3rd Missionary Trip - Lorin

to Christian communities at Ephesus (Acts 18:24-28; 1 Cor. 16:12); Corinth (Acts 19:1; 1 Cor. 1:12; 3:4-6, 22;
4:6); and Cyprus (Tit. 3:13). The version of his name used by Luke, Ἀπολλῶς, is a shortened form for Ἀπολλώνιος
(used here in Codex D), Ἀπολλόδωρος, or Ἀπολλωνίδης.
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Named for the Greek god Apollo, this Hellenistic Jew from Alexandria in Egypt had become a Christian
prior to coming to Ephesus. Luke introduces him in standard fashion (compare that of Cornelius in Acts
10:1-2), realizing that his readership may not know about him. Befitting his Diaspora Hellenistic background in
Alexandria, 13 he is a ἀνὴρ λόγιος, an eloquent man. 14 That is, he was a gifted communicator within the framework
of ancient Greek rhetoric. A possible alternative meaning is simply that he was well educated. Second, he was
δυνατὸς ὢν ἐν ταῖς γραφαῖς, well-versed in the scriptures. Thus, Apollos knew the OT well and could effectively
interpret it to make his points. Exactly what kind of training is implied by these two traits is not specified by Luke.
The Alexandrian Jewish heritage would have given him among the best possible educations in both the Greek
and the Jewish heritages.
Less clear is the third quality mentioned by Luke in v. 25a: οὗτος ἦν κατηχημένος τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ κυρίου, this
one had been instructed in the way of the Lord. The most natural meaning of the phrase is that Apollos had received
instruction about following Jesus. But this assumes that the expression τοῦ κυρίου refers to Christ. 15 It could refer
to God and thus signal Jewish religious instruction, but it is unlikely. Assuming Christian instruction here, the
question of where and how much instruction Apollos had received arises. Codex D from the fifth century reads
instead ἐν τῇ πατρίδι τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ, at his homeland the word of God, to the phrase indicating the copyist’s
belief that Apollos received his Christian instruction in Alexandria. But there is no clear indication from existing
ancient sources that Christianity had reached Alexandria Egypt by the mid-first century. How much instruction
is not made clear by Luke; he only indicates the main deficiency of his understanding was ἐπιστάμενος μόνον
τὸ βάπτισμα Ἰωάννου, although only understanding the baptism of John. Even here we are provided only minimum
insight, since evidently his gap in understanding did not necessitate a ‘Christian’ baptism as will be the case described
in 19:1-7 regarding some others when Paul arrives in the city. 16
because Apollos did not want to encourage the continuance of that little group (1 Cor 16:12).”
[Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988), 130.]
12Arndt, William, Frederick W. Danker and Walter Bauer. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early
Christian Literature. 3rd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.
13 “Ἀλεξανδρεύς, έως, ὁ an Alexandrian (Plut., Pomp. 645 [49, 6]; SEG XXXVIII, 219, 2; OGI index II; 3 Macc 2:30; 3:21;
Philo, Joseph., SibOr; s. Preis. III 264 s.v.) of Apollos Ac 18:24 (on Jews as Ἀ. s. Jos., C. Ap. 2, 38, as in pap CPJ I p. 4). συναγωγὴ Ἀ.
(Schürer II 76; 428, 445; III 92–94; 127–29) 6:9.” [William Arndt, Frederick W. Danker and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of
the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 41-42.]
14 “Apollos then was a Jew: also Ἀλεξανξδρεὺς τῷ γένει (D has γένει Ἀλεξ., another of those variants that can have arisen only
out of the belief that the precise wording of the original did not matter so long as the sense was given). As in 18:2 the word γένος cannot
refer to race; it must refer to place of origin and thus of political association. Little can be made of the reference to Alexandria, of
which Acts tells us nothing except in a variant reading in v. 25. Philo was not a representative Alexandrian Jew, and it should not be
assumed that Apollos must have been a philosopher and allegorist. If he was instructed in Christianity in his native city (see v. 25) we
can say nothing about the kind of Christianity he must have learnt. Ehrhardt (Acts 101, 102) thinks that Alexandria is represented here
as heterodox. ‘Alexandria had rejected the Jerusalem influence, which the Church at Antioch had accepted.’ This view, like every other
about Christianity in Alexandria in the first century, is a guess, and has no serious foundation. Luke does state that Apollos was ἀνὴρ
λόγιος. The adjective may mean eloquent or learned; it is fruitless to inquire which is intended, since in the Hellenistic world education
was to a great extent training in rhetoric. Phrynichus disapproved of the former rendering (Λόγιος· ὡς οἱ πολλοὶ λέγουσιν ἐπὶ τοῦ δεινοῦ
εἰπεῖν … οὐ τιθέασιν οἱ ἀρχαῖοι … (176; Rutherford 284)). But the early translations have eloquent (e.g. vg, eloquens; d gig, disertus).
See Foerster (Weltreich 102f.).” [C. K. Barrett, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles, International Critical
Commentary (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2004), 887.]
15 “Does this mean he was thoroughly acquainted with the gospel, the way of those who belong to the Lord? Or does it refer to
the teaching of the earthly Jesus, the way that he taught?” [John B. Polhill, vol. 26, Acts, The New American Commentary (Nashville:
Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1995), 396.]
16For the speculation that Apollos belonged to some marginal Christian group bordering on heresy is nonsensical speculation
by some commentators.
The questions that arise out of the text are clear, and increase as we proceed. Was Apollos a Christian? If he was, how
had he escaped baptism? Why was he not baptized now (v. 26)? Weiser’s explanation is inadequate; no amount of instruction
could confer baptism. If he already knew so much, why was he further, ἀκριβέστερον, instructed? Can an earlier form of the
story be traced? Many answers have been given. Apollos was a Jewish Christian (Weiser 507). ‘Ap. war also gewissermassen
jüdischer “Jesus-anhänger” aber noch nicht Christ’ (Schneider 2:226; cf. Schmithals 172). Unfavourable details have been
added to the picture of Apollos in order to depreciate him (Käsemann). Baptism was introduced by Hellenistic Christians rather
than by the original Jerusalem disciples (Begs. 4:231). These suggestions should be borne in mind, though none is entirely
satisfactory.