Vote
Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament [1]
In his defence before Agrippa, St. Paul said ‘when they were put to death, I gave my voice (ψῆφος, Revised Version‘vote’) against them’ ( Acts 26:10). In Greek judicial procedure, pebbles (ψῆφοι) were used-black for condemnation, and white for acquittal (A. O. Seyffert’s Dict. of Class. Antiquities , ed. H. Nettleship and J. E. Sandys5, London, 1899, p. 333a). Amongst the Romans, voting papers ( tabellae ) were used (W. Ramsay, Manual of Roman Antiquities , London, 1866, p. 108). In the Jewish Sanhedrin, decisions were given by word of mouth ( Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols) , article‘Sanhedrin’). It is very doubtful whether Saul was a member of the Sanhedrin. Most probably, when he spoke of his vote, he was expressing his approval of the sentence of condemnation pronounced against the Christians. The word is also found in Revelation 2:17 bis , ‘To him that overcometh (νικῶντι) … will I give a white stone,’ etc. In Greek judicial procedure, the man who was acquitted was spoken of as ‘having overcome’ (νικήσας) (C. G. Wilke and C. L. W. Grimm, Clavis Nov. Test. , Leipzig, 1888, s.v. ψῆφος). (For other interpretations see Smith’s Dict. of the Bible , articles ‘Stones’ and ‘Hospitality’; Expository Times i. [1889-90] 1.) In both instances the word is used metaphorically.
John Reid.
VOW
The word ‘vow’ occurs twice (as translationof the Greek word εὐχή) in the Authorized Versionof the NT ( Acts 18:18; Acts 21:23). In both passages it has been retained by the Revised Version. In Acts 18:18 we are told that St. Paul, when on his homeward route at the close of his second missionary journey, had the hair of his head cut at Cenchreae before sailing from the port, ‘for he had a vow.’
In Acts 21:23 reference is made to four members of the Church at Jerusalem who had a vow upon them. St. Paul had just returned from his third journey, and disquieting rumours had preceded him to Jerusalem. It was reported that he was teaching all the Jews of the Dispersion ‘to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs’ ( Acts 21:21). Grave offence was thereby being given to the Jewish Christians, who were all ‘zealous for the law.’ Accordingly, James and the elders urged the Apostle to seize the opportunity of vindicating his character which circumstances offered. By purifying himself with the men who had the vow, and by bearing the expenses incidental to its due completion, he would be able to prove that he had not abandoned the ancient custom of his nation.
There is nothing distinctively Christian about such vows as these. Indeed, the whole point of the course urged upon St. Paul lay in the fact that the vow was a purely Jewish custom, which would be completed in the Temple by a purely Jewish rite.
Such vows are not uncommon in the OT: e.g. the detailed exposition of the vow of the Nazirite in Numbers 6:1-22 (the Septuaginthere translates the Hebrew word נֶדֶר, which is rendered ‘vow’ in the English Version, by εὐχή). ‘They consist of an obligation, commonly self-imposed, to observe some special form of ceremonial purity for some specified time. The duration of the vow was marked by allowing the hair of the head to grow freely, its expiration by trimming the hair in the normal manner, and by the offering of certain special sacrifices. The vow of a Nazirite might be for life, as in the case of Samson ( Judges 13:7), or might even include an entire clan for several generations, as in the case of the Rechabites ( Jeremiah 35:6-11). The terms of St. Paul’s own vow are unknown; but it is to be noted that it was terminated at a distance from Jerusalem, and therefore without sacrifices. As his departure from Cenchreae was virtually the end of the evangelistic work of his second journey, he may have considered that his vow expired automatically at that point. Or he may have terminated it in view of the impossibility of maintaining on shipboard the conditions which it imposed.
The only other passage in the NT in which the word εὐχή occurs is James 5:15 (‘the prayer of faith’ [EV[Note: V English Version.
Webster's Dictionary [2]
(1): ( n.) Expression of judgment or will by a majority; legal decision by some expression of the minds of a number; as, the vote was unanimous; a vote of confidence.
(2): ( v. t.) To choose by suffrage; to elec/; as, to vote a candidate into office.
(3): ( n.) An ardent wish or desire; a vow; a prayer.
(4): ( v. t.) To condemn; to devote; to doom.
(5): ( v. t.) To declare by general opinion or common consent, as if by a vote; as, he was voted a bore.
(6): ( v. t.) To enact, establish, grant, determine, etc., by a formal vote; as, the legislature voted the resolution.
(7): ( n.) Votes, collectively; as, the Tory vote; the labor vote.
(8): ( n.) A wish, choice, or opinion, of a person or a body of persons, expressed in some received and authorized way; the expression of a wish, desire, will, preference, or choice, in regard to any measure proposed, in which the person voting has an interest in common with others, either in electing a person to office, or in passing laws, rules, regulations, etc.; suffrage.
(9): ( n.) That by means of which will or preference is expressed in elections, or in deciding propositions; voice; a ballot; a ticket; as, a written vote.
(10): ( v. i.) To express or signify the mind, will, or preference, either viva voce, or by ballot, or by other authorized means, as in electing persons to office, in passing laws, regulations, etc., or in deciding on any proposition in which one has an interest with others.
Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words [3]
Acts 26:10Stone
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature [4]
The Orientals are not accustomed to formal ballots on any occasion, and the Hebrews do not appear to have resorted to it in any form unless the lot (q.v.) may be so regarded. In Roman times the Greek custom of hand- showing ( Χειροτονέω , "ordain") gradually came into vogue, and hence has usually prevailed in the Christian Church. In Acts 26:10 (A. V. "voice") the Attic method of public decision by means of a tessara ( Ψῆφος , Revelation 2:17) is thought to be alluded to; but if so, the use of the term is there merely metaphorical in the sense of Judgment. (See Paul); (See Stephen).
