Commentaries:
Adam Clarke
Saul, who also is - Paul - This is the first time the name Paul occurs, and the last time in which this apostle is called Saul, as his common or general name.
Saul, Shaul , was the name of the first Israelitish king, and signifies asked, sought; from shaal , he asked, inquired, etc.
Paul, Paulus, if derived from the Latin, signifies little, dwarfish: but if from the Hebrew, pala , it signifies extraordinary, wonderful; and this appears to have been the derivation assigned to it by St. Jerome, com. in Ep. Pauli AD Philem., who translates it mirabilis , wonderful, and Hesychius must have had the same in view, for he defines it thus, , Ϛ, , , Paul, wonderful, or elect, counsellor. The lexicographer had probably here in view, Isaiah 9:6 : his name shall be called ( pelé yoêts ) wonderful, counsellor; which he might corrupt into paulus , and thus make his Ϛ out of it by way of explanation. Triller, however, supposes the of Hesychius to be corrupted from fellow servant, which is a term not unfrequently applied to apostles, etc., in the New Testament, who are called the servants of God; and it is used by Paul himself, Colossians 1:7; Colossians 4:7. The Latin original is the most probable. It is well known that the Jews in the apostolic age had frequently two names, one Hebrew, the other Greek or Roman. Saul was born of Jewish parents, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; he had therefore his first name from that language, Shaul , asked or begged; as it is possible he might have been a child for whom his parents had addressed their fervent petitions to God. The case of Samuel is one in point. See I Samuel 1:9-18. As he was born in Tarsus, in Cilicia, he was consequently born a free Roman citizen; and hence his parents would naturally give him, for cognomen, some name borrowed from the Latin tongue, and Paulus, which signifies little, might indicate that he was at his birth a small or diminutive child. And it is very likely that he was low in stature all his days; and that it is to this he refers himself, II Corinthians 10:10, for his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible. If he were small in stature, his voice would be naturally low and feeble; and the Greeks, who were fond of a thundering eloquence, would despise him on this very account.
Filled with the Holy Ghost - Therefore the sentence he pronounced was not from himself, but from God. And indeed, had he not been under a Divine influence, it is not likely he would have ventured thus to accost this sorcerer in the presence of the governor, who, no doubt, had greatly admired him.
Other Adam Clarke entries containing Acts 13:9:
Acts 13:52
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