Acts 9:2

“And desired of him letters to Damascus, etc.] Damascus was the head or metropolis of Syria, (<230708>Isaiah 7:8) And so Pliny f456 calls it Damascus of Syria: it was a very ancient city; it was in the times of Abraham; his servant Eliezer is said to be of it, (<011502>Genesis 15:2) and some say it was built by him the said Eliezer; though Josephus f457 makes Uz, a grandson of Shem, to be the founder of it; whose surname is conjectured, by some, to be Dimshak, seeing that and Uz differ not in sense: and Justin says f458, it had its name from Damascus, the king of it, in honour of whom the Syrians made a temple of the sepulchre of his wife Arathis, and her a goddess; after Damascus, he says,…”

“desired . . . letters--of authorization. to Damascus--the capital of Syria and the great highway between eastern and western Asia, about one hundred thirty miles northeast of Jerusalem; the most ancient city perhaps in the world, and lying in the center of a verdant and inexhaustible paradise. It abounded (as appears from JOSEPHUS, Wars of the Jews, 2.20,2) with Jews, and with Gentile proselytes to the Jewish faith. Thither the Gospel had penetrated; and Saul, flushed with past successes, undertakes to crush it out. that if he found any of this way, whether men or women--Thrice are women specified as objects of his cruelty, as an aggravated feature of it (Act 8:3; Act 22:4; and here).”

“And desired of him - This shows the intensity of his wish to persecute the Christians, that he was willing to ask for such an employment. Letters - Epistles, implying a commission to bring them to Jerusalem for trial and punishment. From this it seems that the Sanhedrin at Jerusalem claimed jurisdiction over all synagogues everywhere. To Damascus - This was a celebrated city of Syria, and long the capital of a kingdom of that name. It is situated in a delightful region about 120 miles northeast of Jerusalem, and about one 190 miles southeast of Antioch. It is in the midst of an extensive plain, abounding with cypress and palm-trees, and extremely fertile. It is watered by the river Barrady,…”

“Bound - By the connivance, if not authority, of the governor, under Aretas the king. See Act 9:14, Act 9:24. Acts 9:3”

“9:2 The synagogues (Greek sunagōgē, “gathering place”) were local Jewish meeting places. After the Exile, Jews began to meet in local synagogues as places of instruction and centers of worship. Synagogue services consisted of the reading of the Law and the Prophets, exposition of the Scriptures, prayer, praise, and thanksgiving (see 13:15; 15:21; Neh 9:5; Matt 6:5; Luke 4:16-21). Jesus attended, taught, preached, and performed miracles in synagogues (Matt 12:9-10; Mark 1:21, 39; Luke 4:16; 13:10-13; John 6:59; 18:20), as did the apostles (see Acts 9:20; 13:5, 14; 14:1; 17:1, 10, 17; 18:4, 19, 26). • Damascus, the capital of Syria, was an important center with a long and distinguished past…”

“desired: Act 9:14, Act 7:19, Act 22:5, Act 26:12; Est 3:8-13; Psa 82:2-4 the synagogues: Act 6:9, Act 13:14, Act 13:15, Act 28:17-21 of this way: Gr. of the way, Act 19:9, Act 19:23, Act 22:5, Act 28:22 Acts 9:3”