“And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.”
They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the young men laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul - the execution is extrajudicial and brutal. 'Dragged him out of the city' follows Jewish law that executions for blasphemy (Leviticus 24:16) happen outside the city boundary. The stoning (lithobolein, pelting with stones) is violent and prolonged. The detail 'the young men laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul' introduces Saul of Tarsus at a pivotal moment: he is the guardian of the executioners' garments, making him complicit in the killing. This moment will haunt Saul and set the stage for his conversion.
Church Fathers on Acts 7:58
stopped their ears. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out of the city, and stoned him. Acts 7:55-58 And yet, if he lied, they ought to have thought him beside…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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