Acts Chapter 13 verse 13 Holy Bible

Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 13. - Vow for now when, A.V.; set sail for loosed, A.V.; and came for they came, A.V.; departed.., and returned for departing... returned, A.V. A very marked change may here be observed in the relations of Barnabas and Paul. Hitherto Barnabas has always occupied the first rank. It has been "Barnabas and Saul" (Acts 11:30; Acts 12:25; vers. 2, 7). But now the whole mission, including Barnabas, is described as οἱ περὶ τὸν Παῦλον, Paul and his company, and ever after it is usually "Paul and Barnabas" (vers. 43, 46, 50; Acts 15:2, 22, 35); though in Acts 14:14 and Acts 15:12, 25, the old order is retained. Renan dwells much on the beauty of Barnabas's character as seen in his cheerful acquiescence in this change of relative position, and his single-minded devotion to the success of the work. Came to Perga, the capital of Pamphylia, in that part of the coast of Asia Minor which looks due south. Perga was about seven and a half miles inland, on the river Cestrus, which is navigable. There was a constant intercourse between Paphos the capital of Cyprus, and Perga the capital of Pamphylia, fostered probably by the two famous temples of Venus and Diana. The word for set sail (ἀναχθέντες) is a nautical term, meaning sailing from the shore or harbor into the open sea (see Acts 16:11; Acts 21:1; Acts 27:12; Luke 8:22). At Perga John Mark left them. Perhaps his position as Barnabas's cousin was less pleasant now that Paul took the first place; perhaps his courage failed him now that they were fairly launched out into the heathen world, where, unlike Cyprus, his Jewish kinsmen were a small minority, and the dangers and fatigues were great. Pamphylia was now governed by a propraetor, being an imperial province. Its name denotes that it was inhabited by a mixed race - men of all tribes, aborigines, Cilicians, Greeks, etc.

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(13) Paul and his company.--Literally, those about Paul. The new description is obviously chosen as indicating the new position which from this time the Apostle began to occupy as the leader of the mission.Perga.--The city was at this time the capital of Pamphylia, situated on the river Cestrus, about seven miles from its mouth. The absence of any record of evangelising work there is probably due to the fact that there were no synagogues, and that the Apostles in this mission adhered to the plan of preaching in the first instance to the Jews, and making the synagogue, as it were, their base of operations.John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.--We are left to conjecture the motives of this departure. He may have shrunk from the perils and hardships of the journey into the interior of the country. He may have been drawn by affection for his mother, who lived at Jerusalem. It is clear, in any case, from St. Paul's subsequent conduct (Acts 15:38), that he looked on the reason as insufficient, while Barnabas saw, at least, enough to admit the plea of extenuating circumstances. The pressure of the famine at Jerusalem may have seemed to him to excuse the desire of the son to minister to the mother's wants.