Act 18:24, 26 | Clarke | e4.org | Verse 24. A certain Jew named Apollos ] One MS., with the Coptic and Armenian , calls him Apelles ; and the Codex Bezae, Apollonius . It is strange that we should find a Jew, not only with a Roman name, as Aquila , an eagle ; but with the name of one of the false gods, as Apollos or Apollo in the text. Query: Whether the parents of this man were not originally Gentiles , but converted to Judaism after their son Apollo (for so we should write the word) had been born and named. Born at Alexandria ] This was a celebrated city of Egypt, built by Alexander the Great, from whom it took its name. It was seated on the Mediterranean Sea, between the Lake Mareotis and the beautiful harbour formed by the Isle of Pharos, about twelve miles west of the Canopic branch of the Nile, in lat. 31�. 10'. N. This city was built under the direction of Dinocrates, the celebrated architect of the temple of Diana at Ephesus. It was in this city that Ptolemy Soter founded the famous academy called the Museum, in which a society of learned men devoted themselves to philosophical studies. Some of the most celebrated schools of antiquity flourished here; and here was the Tower of Pharos , esteemed one of the seven wonders of the world. Alexandria was taken by the French, July 4, 1798, under the command of Bonaparte; and was surrendered to the English under General, now Lord, Hutchinson, in 1801. And, in consequence of the treaty of peace between France and England, it was restored to the Turks. Near this place was the celebrated obelisk , called Cleopatra's Needle ; and the no less famous column, called Pompey's Pillar . This city exhibits but very slender remains of its ancient splendour. An eloquent man ] Having strong rhetorical powers; highly cultivated, no doubt, in the Alexandrian schools. Mighty in the Scriptures ] Thoroughly acquainted with the law and prophets ; and well skilled in the Jewish method of interpreting them.

‏ Acts 18:24

Verse 24. A certain Jew named Apollos] One MS., with the Coptic and Armenian, calls him Apelles; and the Codex Bezae, Apollonius. It is strange that we should find a Jew, not only with a Roman name, as Aquila, an eagle; but with the name of one of the false gods, as Apollos or Apollo in the text. Query: Whether the parents of this man were not originally Gentiles, but converted to Judaism after their son Apollo (for so we should write the word) had been born and named.

Born at Alexandria] This was a celebrated city of Egypt, built by Alexander the Great, from whom it took its name. It was seated on the Mediterranean Sea, between the Lake Mareotis and the beautiful harbour formed by the Isle of Pharos, about twelve miles west of the Canopic branch of the Nile, in lat. 31�. 10'. N. This city was built under the direction of Dinocrates, the celebrated architect of the temple of Diana at Ephesus. It was in this city that Ptolemy Soter founded the famous academy called the Museum, in which a society of learned men devoted themselves to philosophical studies. Some of the most celebrated schools of antiquity flourished here; and here was the Tower of Pharos, esteemed one of the seven wonders of the world. Alexandria was taken by the French, July 4, 1798, under the command of Bonaparte; and was surrendered to the English under General, now Lord, Hutchinson, in 1801. And, in consequence of the treaty of peace between France and England, it was restored to the Turks. Near this place was the celebrated obelisk, called Cleopatra's Needle; and the no less famous column, called Pompey's Pillar. This city exhibits but very slender remains of its ancient splendour.

An eloquent man] Having strong rhetorical powers; highly cultivated, no doubt, in the Alexandrian schools.

Mighty in the Scriptures] Thoroughly acquainted with the law and prophets; and well skilled in the Jewish method of interpreting them.

‏ Acts 18:26

Verse 26. They took him unto them] This eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures, who was even a public teacher, was not ashamed to be indebted to the instructions of a Christian woman, in matters that not only concerned his own salvation, but also the work of the ministry, in which he was engaged. It is disgraceful to a man to be ignorant, when he may acquire wisdom; but it is no disgrace to acquire wisdom from the meanest person or thing. The adage is good: Despise not advice, even of the meanest: the gaggling of geese preserved the Roman state.