to call in (as a debt or demand) · verb — present passive indicative, 1st person singular
of
ὑπὸhupo
G5259
under · preposition
Jews
Ἰουδαίων,Ioudaiōn
G2453
Judæan · noun — genitive plural masculine, a people name
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Acts 26:1-11
Agrippa was the most honourable person in the assembly, having the title of king bestowed upon him, though otherwise having only the power of other governors under the emperor, and, though not here superior, yet senior, to Festus; and therefore, Festus having opened the cause, Agrippa, as the mouth of the court, intimates to Paul a licence given him to speak for himself, Act 26:1. Paul was silent till he had this liberty allowed him; for those are not the most forward to speak that are best prepared to speak and speak best. This was a favour which the Jews would not allow him, or not without difficulty; but Agrippa freely gives it to him. And Paul's cause was so good that he desired no more…
I think myself happy - As if he had said, This is a peculiarly fortunate circumstance in my favor, that I am called to make my defense before a judge so intelligent, and so well acquainted with the laws and customs of our country. It may be necessary just to observe that this Agrippa was king of Trachonitis, a region which lay on the north of Palestine, on the east side of Jordan, and south of Damascus. For his possessions, see on Act 25:13 (note).
John Gill on Acts 26:2
I think myself happy, King Agrippa,.... This was an handsome and artificial way of introducing his defense, and of gaining the affection and attention of the king, and yet was not a mere compliment; for it had been his unhappiness hitherto, that his case was not understood; neither Lysias the chief captain, nor the governors Felix and Festus, knew anything of the rites and customs of the Jews, and could not tell what to make of the questions of their law, of which Paul was accused: but it was otherwise with Agrippa, he was master of them, and this the apostle looked upon as a circumstance in his own favour:
because I shall answer for myself this day before thee; not before him as a judge, f…
Again he is ready to render an account, and that, before the man who was the best informed on the subject; and with much boldness, seeing they were not his judges to condemn him: but still, though they were not his judges, since that declaration was in force, "Unto Caesar shall thou go," he renders an account and gives full answers, "touching all the things," and not merely on one and another here and there.
Of all the things I am accused of by the Jews, King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate before you, since you are to defend me today. Another Edition translated this verse thusly: I consider myself fortunate, starting today to render a defense before you. Which in a certain place, Saint Jerome placed with his exposition thus: "Of all the things I am accused of by the Jews, O King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate, since before you I am to be defended today, who especially know all the customs and questions among the Jews. For he had read that in Isaiah: Blessed is he who speaks into the ears of a listener, and knew that the words of an oration profit as much as the judge's prudence has understood."
"Then Paul stretched forth the hand, and answered for himself. I think myself happy, king Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before thee touching all the things whereof I am accused of the Jews. Especially because I know thee to be expert in all questions which are among the Jews: wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently." And yet, had he been conscious of guilt, he should have feared at being tried in the presence of one who knew all the facts: but this is a mark of a clear conscience, not to shrink from a judge who has an accurate knowledge of the circumstances, but even to rejoice, and to call himself happy. "I beseech thee," he says, "to hear me patiently." Since he is about to lengthen out his speech, and to say something about himself, on this account, he premises an entreaty.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Agrippa II. — Son of the foregoing, was born at Rome, A.D. 27. He was the brother of Bernice and Drusilla. The Emperor Claudius (A.D. 48) invested him with the office of superintendent of the Temple of Jerusalem,…
Call — (1.) To cry for help, hence to pray (Gen. 4:26). Thus men are said to “call upon the name of the Lord” (Acts 2:21; 7:59; 9:14; Rom. 10:12; 1 Cor. 1:2). (2.) God calls with respect to men when he…
Herod Arippa II. — The son of Herod Agrippa I. and Cypros. The emperor Claudius made him tetrarch of the provinces of Philip and Lysanias, with the title of king (Acts 25:13; 26:2, 7). He enlarged the city of Caesarea…
Defense · Of PaulAc 22; — Of PaulAc 22;
Flattery · .By Herod Agrippa II — .By Herod Agrippa II
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Acts 26:1-8
1. And Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to answer for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth his hand, and answered for himself: 2. I think myself happy, O king Agrippa, because I shall answer this day before thee of all the things whereof I am accused of the Jews; 3. Seeing thou art most expert in all those customs and questions which are among the Jews: wherefore I beseech thee hear me patiently. 4. My life which I have led from my youth, which was at the first in mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews; 5. Who knew me before since the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most strait sect of our religion 1 lived a Pharisee. 6. And now I stand subject…
In his eloquent defense before King Agrippa, Paul argued that his preaching was completely consistent with the Jewish faith. The defense begins with a courteous acknowledgement of Agrippa’s competence to hear the evidence (26:2-3), outlines the nature of Paul’s background, Jewish training, and membership in the Pharisees (26:4-5), and explains that the charges against him are merely for believing the fulfillment of Jewish hopes for the resurrection (26:6-8). Paul then tells the story of his conversion from strong opponent of Christianity (26:9-11) through a vision on the way to Damascus (26:12-18; see 9:1-18). His preaching was nothing more than obeying this divine vision (26:19-20). Even th…
