“Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you.”
'Brethren and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you' — Paul's opening echoes the formal rhetoric of the Sanhedrin; he positions himself as a legitimate voice within Jewish tradition. The appeal to 'brethren and fathers' invokes familial and patriarchal bonds, situating his address within covenantal community.
Church Fathers on Acts 22:1
He spoke unto them, it says, in the Hebrew tongue, saying, Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defense which I make now unto you. Acts 22:1 Mark his address, at once so free from all flattery, and so expressive of meekness. For he says not, Masters, nor Lords, but, Brethren, just the word they most liked: I am no alien from. you, he says, nor against you. Men, he says, brethren, and fathers: this, a term of honor, that of kindred. Hear ye, says he, my— he says not,…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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