Acts 18:27

Encouraged him (protrepsamenoi). First aorist middle participle of protrepw, old verb, to urge forward, to push on, only here in the N.T. Since Apollos wanted (boulomenou autou, genitive absolute) to go into Achaia, the brethren (including others besides Priscilla and Aquila) wrote (egrapsan) a letter of introduction to the disciples in Corinth to receive him (apodexasqai auton), a nice letter of recommendation and a sincere one also. But Paul will refer to this very letter later ( 2 Corinthians 3:1 ) and observe that he himself needed no such letter of commendation. The Codex Bezae adds here that certain Corinthians who had come to Ephesus heard Apollos and begged him to cross over with them to Corinth. This may very well be the way that Apollos was led to go. Preachers often receive calls because visitors from other places hear them. Priscilla and Aquila were well known in Corinth and their approval would carry weight. But they did not urge Apollos to stay longer in Ephesus. Helped them much (sunebaleto polu). Second aorist middle indicative of sunballw used in 2 Corinthians 17:18 for "dispute," old verb to throw together, in the N.T. always in the active save here in the middle (common in Greek writers) to put together, to help. Through grace (dia th carito). This makes sense if taken with "believed," as Hackett does (cf. 2 Corinthians 13:48 ; 2 Corinthians 16:14 ) or with "helped" ( 1 Corinthians 3:10 ; 1 Corinthians 15:10 ; 2 Corinthians 1:12 ). Both are true as the references show.