And they appointed two
The motion made by Peter was attended to by the whole company;
they approved of it, and accordingly proposed two persons by
name; one of which was to be chosen, not by the apostles, but by
the whole assembly. The Arabic version reads, "he appointed two",
as if Peter singly did this: contrary to all copies, and other
versions, and to the context; which shows, that the whole body of
the people were concerned in this affair, who prayed and gave
forth their lots and suffrages: the persons nominated were,
Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and
Matthias.
The former of these has three names; in one ancient copy of
Beza's he is called Joses; and by some thought to be the same
with Joses, surnamed Barnabas, in ( Acts 4:36 ) partly
because in one copy, and in the Syriac version there, that Joses
is called Joseph; and partly, because of the nearness in sound
between Barsabas and Barnabas: hence the Ethiopic version here
reads, "Joseph, who was called Barnabas", and so Beza's most
ancient copy; but though Joses is here meant for Jose, or Joses
is, with the Jews, an abbreviation of Joseph; yet not Joses the
Levite, who was of the country of Cyprus, but Joses of Galilee,
the son of Alphaeus and Mary; and who had two brothers, James and
Jude, already apostles; see ( Matthew
13:55 ) ( Mark 15:40 ) . Moreover,
though the two names, Barnabas and Barsabas, differ little in
sound, yet much in sense: the former is interpreted "the son of
consolation", ( Acts 4:36 ) but the
latter signifies much the same with Bathsheba; as that may be
interpreted "the daughter", this "the son of an oath"; or as
others, "a son of wisdom"; and by others, "the son of fulness"; I
should choose to take it to be the same name with (abo rb) , and interpret it, "the son
of an old man"; as Alphaeus might be, when Joses, or Joseph was
born, and he be the younger brother of James and Jude; as for his
surname Justus, this was a name not only in use among the
Grecians and Romans, especially the latter, but among the Jews:
hence we often read of Rabbi (ajowy) , "Justa", and sometimes, (yjowy) , "Justi", and at other times,
(yajowy) "Justai"
F24 whether he had this surname from
his being a very just man, as Aristides was called Aristides the
just; and so Simeon the high priest, the last of Ezra's great
synagogue, was called Simeon the just F25; and
so James the brother of this Joseph, or Joses, was called by the
Jews F26; and it may be, that he himself
might have his name from the patriarch Joseph, who used to be
called by them, Joseph, (qyduh) , "the just" F1: for Matthias, his name is
Jewish, and he was no doubt a Jew; hence we read (aytm ybr) , "Rabbi Matthia ben
Charash" F2; his name signifying the same as
Nathanael does, namely, the gift of God, made Dr. Lightfoot
conjecture they might be the same; but this agrees not with
another conjecture that learned man, who elsewhere thinks, that
Bartholomew and Nathanael were the same; and if so, he must have
been an apostle already; Clemens of Alexandria was of opinion,
that this Matthias was Zacchaeus F3.
F24 T. Hieros. Beracot, fol. 12. 3. & Trumot. fol. 48. 1. & Erubin, fol. 19. 3. & 23. 3. T. Bab. Zebachim, fol. 99. 1. & Juchasin, fol. 95. 2. & 96. 1. Shirhashirim Rabba, fol. 17. 4.
F25 Pirke Abot, c. 1. sect. 2.
F26 Euseb. Eccl. Hist. l. 2. c. 23.
F1 Zohar in Exod. fol. 104. 1.
F2 T. Bab. Yebamot, fol. 61. 2. & Juchasin, fol. 108. 1.
F3 Stromat, l. 4. p. 488.