Asia is used in Acts to mean only the Roman province of Asia, which was in the western part of Asia Minor. Its capital and largest city was Ephesus. In this city was a temple, so great and beautiful that it was one of the wonders of the ancient world. The image in the temple, however, was not splendid or beautiful. It was a rude, ugly wooden figure, but so highly regarded that the people believed it had actually fallen down from heaven, as the town clerk said in his speech to the people in the theater. The great city is gone now, but ruins of the temple and the large theater are still to be seen.
Aegean Sea. Paul sailed back and forth over this sea several times, so that its coasts in many parts must have become very familiar to him. There is more story connected with its waters than with those of any other sea in the world. Across it the Greeks sailed, in the stories of Homer, to the siege of Troy. The Phoenicians traded in its coasts and islands when Greek civilization was beginning to grow. The famous stories of Greek poetry were all laid on or near its shores. Every famous man of Greece had sailed its waters. Later came the Roman navies, carrying the armies which conquered the world; and now, in the New Testament period, came little groups of men, hiring their passage as best they could in the ships that were continually passing to and fro. The busy merchants and soldiers never stopped to look at them, and if they had, would have cared nothing for them, but these obscure travelers were bearing with them the future religion of Europe and America and the ends of the earth. It is not always the greatest thing that attracts the most attention.
Tentmaking. The Jews taught all their children some trade. No matter how much they desired them to become learned in the law, they saw to it first that they could earn their bread by the skill of their hands. Paul was a tentmaker, and very glad he, the learned rabbi, must have been, more than once, that he could earn his own living by manual work, and be free to use his learning as God gave him opportunity.
Paul's routes of travel were usually along the established lines of commerce. In his last journey to Jerusalem he followed the [{497}] coasting route from Macedonia to Rhodes, then a route to Phoenicia common for many hundreds of years. Other routes on the Aegean were from Ephesus to Athens; from Troas to Italy, from Ephesus to Italy; from Thessalonica to Athens, and thence to Italy; from Athens to Troas and the Euxine (Black Sea).
Ancient ships. The ship on which Paul sailed, and which was wrecked on the island of Malta, carried 276 persons besides her cargo of grain. She was perhaps 180 feet long and 1,000 tons burden, not large compared with the modern steamship, but still of good size even by our standards. She was about equal perhaps in general dimensions and tonnage to the merchantmen which made the voyage to India in the "fifties." She had no oars like the ancient ships of war, but depended upon one mast and a huge sail. Possibly more than one sail was raised in light wind, on the mast, and perhaps another small sail, something like the modern jib, was raised at the bow. She was steered by two paddle-like rudders which were thrust through openings in the stern. The single heavy mast and huge sail brought a great strain on the ship's timbers, which were not so well put together as now, and great danger arose from leaking in a heavy blow. The cables which were passed around the vessel were intended to draw the planks together and lessen the leak.
Felix. A Roman of perhaps somewhat humble origin, governor of Judea. His wife Drusilla was of Herod's family (see the Table of the Family of Herod). He was not a man of any great ability or character, and his violence against the Jews aroused yet further troubles, until the whole nation was in commotion. Nothing is known of his history after his governorship.
Festus. A Roman, perhaps of better character and more ability than Felix. He died after being governor for some years.
Agrippa II. (See Table of the Family of Herod.) He was tetrarch of the regions in the north of Palestine, with his capital at Caesarea Philippi. He was interested, as Paul suggests, in [{498}] Jewish matters, finished building the temple, and tried in vain to keep peace between the Jews and Romans. He died about 100 A.D., the last important member of the family of Herod.
"I appeal to Caesar." This was one of the most important privileges of a Roman citizen. It took the case at once out of the jurisdiction of the local authorities and transferred it to Rome. Unless the appeal was made by a bandit or pirate it could not be denied.