And when the Jews were gone out of the
synagogue
The time of worship there being over; or being offended at the
apostle's discourse concerning Jesus: the words will bear to be
rendered, "when they were gone out of the synagogue of the Jews";
and the sense be, when Paul and Barnabas were come out from
thence, Paul having finished his discourse: the word "Jews", and
the phrase, "out of the synagogue", are left out in Beza's
ancient copy, and in the Alexandrian copy, and in the Vulgate
Latin, and Syriac versions; and so may be interpreted either of
the Jews, or of Paul and Barnabas; the Ethiopic version leaves
out the whole clause: "the Gentiles besought that these words
might be spoken unto them the next sabbath"; that is, the
proselytes from among the Gentiles, who attended on the synagogue
of the Jews, and who stayed behind when the Jews were gone out,
being exceedingly delighted with the apostle's doctrine, most
earnestly entreated that the same subject might be insisted upon
the next sabbath: or, as Dr. Lightfoot observes, the words may be
rendered, "they besought the Gentiles"; that is, the apostles,
when they saw the Jews go out, being offended, addressed the
Gentiles, and entreated them to come the next sabbath day, and
patiently hear these doctrines: though in the above copies and
versions there is no mention made of the Gentiles, any more than
of the Jews; so that this may be understood either of the rulers
of the synagogue, who first invited them to speak a word of
exhortation to the people, or of the whole body, Jews and
proselytes, who, when they were departing, entreated they might
hear them again the next sabbath; about which "next sabbath",
there is some difficulty; the words may be rendered, "between the
sabbath", and so may regard what we call weekdays, or working
days; and which the Jews call (Myytnbv Mymy) , "the intermediate days", or the days
between one sabbath and another F19; and on some one of these
days it was desired that the apostles would give them another
discourse on the same subject; and it may be particularly, that
either Monday or Thursday, the second or fifth day of the week,
might be pitched upon; since on these days the Jews met together
in the synagogue, and read the law, according to the order of
Ezra, that they might not be three days without the law
F20; and these were the days on which
they fasted, ( Luke 18:12 ) . Others
choose to render the words, "on the sabbath day after"; and so
the Syriac version renders it, "on the other sabbath"; and the
Ethiopic version, "the sabbath following"; and so the Vulgate
Latin, with which ours, and others agree; and to this reading and
sense, ( Acts
13:44 ) greatly inclines; though they might meet together on
one of the days between, when being so delighted with what they
heard, and of which they so much talked, that the next sabbath
almost the whole city came together to hear: but what pleases me
best, and which, I think, has never been observed by any, is,
that there was one sabbath in the year which was called
(Mytnb tbv) ; which may be
rendered by (to metaxu
sabbaton) , "the sabbath between", or the intermediate
sabbath; and this sabbath was on one of the ten days before the
day of atonement; and was so called, because it was between the
first of Tisri, which answers to part of our September, and was
the beginning of the year, and the tenth of the same month, which
was the day of atonement; and was a sabbath very much taken
notice of by the Jews F21: and now this might be the sabbath
following, and so all agrees; and a reason may be given for the
different phrases in this verse, and ( Acts 13:44 ) and if so,
this also points out the time of the year that Paul and Barnabas
were at Antioch in Pisidia, and when that remarkable period
began, that the apostles turned from the Jews, and preached to
the Gentiles.