Acts 22:9

And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(9) They heard not the voice . . .—i.e., they did not hear it as a voice uttering articulate words. It was for them as though it thundered. (See Notes on Acts 9:7, and John 12:29.)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

22:1-11 The apostle addressed the enraged multitude, in the customary style of respect and good-will. Paul relates the history of his early life very particularly; he notices that his conversion was wholly the act of God. Condemned sinners are struck blind by the power of darkness, and it is a lasting blindness, like that of the unbelieving Jews. Convinced sinners are struck blind as Paul was, not by darkness, but by light. They are for a time brought to be at a loss within themselves, but it is in order to their being enlightened. A simple relation of the Lord's dealings with us, in bringing us, from opposing, to profess and promote his gospel, when delivered in a right spirit and manner, will sometimes make more impression that laboured speeches, even though it amounts not to the full proof of the truth, such as was shown in the change wrought in the apostle.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See the notes on Acts 9:3-7.

Acts 22:6

As I made my journey - As I was on my journey.

About noon - Acts 26:13, "at mid-day." This circumstance is omitted by Luke in his account in Acts 9:Paul mentions it as being the more remarkable since it occurred at mid-day, to show that he was not deluded by any meteoric or natural appearances, which usually occur at night.

Acts 22:11

The glory of that light - The splendor, the intense brilliancy of the light. See this and its effects explained in the notes on Acts 9:8.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

9-11. they that were with me—(See on [2096]Ac 9:7, &c.)

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Of this; See Poole on "Acts 9:7". This may be added to what was formerly said, that the men who travelled with Paul may be said not to have heard the voice of him that spake, because they did not understand it, or obey it; they were not converted, as Paul was, by it; the Hebrew language putting hearing for obeying, as in many scriptures; and both St. Paul, who here spake, and Luke, who penned this history, understood exactly the proprieties of that tongue.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And they that were with me saw indeed the light,.... For it shone about them, as well as Saul:

and were afraid; the Alexandrian copy, the Vulgate Latin, and Syriac versions, have not this clause; but it stands in the Arabic and Ethiopic versions; the suddenness, greatness, and extraordinariness of the light surprised them, for it was even miraculous:

but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me: they heard the voice of Saul, but not the voice of Christ; at least they did not hear it so as to understand it; See Gill on Acts 9:7.

Geneva Study Bible

And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

9. and were afraid] These words are omitted in the oldest MSS. and have been left out in the Rev. Ver. But they are not like anything in the other two accounts, the one of which (Acts 9:7) describes Saul’s companions as being “speechless,” the other (Acts 26:14) as “all falling to the ground.” Therefore it seems best to retain them, as not being due to any annotation, or to the assimilation of one form of the story to another. The last three letters of this phrase are the same as those of the phrase preceding it, and the eye of a scribe in early times may have passed from one to the other, and thus words belonging to the earliest form of the narrative may have been omitted.

heard not the voice] i.e. the words which were spoken to Saul. They were only conscious of a sound around them. See above on Acts 22:7.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 9. - Beheld for saw, A.V. Beheld indeed the light [and were afraid, A.V.]. This corresponds with the statement in Acts 9:7, that the men who journeyed with Saul "stood speechless." They were dazzled and amazed at the sudden brightness. But they heard not the voice. This at first sight seems inconsistent with the statement in Acts 9:7, "hearing the voice." But the apparent inconsistency disappears when we observe that here St. Paul wished to impress upon his hearers that, though his companions had seen the light, they had not heard the words which were addressed to him by the Lord Jesus (see ver. 14); whereas St. Luke, in the narrative in Acts 9, wished rather to insist upon the fact that though the men had seen the light and heard the sound of the voice, they had not seen Jesus. To see and hear the risen Christ was a privilege given to St. Paul alone. Acts 22:9

Vincent's Word Studies

Heard not (οὐκ ἤκουσαν)

The verb is to be taken in the sense of understood, as Mark 4:33; 1 Corinthians 14:2, which explains the apparent discrepancy with Acts 9:7.