Acts 8:31

31 And he said, How may I, if no man show to me [Which said, And how may I, if some man shall not show to me]? And he prayed Philip, that he should come up, and sit with him.

Acts 8:31 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 8:31

And he said, how can I, except some man should guide me?
&c.] Which shows that he was of an excellent spirit and temper; since instead of answering in a haughty and disdainful manner, as great men are too apt to do; and instead of charging Philip with, impertinence and insolence, in interrupting him whilst reading, and putting such a question to him, he expresses himself with great and uncommon modesty; with a sense and confession of his ignorance and incapacity and of the necessity and usefulness of the instructions of men, appointed of God to open and explain the Scriptures: and though he wanted such a guide, and could have been glad of one, yet he was willing to use all diligence himself in reading, that he, might, if possible, come at some knowledge of the truth; which was very commendable in him; and no doubt but the spirit he was in was much owing to his reading the word, and to the Spirit of God disposing his mind in this manner:

and he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him;
which is an instance of his great humanity and courteousness, and of his meekness and condescension, as well as of his vehement thirst after the knowledge of the Scriptures; he concluding, or at least hoping by Philip's question, and by the air and look of the man, that he was one that might be useful to him this way.

Acts 8:31 In-Context

29 And the Spirit said to Philip, Approach thou [+Nigh thou/Come to], and join thee to this chariot.
30 And Philip ran to, and heard him reading Esaias, the prophet. And he said, Guessest thou, whether thou understandest, what things thou readest?
31 And he said, How may I, if no man show to me [Which said, And how may I, if some man shall not show to me]? And he prayed Philip, that he should come up, and sit with him.
32 And the place of the scripture that he read, was this, As a sheep he was led to slaying, and as a lamb before a man that sheareth him is dumb without voice, so he opened not his mouth. [Forsooth the place of scripture that he read was this, As a sheep to slaying he was led, and as a lamb before a man shearing him is dumb without voice, so he opened not his mouth.]
33 In meekness his doom was taken up; who shall tell out the generation of him? For his life shall be taken away from the earth.
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.