul should go to Rome; for God had work for him to do there. The course they steered, and the places they touched at, are here set down. And God here encourages those who suffer for him, to trust in him; for he can put it into the hearts of those to befriend them, from whom they least expect it. Sailors must make the best of the wind: and so must we all in our passage over the ocean of this world. When the winds are contrary, yet we must be getting forward as well as we can. Many who are not driven backward by cross providences, do not get forward by favourable providences. And many real Christians complain as to the concerns of their souls, that they have much ado to keep their ground. Every fair haven is not a safe haven. Many show respect to good ministers, who will not take their advice. But the event will convince sinners of the vanity of their hopes, and the folly of their conduct.

Verse 3. - Treated Paul kindly for courteously entreated Paul, A.V.; leave for liberty, A.V.; and refresh for to refresh, A.V. We touched; κατήχθημεν (as Luke 5:11; Acts 21:3; Acts 28:12) of coming from the sea to land, contrasted with ἀνήχθημεν in vers. 2 and 4 (ἀναχθέντες) of going out to sea (as Luke 8:22; Acts 13:13; Acts 16:11; Acts 18:21; Acts 21:1, 2; and frequently in this chapter). At Sidon; where doubtless there were disciples, as well as at Tyre (Acts 21:4), though there is no special mention of such. Paul was glad to have an opportunity of visiting them while the ship was stopping there to unload, and set down and take up passengers; and Julius, perhaps by the orders of Festus and Agrippa, and also from the influence Paul's character and conduct had on him (comp. Daniel 1:9), courteously gave him leave to land, probably accompanied by a soldier. And refresh himself; literally, to meet with care. Ἐπιμελεία occurs only here in the New Testament, but is found in 1 Macc. 16:14 2Macc. 11:23, and is frequent in Xenophon and other classical writers, by whom it is used with τυχεῖν, as here. Luke also uses the verb ἐπιμελέομαι (Luke 10:34, 35); and ἐπιμελῶς (Luke 15:8). It is in very common use among medical writers for the care and attention required by the sick. It is very probable that St. Paul was suffering from his long confinement at Caesarea, and that the ἐπιμελία here mentioned has reference to his invalid state.

And the next day we touched at Sidon,.... This was a famous city in Phoenicia, upon the northern border of the land of Israel; it was a maritime place, and noted for trade and navigation; Mela (q) calls it rich Sidon, and the chief of the maritime cities; Jerom (r) calls it the ancient city Sidon; and Curtius says (s) it was renowned for the antiquity and fame of its founders; it is thought to be built by Sidon, the firstborn of Canaan, Genesis 10:15 from whom it took its name; so Josephus (t) affirms, that Sidonius, as he calls him, built a city in Phoenicia after his own name, and it is called by the Greeks Sidon; some say it was built by Sidus the son of Aegyptus, and named after him: according to R. Benjamin (u) it was a day's journey from hence to Tyre; and with others (w), it was not more than two hundred furlongs, about twelve or thirteen miles, which was another city of Phoenicia, as this was: Jerom's (x) account of Sidon is this,

"Sidon, a famous city of Phoenicia, formerly the border of the Canaanites, to the north, situated at the foot of Mount Libanus, and the artificer of glass:''

and so Pliny (y) calls it, it being famous for the making of glass; and Herodotus (z) speaks of it as a city of Phoenicia: Justin the historian says (a) it was built by the Tyrians, who called it by this name from the plenty of fish in it; for the Phoenicians call a fish "Sidon": and indeed Sidon or Tzidon seems to be derived from "Tzud", which signifies "to fish"; and the place is to this day called Said or Salt; and so R. Benjamin calls it Tzaida (b): to this city they came from Caesarea, the day following that they set out on, and here they stopped awhile:

and Julius courteously treated Paul; the centurion into whose hands the apostle was delivered, used him with great humanity and civility; he found grace in his sight, as Joseph did in the sight of Potiphar, and as he himself had done before with Lysias, Felix, Festus and Agrippa:

and gave him liberty to go unto his friends to refresh himself; for as there were disciples at Tyre, Acts 21:3 so it seems there were at Sidon, both which cities were in Phoenicia, and are often mentioned together; and the apostle was allowed to go ashore, and visit his friends, and be refreshed by them, both in body and spirit, and be provided for by them with things convenient for his voyage. It is highly probable that there was here a Gospel church, but by whom planted cannot be said; our Lord himself was at the borders of this place, Matthew 15:21 and the ministers of the word scattered at the death of Stephen, went as far as Phoenicia preaching the Gospel, Acts 11:19 and that there were brethren there, appears from note on: See Gill on Acts 15:3, in which country Sidon was: in the "third" century there was a church in this place, and Zenobius was presbyter of it, who suffered martyrdom under Dioclesian (c); in the "fourth" century there was a bishop of the church here, at the synod held at Nice; in the "fifth" century the bishop of the Sidonians, in the council of Chalcedon, declared his opinion with others against Dioscorus, whose name was Damianus; in the "sixth" century, mention is made of a bishop of Sidon, in the acts of the council held at Rome and Constantinople, and in the same century a synod met at Sidon, in the 20th year of Anastasius the emperor (d): the account of the bishops of Sidon, as given by Reland (e), is as follows; Theodorus bishop of Sidon subscribed in the first Nicene council, in the year 325; Paulus subscribed in the first council at Constantinople, in the year 381; Damianus was in the council held at Chalcedon, in the year 451; Megas is mentioned in the acts and epistles subjoined to the Chalcedon council; Andreas, bishop of this place, is taken notice of in a letter of John of Jerusalem.

(q) De orbis Situ, l. 1. c. 12. (r) Epitaph. Paulae, Tom. I. fol. 58. (s) Hist. l. 4. c. 1.((t) Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 2.((u) Itinerar. p. 85. (w) Reland. Palestina Illustrata, l. 2. p. 433, 510. (x) De locis Hebraicis, fol. 96. I.((y) Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 19. & l. 36. c. 26. (z) Euterpe, c. 116. & Thalia, c. 136. (a) Hist. ex Trogo, l. 18. c. 3.((b) Itinerar. p. 34. (c) Euseb. Eccl. Hist. l. 8. c. 13. (d) Magdeburg. Hist. Eccl. cent. 4. c. 2. p. 2. cent. 5. c. 2. p. 2. c. 10. p. 551. cent. 6. c. 2. p. 3. c. 3. p. 17. c. 9. p. 243. (e) Palestina Illustrata, l. 3. p. 1014.

3. next day we touched at Sidon—To reach this ancient and celebrated Mediterranean port, about seventy miles north from Cæsarea, in one day, they must have had a fair wind.

Julius courteously—(See on [2124]Ac 27:1).

gave him liberty to go to his friends—no doubt disciples, gained, it would seem, by degrees, all along the Phonician coast since the first preaching there (see on [2125]Ac 11:19 and [2126]Ac 21:4).

to refresh himself—which after his long confinement would not be unnecessary. Such small personal details are in this case extremely interesting.

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