Acts 9:2

And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
desired	ᾐτήσατο ētēsato	G154	to ask (in genitive case) · verb — aorist middle indicative, 3rd person singular
of	παρ᾽ par᾽	G3844	properly · preposition
him	αὐτοῦ autou	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
letters	ἐπιστολὰς epistolas	G1992	a written message · noun — accusative plural feminine
to	εἰς eis	G1519	to or into (indicating the point reached or entered) · preposition
Damascus	Δαμασκὸν Damaskon	G1154	Damascus · noun — accusative singular feminine, a place
to	πρὸς pros	G4314	a preposition of direction · preposition
synagogues	συναγωγάς, sunagōgas	G4864	an assemblage of persons · noun — accusative plural feminine
that	ὅπως hopōs	G3704	what(-ever) how · conjunction
if	ἐάν ean	G1437	a conditional particle · conditional particle
found	εὕρῃ heurē	G2147	to find (literally or figuratively) · verb — second aorist active subjunctive, 3rd person singular
any	τινας tinas	G5100	some or any person or object · indefinite pronoun — accusative plural masculine
way	ὁδοῦ hodou	G3598	a road · noun — genitive singular feminine
whether	τε te	G5037	both or also (properly · conjunction
were	ὤν ṓn	G5607	being
men	ἄνδρας andras	G435	a man (properly as an individual male) · noun — accusative plural masculine
or	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
women	γυναῖκας, gunaikas	G1135	a woman · noun — accusative plural feminine
bring	ἀγάγῃ agagē	G71	properly · verb — second aorist active subjunctive, 3rd person singular
bound	δεδεμένους dedemenous	G1210	to bind (in various applications · verb — perfect passive participle, accusative plural masculine
unto	εἰς eis	G1519	to or into (indicating the point reached or entered) · preposition
Jerusalem	Ἰερουσαλήμ. Ierousalēm	G2419	Hierusalem (i.e. Jerushalem) · noun — accusative singular feminine, a place

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).

Cross-references

Acts 19:9 But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the d…
Acts 19:23 And the same time there arose no small stir about that way.
Acts 24:14 But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are…
Acts 22:4-5 And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.
Acts 24:22 And when Felix heard these things, having more perfect knowledge of that way, he deferred them, and said, When Lysias the chief captain shal…
Acts 9:14 And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.
Acts 18:25 This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, know…
Esther 3:8-13 And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy ki…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 9:1-9

We found mention made of Saul twice or thrice in the story of Stephen, for the sacred penman longed to come to his story; and now we are come to it, not quite taking leave of Peter but from henceforward being mostly taken up with Paul the apostle of the Gentiles, as Peter was of the circumcision. His name in Hebrew was Saul - desired, though as remarkably little in stature as his namesake king Saul was tall and stately; one of the ancients calls him, Homo tricubitalis - but four feet and a half in height; his Roman name which he went by among the citizens of Rome was Paul - little. He was born in Tarsus, a city of Cilicia, a free city of the Romans, and himself a freeman of that city. His fa…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 9:2

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).

Adam Clarke on Acts 9:2

Letters to Damascus to the synagogues - Damascus, anciently called דמסק Damask, and דרמסק Darmask, was once the metropolis of all Syria. It was situated at fifty miles' distance from the sea; from which it is separated by lofty mountains. It is washed by two rivers, Amara or Abara, which ran through it, and Pharpar, called by the Greeks Chrysorrhoas, the golden stream, which ran on the outside of its walls. It is one of the most ancient cities in the world, for it existed in the time of Abraham, Gen 14:15; and how long before is not known. The city of Damascus is at present a place of considerable trade, owing to its being the rendezvous for all the pilgrims from the north of Asia, on their…

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The Church Fathers

He warned us, to be sure, at that time (for elsewhere our Discipline is called "the Way" ), that when, set in "the way" of prayer, we go not unto "the Father" with anger.
— Tertullian, On Prayer

They called it the Way, the faith toward Christ our true God, which the apostles proclaimed; and rightly so. For through it we enter into the kingdom of the heavens, and not by any other. But in a truer sense one must hear the civic way, as in Isaiah: "Why have they deceived us from your way?" (Isa. 63:17) that is, the conduct according to you. Therefore here he called the Way the civic conduct according to Christ. And in other places where he mentions the Way, he means the proclamation according to Christ and the conduct according to him. Perhaps also they called them so to mock and vilify them. For they are accustomed to call a worthless man a man of the way. He did not seek authority there to punish them, but to lead them to Jerusalem, because with greater authority he wished to act in these matters.
— Oecumenius, Commentary on Acts

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

Damascus — Activity, the most ancient of Oriental cities; the capital of Syria (Isa. 7:8; 17:3); situated about 133 miles to the north of Jerusalem. Its modern name is Esh-Sham; i.e., “the East.” The situation…
Sanhedrin — (from the Greek sunedrion, “a council-chamber” commonly but in correctly Sanhedrim), the supreme council of the Jewish people in the time of Christ and earlier.
Arrest · Paul authorized to arrest Christians — Paul authorized to arrest Christians
Extradition · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Paul · of Christians — of Christians
Pharisees, The · Character of: Cruel in persecuting — Character of: Cruel in persecuting
Synagogue · .Constitutes a court of justice — .Constitutes a court of justice
Synagogues · Often used as courts of justice — Often used as courts of justice
Way · .Doctrines taught by Christ — .Doctrines taught by Christ

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 9:2

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 9:1-9

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 9:2

Adam Clarke on Acts 9:2

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Acts 9:2

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 9:1-9

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 9:2

Adam Clarke on Acts 9:2

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Acts 9:2

John Calvin on Acts 9:1-5

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Acts 9:2