When the officer gave him leave, Paul, standing on the stairs, beckoned with the hand unto the people; and when they were all silent, he spoke unto them in the Hebrew language, saying, "Brethren and fathers, hear ye the defense which I now make unto you."
CITY OF SALONICA
Copyright by Underwood & Underwood and used by special permission.
This is the city known in Paul's time as Thessalonica, which has come into such prominence during the great European war (1916).
The apostolic city at which we are now arrived was known in the earliest periods of its history under various names. Under that of Therma it is associated with some interesting recollections. It was the resting place of Xerxes on his march; it is not unmentioned in the Peloponnesian war; and it was a frequent subject of debate in the last independent assemblies of Athens. When the Macedonian power began to overshadow all the countries where Greek was spoken, this city received its new name, and began a new and more distinguished period of its history. A sister of Alexander the Great was called Thessalonica, and her name was given to the city of Therma, when rebuilt and embellished by her husband, Cassander, the son of Antipater. This name, under a form slightly modified, has continued to the present day. The "Salneck" of the early German poets has become the Saloniki of the modern Levant. Its history can be followed as continuously as its name. When Macedonia was partitioned into four provincial divisions by Paulus Emilius, Thessalonica was the capital of that which lay between the Axius and the Strymon. When the four regions were united into one Roman province, this city was chosen as the metropolis of the whole. Its name appears more than once in the annals of the Civil wars. It was the scene of the exile of Cicero, and one of the stages of his journey between Rome and his province in the East. Antony and Octavius were here after the battle of Philippi; and coins are still extant which allude to the "freedom" granted by the victorious leaders to the city of the Thermaic gulf. Strabo, in the first century, speaks of Thessalonica as the most populous town in Macedonia. Lucian, in the second century, uses similar language. Before the founding of Constantinople, it was virtually the capital of Greece and Illyricum, as well as of Macedonia, and shared the trade of the Aegean with Ephesus and Corinth. Even after Constantinople was built and reigned over the Levant we find both pagan and Christian writers speaking of Thessalonica as the metropolis of Macedonia and a place of great magnitude.
And when they heard that he spoke unto them in the Hebrew language, they were the more quiet: and he saith,--
"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, even as ye all are this day: and I persecuted this Way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and journeyed to Damascus, to bring them also who were there unto Jerusalem in bonds, to be punished. And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and drew nigh unto Damascus, about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. And I fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, 'Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?' And I answered, 'Who art thou, Lord?' And he said unto me, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.' And those who were with me beheld indeed the light, but they heard not the voice of him that spoke to me. And I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said unto me, 'Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.' And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus. And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well reported of by all the Jews that dwelt there, came unto me, [{438}] and standing by me said unto me, 'Brother Saul, receive thy sight.' And in that very hour I looked up and saw him. And he said, 'The God of our fathers hath appointed thee to know his will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice from his mouth. For thou shalt be a witness for him unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on his name.' And it came to pass, that, when I had returned to Jerusalem, and while I prayed in the temple, I fell into a trance, and saw him saying unto me, 'Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: because they will not receive of thee testimony concerning me.'