Acts 23:12

Conspiracy, and its Disclosure , Acts 23:12-22 .

12. Under a curse By the Jewish anathema a thing was sacredly devoted to God, either for service or for retribution and destruction. The form of the resolution was, “According to my oath I will neither eat nor drink, whose eats or drinks is a double criminal.” But how could they escape starvation in case of failure? Chrysostom keenly says, “Then they were forever cursed; for they did not kill Paul.” But Lightfoot shows that the rabbies had the spiritual power to play pope and absolve them from their vow. Says the Talmud, “To a man that has vowed to abstain from food and drink, woe if he eats, and woe if he drinks; if he eats, he breaks his vow; if he eats not, he destroys his life. What then must he do? Let him go to the rabbies, and they will release him from his vow?” A similar conspiracy and oath were undertaken by ten Jews against Herod with similar failure.