and after taking some food
This phrase marks a significant turning point in Saul's physical and spiritual journey. The Greek word for "food" here is "trophē," which implies nourishment necessary for life. Saul, having been blinded and fasting for three days (Acts 9:9), is now partaking in sustenance, symbolizing not only the restoration of his physical strength but also the beginning of his new life in Christ. This act of eating can be seen as a metaphor for spiritual nourishment, as Saul is about to embark on a mission that requires both physical and spiritual vigor.

he regained his strength
The Greek word for "strength" is "ischys," which denotes power and might. Saul's regaining of strength is not merely a return to physical health but also an empowerment for the mission God has set before him. This moment signifies the restoration and preparation of Saul for his future role as Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles. It is a reminder that God equips those He calls, providing them with the necessary strength to fulfill His purposes.

And he spent several days
The phrase "several days" indicates a period of time that Saul spent in fellowship and learning. The Greek word "hēmera" for "days" suggests a time of preparation and transition. This period was crucial for Saul, as he was being integrated into the community of believers and receiving instruction and encouragement. It highlights the importance of community and discipleship in the Christian faith, where new believers are nurtured and equipped for service.

with the disciples
The term "disciples" refers to the followers of Jesus in Damascus. The Greek word "mathētēs" means a learner or pupil. Saul's association with the disciples marks his acceptance into the Christian community, despite his past as a persecutor of the church. This acceptance is a testament to the transformative power of God's grace and the unity of believers in Christ. It underscores the theme of reconciliation and the breaking down of barriers within the body of Christ.

in Damascus
Damascus, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, serves as the backdrop for Saul's conversion and early Christian experience. Historically, Damascus was a significant cultural and commercial center, and its mention here emphasizes the spread of the Gospel beyond Jerusalem. Saul's presence in Damascus is symbolic of the Gospel's reach to the Gentiles and the fulfillment of God's plan to make His name known among all nations. This setting foreshadows Saul's future missionary journeys and the expansion of the early church.

(19) And when he had received meat.--Better, as elsewhere, food. The three days' fast had obviously brought about a state of extreme prostration. In St. Paul's account of his conversion in Galatians 1:17, he states that when it pleased God to reveal His Son in him, immediately he "conferred not with flesh, and blood," but went into Arabia and returned again to Damascus. We have, it is obvious, no certain data for fixing the time, nor the extent of that journey. St. Luke does not mention it, and his "straightway" balances the "immediately" of St. Paul's account. On the whole. it seems most probable that it was the first step taken by him after he had regained his sight and been baptised. Physically, rest and seclusion would be necessary during the period of convalescence after the great crisis of his conversion. Spiritually, that solitude was needed, we may believe, to prepare him for the continuous labour of the three years that followed. I place the journey to Arabia accordingly, with hardly any hesitation, after the "certain days" of fellowship with the disciples, and his reception at their solemn meeting to break bread in the Supper of the Lord, and before the "preaching Christ" in the synagogues. How far the journey extended we cannot say. "Arabia" was used somewhat vaguely as a geographical term; but the fact that Damascus was at this time occupied by the troops of Aretas, the king of Arabia Petraea, makes it probable that he went to that region. In St. Paul's paronomastic reference to Hagar as a synonym for Mount Sinai in Arabia (Hagar and Sinai both admitting of an etymology which gives "rock" as the meaning of each), we may, perhaps, trace a local knowledge gained during this journey, and draw the inference that he had sought communion with God where Moses and Elijah had found it, on the heights of Sinai and Horeb. (Comp. Galatians 4:25.) He learnt, it may be, the true meaning and purpose of the Law, as arousing the fear of judgment, amid the terrors of the very rocks from which that Law had first been proclaimed to Israel.

Verse 19. - He took food and for when he had received meat he, A.V.; and he was for then was Saul, A.V. and T.R. Some commentators would interpose the journey to Arabia (mentioned Galatians 1:17) between vers. 19 and 20; and this seems to be the intention of the A.V., where the clause commencing with Then (ver. 19) seems to wind up and close the preceding narrative. This too is the view strongly supported by Canon Farrar, vol. 1. Acts 11, and by Lewin. Alford places the journey to Arabia in the time comprised in ver. 22; others before ver. 22; Neander, Meyer, and others, in the time comprised in the "many days" of ver. 23. And this last is undoubtedly the easiest, were it not for the considerations urged by Farrar with great force as to the probability of St. Paul seeking a period of retirement after his conversion before commencing any public preaching, and the further countenance given to this view by Galatians 1:17, where St. Paul certainly says of himself that εὐθέως, immediately, after his conversion he "went away to Arabia." Taking all things into consideration, and supposing that either Luke was not aware of the sojourn in Arabia, or that he omitted from his notes some brief notice of it immediately preceding the description of Saul's preaching in Damascus, which explained the following εὐθέως, it seems best to understand the latter part of ver. 19 and all that follows as subsequent to his return from Arabia; and to conclude that he only stayed at Damascus ἡμέρας τίνας, a few days, after his conversion, and then retired to Arabia. It may be observed, too, that this interpretation gives a significance to the mention of the "certain days" which otherwise it has not. There is a further difference of opinion as to what is meant by Arabia. The most common view is that Auranitis, bordering upon Arabia Deserts, and reckoned as part of Arabia, not above two days' journey from Damascus, is the country meant. But others understand it in its more strictly Hebrew sense of the Peninsula of Sinai (Farrar, vol. 1. p. 212, and Exeursus 9; Dean Howson on Galatians in 'Speaker's Commentary;' Bishop Lightfoot on Galatians 1:17). This view is decidedly strengthened by the fact that, in the fourth chapter of the Epistle to the Galatians, St. Paul clearly means by Arabia the Peninsula of Arabia, where Sinai was (Galatians 4:25). On the assumption that the Sinaitic Peninsula is meant, Bishop Lightfoot says, "He was attracted thither by a spirit akin to that which formerly had driven Elijah to the same region. Standing on the threshold of the new covenant, he was anxious to look upon the birthplace of the old; that, dwelling for a while in seclusion in the presence of the mount that burned with fire, he might ponder over the transient glories of the ministration of death, and apprehend its real purpose in relation to the more glorious covenant which was now to supplant it." His journey to Arabia need not necessarily have occupied more than two or three mouths. It seems certain that he did not preach there, because he says (Acts 26:20), "I declared to them at Damascus first," etc. (see another coincidence between the Acts and the Epistle to the Galatians in Acts 13:2, note).

Parallel Commentaries ...


and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

after taking
λαβὼν (labōn)
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2983: (a) I receive, get, (b) I take, lay hold of.

[some] food,
τροφὴν (trophēn)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 5160: Food, nourishment, maintenance. From trepho; nourishment; by implication, rations.

he regained his strength.
ἐνίσχυσεν (enischysen)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1765: To invigorate, strengthen. From en and ischuo; to invigorate.

And
δὲ (de)
Conjunction
Strong's 1161: A primary particle; but, and, etc.

he spent
Ἐγένετο (Egeneto)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1096: A prolongation and middle voice form of a primary verb; to cause to be, i.e. to become, used with great latitude.

several
τινὰς (tinas)
Interrogative / Indefinite Pronoun - Accusative Feminine Plural
Strong's 5100: Any one, some one, a certain one or thing. An enclitic indefinite pronoun; some or any person or object.

days
ἡμέρας (hēmeras)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Plural
Strong's 2250: A day, the period from sunrise to sunset.

with
μετὰ (meta)
Preposition
Strong's 3326: (a) gen: with, in company with, (b) acc: (1) behind, beyond, after, of place, (2) after, of time, with nouns, neut. of adjectives.

the
τῶν (tōn)
Article - Genitive Masculine Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

disciples
μαθητῶν (mathētōn)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Plural
Strong's 3101: A learner, disciple, pupil. From manthano; a learner, i.e. Pupil.

in
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

Damascus.
Δαμασκῷ (Damaskō)
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 1154: Damascus. Of Hebrew origin; Damascus, a city of Syria.


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NT Apostles: Acts 9:19 He took food and was strengthened (Acts of the Apostles Ac)