Do therefore this that we say to thee. We have four men, who have a vow on them.
τουτο ουν ποιησον ο σοι λεγομεν εισιν ημιν ανδρες τεσσαρες ευχην εχοντες εφ εαυτων
7 Church Fathers comment on this verse
"Having a vow upon themselves before God." There are many kinds of vows. Some promised sacrifices, others money, others themselves, and still others vowed not to drink wine or cut their hair for a certain number of days. These men belonged to the last group.
The monastic order and rule for those who truly worship God (see Jn 4:23), and for fasters, were established by the apostles after the Lord’s Ascension, as the Evangelist Luke writes in Acts.
“Now the multitude of those who believed in Jerusalem were of one heart and one soul. For, selling their possessions, they had all things in common” (see Acts 4:32), except wives.
Thus Ananias and his wife Sapphira lied about the price and died, because they did not make the money common, but kept back part of the price.
Therefore the apostles bound certain faithful young men from among the people by an oath and by a promise. They entreated them and taught them to live without wives, in purity, voluntary poverty, and obedience, remaining in this until death.
Then many followed their counsel and favorably accepted this honorable work. Thus the apostles established the monastic order, cutting the heads of those young men in Cenchreae for the monastic, unmarried, and pure life.
Saint Paul did the same when he cut the hair of four men, and of Aquila with Priscilla (see Acts 21:23-26 and Acts 18:18).
Having arrived in Jerusalem, Paul went the very next day with his companions to the Apostle James. The presbyters of the Church then gathered to him. All listened with great sympathy to what Paul told them about the working of the Gospel among the Gentiles.
James only observed that there were now several thousand believing Jews in Jerusalem who nevertheless strictly kept the law of Moses.
He added that certain Judaizers, who everywhere tried to present Paul’s actions in the worst light, had spread a rumor among them.
They claimed that Paul not only freed the Gentiles from observing the Mosaic law, but also forbade Jews living among the Gentiles to circumcise their children. They claimed he generally taught them apostasy from the law.
This accusation was unjust if it meant that Paul rejected the outward observance of Judaism in itself. He rejected it only as a means of man’s justification and sanctification.
His chief principle was this: no one should abandon the earthly, national, and civil relations in which he had lived before Christianity, unless there were weighty reasons for doing so.
In accordance with this principle, Paul also allowed Jews to remain with their Jewish institutions. The observance of the law of Moses belonged to these (1 Cor 7:17, 18).
Therefore, in order to refute this accusation by action itself, James proposed that Paul publicly bear witness, through respect for Jewish rites, that he was not an enemy of the Jewish law.
Paul accepted this proposal and resolved, with four brethren from among the Jews, to take upon himself a Nazirite vow for seven days.
Consequently, he subjected himself to the same renunciations required of Nazirites. He announced to the priests of the temple that he would pay for himself and his fellow participants the sum due from them for offering sacrifice to God at the release from the vow.
When the Apostle Paul arrived in Jerusalem, the apostles and the other brethren who were there received him cordially. They glorified God as they listened to his accounts of what God had done through his hands among the Gentiles.
Yet all were troubled by the fear that the Apostle of the Gentiles might suffer insult and violence from the Jews. They had heard of him that he taught Jews living in the Diaspora not to circumcise their children and generally not to live according to the law of Moses.
To dispel this prejudice against Paul among the Jews, and thereby deliver him from the danger threatening him, the Jerusalem presbyters gave Paul counsel. At their head was James, the brother of the Lord according to the flesh.
They advised Paul to take part in a temporary Nazirite vow held by four Christians from among the Jews. They also advised him to take part in the public performance of the rites of this vow in the temple.
But since he had already appeared, it was necessary somehow to refute the false rumor and prove publicly that it was groundless.
For this purpose the assembly advised the Apostle Paul to perform the Nazirite rite. They also advised him to take upon himself the expenses of four other Jewish Christians who had likewise taken a vow.
These men did not have sufficient means to cover all the expenses required in this rite.
“Then all will know that what they have heard about you is not true, but that you yourself also continue to keep the law.”
The danger was truly great. The people, irritated by the unjust oppression of the Romans, were in extreme agitation. They were ready to pour out their discontent on the first person who could arouse their suspicion.
They had to be forestalled. How? James and the presbyters offer him counsel: be purified with four men who have a vow upon themselves.
He is also to pay, in their place, for the sacrifice that, according to the law, they must offer in the temple on the occasion of the completion of their vow.
By this fulfillment of the law, the slander will be exposed. The zealots of the law will be assured that Paul is not an apostate, but one who fulfills the law.
“We have,” and so forth. Therefore these four men were within the Christian community of Jerusalem. That is, they were not Jews only, but Christians from among the Jews.
“Who have a vow upon themselves”: from what follows, namely the cutting of the hair for the removal or completion of the vow, it is clear that this was a voluntary temporary, not lifelong, Nazirite vow.
See the laws concerning it in Num 6. Compare Acts 18:18 and the note.
Thus, as is evident from this, within the Jerusalem Christian community the laws of Moses were observed by Christians. This included even those given to each person’s good will, as laws concerning voluntary vows.
This was not considered inconsistent with the Christian spirit and the Christian life, in faith in Christ Jesus.
The advice given to the Apostle Paul by the zealots of the law was that he should prove his reverence for the ritual law by fulfilling one of its forms. This was the offering of a purifying sacrifice, together with a donation for others for the same purpose.
It was well intentioned, but rather artificial and therefore futile. The time of Pentecost was crowded and consequently rather tense. At this time a very great multitude of Jews had gathered in Jerusalem.
It could be expected that many of Paul’s enemies would also appear there. Because of their malice, no proof from Paul concerning his high respect for the law of Moses could be accepted before them.
His old enemies in Jerusalem had not laid aside their hostility toward him. Therefore no proof by Paul could be favorable for him there.
Not without reason had the Caesarean Christians brought him to the secluded dwelling of Mnason, a Cypriot known to almost no one.
It was not difficult for the Apostle to accept the advice given to him. The purification that he was to perform together with the others was, in general, a good thing.
In particular, it was good that those fulfilling the vow of temporary Nazirite observance had to cut their hair. He himself had done this earlier (see Acts 18:18).
“Hair was a symbol of mortification because, being dead, it does not feel pain. It was customary that those who had taken a vow, after purification, cut their head and, in this state, made offerings for themselves for seven days.”
“Taking upon oneself such expenses for poor Nazirites, in the opinion of the Jews, especially bore witness to zealous reverence for the law on the part of those who undertook it.
The cutting of the hair had to be performed at the temple, and the hair had to be thrown into the fire of the sacrifice.”
“As is evident from this, within the Jerusalem Christian community the laws of Moses were observed by Christians, even those given to each person’s good will as laws concerning voluntary vows.
This was not considered inconsistent with the Christian spirit and with life according to faith in Jesus Christ.”
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 14 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS