Acts 18:22

22 And when he had landed at Caesarea and gone up to Jerusalem and after greeting the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones}, he went down to Antioch.

Acts 18:22 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 18:22

And when he had landed at Caesarea
This was Caesarea Stratonis, formerly called Strato's tower: it would have been nearest for the apostle to have landed at Joppa, in order to go to Jerusalem, but that haven was a dangerous one; this was the safest, and which therefore Herod had repaired at a vast expense, and in honour of Caesar had called it by this name: of the port at Caesarea, and what a convenient and commodious one, as it was made by Herod, Josephus ^F9 gives a particular account, and who often calls this place Caesarea, (paraliov) , "Caesarea by the sea" ^F11; and in other Jewish ^F12 writings mention is made of this place as a sea port, and of (Nyroyqd amyd atnwv) , "the shore of the sea of Caesarea": Josephus ^F13 sometimes calls it the port Sebastus, or Augustus, it being, as before observed, made by Herod, and so called in honour of Augustus Caesar; and in another place ^F14, Sebastus the port of Caesarea: according to Jerom ^F15, or a writer under his name, this was neither Caesarea Philippi, which indeed it could not be, that being an inland town; nor Caesarea formerly called Strato's tower, but a third Caesarea, the metropolis of Cappadocia: in which he must be mistaken, seeing that was no sea port, and the apostle could not be said to land there; nor did it lie in the way to Jerusalem from Ephesus; but this city was in Phenice, and lay between Joppa and Dora; which cities were maritime ones, but very disagreeable havens, because of the vehement strong winds from Africa: which rolling up the sand out of the sea upon the shore, would not admit of a quiet station ^F16; wherefore the apostle chose to land here, and not at either of the said ports;

and gone up;
not to Caesarea, but to Jerusalem, from thence, which lay higher; and going to and from these places, is signified by a going up and down, ( Acts 9:30 ) ( 25:1 ) . Moreover, the apostle had told the Ephesians, that he must go and keep the feast in Jerusalem, as he undoubtedly did: and yet if this does not refer to his going up thither, it will not be easy to observe that he went thither at all before his return to Ephesus; and besides, to suppose him to go from Caesarea to Antioch, was all one as to go back to Ephesus; and so to go, as one observes, by the same place to Jerusalem, into which he promised, in his return from Jerusalem, to come again, if God would:

and saluted the church;
at Jerusalem, the mother church:

he went down to Antioch;
in Syria, from whence he first set out.

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FOOTNOTES:

F9 Antiqu. l. 15. c. 9. sect. 6. & de Bello Jud. l. 1. c. 21. sect. 5, 6, 7.
F11 Ib. de Bello l. 1. c. 3. sect. 5. & l. 3. c. 8. sect. 1. & l. 7. c. 1. sect. 3. c. 2. sect. 1.
F12 Midrash Kohelet, fol. 71. 4. & 82. 2.
F13 Antiqu. l. 17. c. 5. sect. 1.
F14 De Bello Jud. l. 1. c. 31. sect. 3.
F15 De locis Hebraicis, fol. 96. A.
F16 Joseph. Antiqu. l. 15. c. 9. sect. 6.

Acts 18:22 In-Context

20 When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not,

21 but bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that comes in Jerusalem, but I will return again unto you, if God wills. And he sailed from Ephesus.

22 And when he had landed at Caesarea and gone up to Jerusalem and after greeting the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones}, he went down to Antioch.

23 And after he had spent some time there, he departed and went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, confirming all the disciples.

24 And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.