Attributed commentary excerpt
John Gill's Exposition on Acts 4:6
A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.
Exposition of the Old and New Testament
John Gill (1697–1771) · 18th-century historical commentary
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.
And Annas the high priest, etc.] So called, either because he had been an high priest, though he was not now, but Caiaphas his son-in-law; or because he was the Sagan of the high priest, and had all the other priests under his government; and is mentioned first, because he was father-in-law to Caiaphas; (see Gill on “<420302>Luke 3:2”) he could not be called so, because he was ayçn, “prince”, or president of the council; for not he, but Gamaliel, was president at this time. And Caiaphas; who was properly high priest, and continued so for three years after the death of Christ: and John; who is thought by Dr. Lightfoot to be the same with Jochanan, or John ben Zaccai; a famous Jewish Rabbi, who lived at this time, and until, and after the destruction of Jerusalem: this Rabbi was ˆhk, “a priest” f162 , as this John was, of the kindred of the high priest; he lived also at Jerusalem; for it is said of him f163, that he sat in the shadow of the temple, and expounded all the whole day; and a very remarkable story is told of him, which happened just about this time f164; which is, that “forty years before the destruction of the temple — the doors of the temple opened of themselves, when Rabban Jochanan ben Zaccai reproved them, saying, O temple, temple, wherefore dost thou fright thyself? I know thee, that thine end shall be, to be destroyed; for so prophesied of thee Zechariah, the son of Iddo, (<381101>Zechariah 11:1). “Open thy doors, O Lebanon”, etc.” The chief objection to him, as that learned writer observes, is, that he lived and died a Pharisee, whereas this John seems to have been a Sadducee; (see <440517>Acts 5:17). This puts me in mind of John the high priest, who ministered in the high priesthood fourscore years, and at last became a Sadducee f165: Beza’s ancient copy reads “Jonathan: and Alexander”; whose surname was Lysimachus, and had the title of “Alabarcha”; he was a very rich man f166: after Alexander the great had been at Jerusalem, this name became frequent among the Jews; and it is said f167 to be promised him, and was fulfilled, that every son that was born to the priests that year he entered Jerusalem, should be called Alexander; and therefore it is no wonder to hear of an Alexander among the kindred of the high priest; frequent mention is made of yrdnskla ybr, “Rabbi Alexander”, in the Jewish writings f168: and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest; by whose means they were become members of the sanhedrim: were gathered together at Jerusalem; where the great council only sat, until the destruction of it; it seems by this, that some of the members of it lived in the country; it may be in some of the villages adjacent, where they might be easily and quickly sent for, upon any occasion, as they very likely now were; the Syriac version leaves out the words “at Jerusalem”.
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