Bible Study series: Acts 18:1-17. Then other Christian communities grew in surrounding areas, in house churches. Paul is just about to finish his second missionary journey and begin his third.
Friendly greetings and a warm welcome to this Bible study! I write to learn. Let’s learn together and apply these truths to our lives.
I also translate to learn, so the translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many others, please click on this link:
At the link to the original post, next, I write more commentary and dig a little deeper into the Greek. I also offer a section titled Observations for Discipleship at the end. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided in the commentary section for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Acts 18:1-17
1 After this, he departed from Athens and went to Corinth. 2 He came across a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come with his wife Priscilla from Italy because Claudius had decreed that all the Jews should depart from Rome. He approached them, 3 and since they shared the same trade, he stayed with them and worked, for they were leather-workers by trade. 4 He dialogued in the synagogue each sabbath and was trying to persuade the Jews and Greeks.
5 But when Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself to the word, witnessing to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. 6 When they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his clothing and said to them: “Your blood be upon your head! I am clear! From now on I shall go to the Gentiles!
7 And he left from there and went into the household of Titius Justus, a God-fearer, whose house was next door to the synagogue. 8 And Crispus, the synagogue leader, believed in the Lord with his whole household, and numerous Corinthians heard and believed and were baptized. 9 In the night, the Lord told Paul in a vision, “Do not fear, but speak and do not keep silent, 10 because I myself am with you, and no one shall attack you to harm you, because a great number of people is mine in this city.” 11 So he settled in for one year and six months, teaching them the word of God.
12 While Gallio was proconsul over Achaea, the Jews, united in spirit, rose up against Paul and brought him to the judgment seat, 13 claiming, “This man wrongly persuades men and women to worship God contrary to the law!” 14 When Paul was about to speak up, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it was some crime or a bad, reckless act, Jews, it would be reasonable to be patient with you in this matter. 15 But since it is about controversial questions, words, names, and your law, look to it yourselves. I don’t intend to be the judge in these matters.” 16 So he dismissed them from court. 17 Then they seized Sosthenes, the synagogue ruler, and beat him right in front of the court, and Gallio did not care one bit about any of this. (Acts 18:1-17)
Comments:
Brief intro:
This section can be furthered divided into smaller sections, as follows:
1.. Paul arrives in Corinth and meets Aquila and Priscilla (vv. 1-4)
2.. Silas and Timothy join him and he meets resistance from the synagogue (vv. 5-6)
3.. Paul receives encouragement from the Lord in a vision at night (vv. 7-11).
4. Paul befo0re Gallio’s judgment seat (vv. 12-17)
As usual, here is my heads-up: I don’t keep track of the history of these cities and regions because they can be found online. Also google Bible maps for Paul’s second missionary journey. I’ll just say that Corinth and nearby towns are estimated to have had about 200,000 inhabitants, even bigger than Athens. Therefore, it was a huge mission field for Paul, for his own times. It had the temple of Aphrodite sitting on a hill, where religious prostitution happened. The city was known, by reputation, for being debauched.
Keener’s list of details (slightly edited) attests to the harmony of Paul’s epistles and his second missionary journey, mostly the details here in Corinth (p. 450):
Aquila and Priscilla are a married ministry team (Rom 16:3; Acts 18:2, 26).
They use their home for God’s work (Acts 18:3; Rom 16:5) and are known in Corinth (1 Cor 16:19).
They have connections with Rome (Acts 18:2; Rom 16:3) and Ephesus (Acts 18:18-19; 1 Cor 16:19).
Paul supports himself by a trade while in Corinth (Acts 18:3; 1 Cor 1:14).
Paul said he came to Corinth in fear (1 Cor. 2:3) and trembling and Jesus told him not to fear (1 Cor. 18:9).
The conversion and baptism of Crispus (Acts 18:8; 1 Cor 1:14).
The participation of Timothy (Acts 18:5; 2 Cor 1:19).
The participation of Silas (Acts 18:5; 2 Cor 1:19).
Paul begins the Corinthian mission before Silas and Timothy arrive (Acts 18:1-4; 1 Thess. 3:1, 6).
Their arrival apparently supplies Paul’s financial needs (compare Acts 18:5 with 2 Cor 11:9; Phil. 4:15).
Paul ministered briefly in Athens en route (Acts 17:15-34; 1 Thess 3:1).
Both sources might mention the same Sosthenes (Acts 18:17; 1 Cor 1:1).
The Corinthian congregation probably included a Jewish element (1 Cor 1:22-24; 9:20; 10:32; 12:13; 2 Cor 11:22).
Later, Apollos goes to Corinth (Acts 18:24-28; 1 Cor 1:12; 4:15) and belongs to the same circle (Acts 18:26-27; 1 Cor 16:12).
Paul afterward visits Ephesus at length (Acts 18:19; 19:8-10; 1 Cor 15:32; 16:8).
1:
“he”: Paul.
As noted, the Corinthians had built a temple to Aphrodite, the goddess of strong sexual desire. It stood on a high summit. The Corinthians needed the gospel and the power and fullness of the Spirit to help them overcome their old way of life and live for God. Paul reflects their degraded lives in these verses, but he finishes with salvation their salvation and sanctification:
Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with other men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 6:9-11, NIV).
No wonder Paul walked into Corinth in weakness and great fear and trembling (1 Cor. 2:2). We must make a distinction between salvation, which can happen instantly, the moment the Spirit surges in the unbeliever and faith in Jesus arises in the heart. Then the new believer has a long, long road of holiness to travel towards becoming more and more like Jesus. This journey is called sanctification, the process of making holy: -ion (process) fic- (make) and sanct (holy). It can also be called discipleship.
2:
After this, Priscilla will often be named first, and Aquila second. Bruce speculates that she comes from the gens Prisca in Rome, a very prominent family. In other words Aquila married up, socially speaking. It is equally or more likely that she was named first because she took the lead in ministry. Both may be true. She was from a higher class and took the lead in ministry. If she really did come from a high-level family, then she was certainly educated.
Here are the basic Scriptural facts about this married couple.
Often her name comes first, which may indicate she had a higher status than her husband, and she may have taken the lead in spiritual matters. As noted, she must have been educated more thoroughly than the average woman.
Aquila, a Jew, was originally from Pontus, in northern Asia Minor (modern Turkey) (vv. 1-3).
They went to Rome, but were expelled because Claudius ordered all Jews to leave Rome (vv. 2-3).
Prisca and Aquila were tentmakers or leather-workers, as Paul was (v. 3). They worked together in the same business. It’s hard to believe that Priscilla did not help out in marketing and selling in the public domain. Women often did, as my book demonstrates.
They traveled with Paul to Ephesus (vv. 18-19).
They instructed Apollos more fully about the way of the Lord (v, 26).
Paul considered her a co-worker (Rom. 16:3). In Greek this is synergos (syn– = “co”; and ergos = “worker” or “laborer”). This means they evangelized, taught, hosted and led a church, in this case their house church. This is clearly the same function as pastor or elder or overseer:
Women Really Did Work as–and Were–Overseers, Elders, Pastors: A Close Look at 1 Timothy 5:9-10
A church met in her house in Corinth (1 Cor. 16:9; Rom. 16:5).
They risked their necks for Paul’s life (Rom. 16:4). This rescue may have happened during the riot of the silversmiths in Ephesus (Acts 19:23). Or this intervention may have taken place during an Ephesian imprisonment, which Paul may refer to in 1 Cor. 15:32 and 2 Cor. 1:18-19. They may have used their financial resources or influence to get him released or protected him.
Paul greets them through Timothy (2 Tim. 4:19).
Peterson:
Luke takes the opportunity to link his narrative about Corinth with a well-known event in Roman history [Claudius expelled the Jews out of Rome.] The imperial edict banning Jews from Rome is recorded by historian Suetonius (Claud. 25.4) in these terms: ‘since the Jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus … he expelled them from Rome.’ Chrestus may be a corruption of Christus [Christ], meaning that the Jewish community in Rome had become seriously divided over Christian claims about Jesus. However, Chrestus was a relatively common name at the time, and the man in question could have been a Jewish activist who had no connection with Christianity. There is no way of being certain about the meaning of this brief allusion…. The most likely date for that [expulsion] was in [Claudius’] ninth year, namely AD 49. Leaving Rome under such circumstances must have been a great trial for those concerned, but Luke shows how, in God’s providence, the coming of this couple to Corinth and then Ephesus advanced the work of the gospel significantly (vv. 18-28)
3:
Working and ministry. So many church planters want the church to support them, and that is legitimate (Acts 18:5; 1 Cor. 9:14; Gal 6:6). However, Paul’s trade was leather-working (or tent-making). New church planters will simply have to work at a job, before the new church can support them financially (1 Thess. 2:9; 4:11; 2 Thess. 3:7-10).
“leather-workers”: that is an expanded translation by Bruce’s suggestion (1990), but the literal Greek says “tentmakers,” and so say the standard translations I have read. You can decide.
Bruce on Paul meeting Priscilla and Aquila and their trade:
It was this [trade] that first apparently brought Paul into contact with them, for he himself had been apprenticed to the same trade. This trade was closely connected with the principal product of Paul’s native province, a cloth of goats’ hair called cilicium, used for cloaks, curtains, and other fabrics designed to protection against wet. In Judaism it was not considered proper for a scribe or rabbi to receive payment for his teaching, so many of them practiced a trade in addition to their study and teaching of the law [Bruce quotes Hillel Pirqê ‘Abot 4.7 and Gamaliel III, ibid. 2/2]. Paul, as a manner of policy, earned his living in this way during his missionary career (cf. 20:34; 1 Cor. 9:3-18; 2 Cor. 11:7; 1 Thess. 2:9; 2 Thess. 3:8) (1988, comment on vv. 2-3)
Bock says, however, that they were leather-workers but did not weave goat hair. Peterson agrees.
4:
“dialogued”: The NIV and NASB have “reasoned.” Excellent. Please feel free to discuss Scripture with people who may not know it or have a deficient understanding of it.
It is amazing that Paul went into the synagogue to preach the Messiahship of Yeshua (Jesus). But all of this was “new good news” to both Gentiles and Jews. They were hungry to hear the new claims that pointed to the truth about Jesus.
“was trying to persuade”: Both verbs are in the imperfect tense, which suggests that the discussions were ongoing (HT: Bock, comment on v. 4).
5:
Silas and Timothy brought resources (money) from Macedonia so that Paul could devote himself to preaching only. It is okay for a legitimate preacher to live on the offerings of God’s people. Now Paul could depend on the financial and practical support of Silas and Timothy.
“devoted himself”: it means be “held within the bounds or control” of someone or something. In other words, Paul was held or bound to the Word of God. Peterson teaches us that it could be translated as “constrained by the word. BDAG also has: “wholly absorbed in preaching.”
“word”: This is the very versatile noun logos (pronounced loh-goss), and here it means the message of the gospel, based on the Old Testament. In fact, the entire OT was the Word, but Paul focused on the Messianic prophecies. It is very effective to look them up and find out how Yeshua (Jesus) fulfilled them. So Paul was a “word guy.”
Here is a table of the Messianic prophecies:
At that link, there is a table of quoted OT and NT verses. Yet Jesus fulfilling the OT goes beyond to quoted verses. He also fulfills the patterns and concepts and themes of the OT, like the entire sacrificial system and all the covenants.
“witnessing”: the verb can also mean “bear witness to” or “testify.” In these contexts it always means witnessing or testifying through the power of the Spirit. Paul’s message to his co-Jews was simple: Jesus was the Messiah (or more grammatically correct, because of the article: “the Christ was Jesus”). In any case, let’s keep our message equally simple.
6:
“I am clear!”: it could be translated as “clean” or innocent.”
Shaking the dust off of their feet is what Jews did when they left pagan territory, so they could remove the ceremonial uncleanness. But the ceremonial uncleanness is not the point here because Paul was gesturing to Jews. Instead it means “you—not we—take responsibility for your decision!” It signifies that rejecting the kingdom of God is deadly serious. Nehemiah shook the dust out of the fold of his garments when he made the returning Israelites give back the property and children who were sold into slavery, in a promise that apparently required the shaking. “In this way may God shake out of their house and possessions anyone who does not keep this promise. So may such a person be shaken out and emptied!” (Neh. 5:13, NIV). Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet to the Jews in Pisidian Antioch when they rejected their kingdom, and the missionary pair left for Iconium (Acts 13:51).
Peterson is right: “This is not a decisive abandonment of ministry to Jews since he goes straight to the synagogue again when he arrives in Ephesus (v. 19). His pattern of speaking first to Jews and only later turning to Gentiles indicated a sense of prophetic obligation, expressed positively in terms of Is. 49:6 (cf. Acts 13:36-47). Ezekiel’s teaching about the duty of the watchman released Paul from his obligation ‘to the Jew first’ when he met strong public resistance within the Jewish community” (comment on. 6).
7-8:
Titius Justus indicates he was a Roman citizen (his nomen and cognomen). What was his praenomen? He may have been the Gaius who hosted the whole church (Rom. 16:23), and he may have been baptized by Paul (1 Cor. 1:14). (HT: Bruce, 1988, comments on vv. 6-7). Bock is not certain that Titius Justus was Gaius. In any case, “[t]he mention of Titius is the last mention of God-fearer in Acts” (Bock, comments on vv. 7-8).
In 1 Cor. 1:14, Crispus is said to be baptized by Paul.
“believed”: The verb is pisteuō (pronounced pea-stew-oh), and it is used 241 times. It means to “believe, be convinced of something.” In a more specific definition it goes in a direction: “to have faith in Christ or God” (Mounce p. 61). Believing (verb) and faith (noun) is very important to God. It is the language of heaven. We live on earth and by faith see the invisible world where God is. We must believe he exists; then we must exercise our faith to believe he loves us and intends to save us. We must have saving faith by trusting in Jesus and his finished work on the cross.
True acronym:
F-A-I-T-H
=
Forsaking All, I Trust Him
Here it is connected to “saved.”
Word Study on Faith and Faithfulness
“heard … believed … were baptized”: people heard the message, which sparked faith in their hearts, and then they were water baptized. Water does not save, but Jesus does. Salvation goes beyond initial justification or initially being declared righteous. It involves one’s whole life. And being water-baptized for the washing away of sins means that water symbolically washes away one’s sins.
See my post about water baptism:
Once again we have summary verses about the effectiveness of the gospel of Christ and grace. Luke omits a lot of details that Paul fills in, in his two epistles to the Corinthians, later in his timeline. See v. 18 for how this works out in the Corinthians’ daily lives.
“and his household”: Acts is about salvation of entire households and meeting in those saved households (2:2, 46; 5:42; 8:3, but be careful of persecution in 8:3! 10:2; 11:14; 16:15, 31, 34; 20:20; 21:8). Pray for your entire family!
In Acts, Luke links receiving prayer languages with being filled with the Spirit in three explicit paradigmatic or exemplary instances, and one clearly implied paradigmatic and exemplary instance:
Are ‘Tongues’ the Sign of Baptism with Spirit in Acts?
Here in Corinth, Paul spent eighteen months there because Jesus appeared to him in a vision and told him that he had numerous people there (Acts 18:1-18). Luke never mentions any of the spiritual gifts, including prayer languages, but Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians spells out that these believers exercised them powerfully and frequently (1 Cor. 12:7-11; 14:1-40). Once again, Luke’s omissions.
This case and the ones at the above link are paradigmatic and exemplary because they illustrate that converts to the Jesus Movement or the Way had also to be filled with power and fire and this speaking gift.
However, Paul’s experience proves that Luke does not have to explicitly link the fullness of the Spirit and prayer languages every single time. Paul received the fulness of the Spirit, but his prayer language is not mentioned at that time (Acts 9:17-18). But we know that he used this gift very often (1 Cor. 14:18).
Paul did not go to them with Greek wisdom and persuasive words, but his message was with the demonstration of the Spirit’s power, “so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Cor. 2:4-5, NIV).
The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power (1 Cor. 4:20). This means spiritual power, as the Spirit flowed through Paul. As noted in the previous point, it included signs and wonders.
The Corinthians had prayer languages (archaically called “tongues”) that only their individual spirits understood without interpretations (1 Cor. 14:13-15).
They eagerly prophesied (1 Cor. 14:3-5, 31).
Paul said he spoke in his Spirit-inspired languages more than the Corinthians did (1 Cor. 14:18).
He said he wanted everyone to pray in their spiritual languages (1 Cor. 14:5)
He said not forbid this wonderful gift of spiritual languages (1 Cor. 14:39).
And of course they (potentially or actually) had the nine gifts of the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:7-11).
What 1 Corinthians 14 Really Teaches
Paul’s experience proves that Luke does not have to link the fullness of the Spirit and prayer languages every single time. Paul received the fulness of the Spirit, but his prayer language is not mentioned at that time (Acts 9:17-18). However, we know that he used this gift very often (1 Cor. 14:18).
It is the argument of this commentary that when Luke does not record the gift of prayer languages or prophecies, both Spirit-inspired utterances, one in a language unknown to the speaker, while the other is known, then these gifts still prevailed. The Corinthian church is the perfect example. Here in Acts 18:1-17, Paul ministers in Corinth for eighteen months, and nothing is said about the fulness of the Spirit and prayer languages, but the Corinthians had them (and other gifts) in abundance (1 Cor 12-14). Luke expects us to fill his omissions with the power of the Spirit because the entire sweep or context of his book is charismatic.
That’s why I have nicknamed him Luke “the Omitter” or “the Condenser.” Luke expects us to fill in these omissions.
9-10:
“vision”: It is mostly translated as “vision,” or it could be a supernatural sight (Matt. 17:19; Acts 10:3, 17, 19; 18:9). You’ll know it when you see it, with no room for misinterpretation. And Renewalists believe that visions still happen today. They get them all the time. It’s biblical. But your visions must be submitted to the written Word because your vision may not be right, but self-serving. In contrast, Scripture has stood the test of time. Your dream or vision has not. Scripture is infallible; your vision is not. See another similar appearance in Acts 23:11, but there it was apparently a personal appearance, not a vision.
Dreams and Visions: How to Interpret Them
“I myself am with you”: in Greek it is ego (I) eimi (am) (pronounced eh-goh ay-mee), and Greeks could say “I am with you” without “I.” So I get the sense from the Lord’s words that he was watching over Paul closely and carefully. Paul was physically abused by being stoned, almost to death, and he got a resurrection of sorts and walked right back into the city (Acts 14:9-10). He was beat five times by Jews (2 Cor. 11:24).
“is mine”: it could be translated “belongs to me.” God the Son scanned the hearts of every Corinthian and could see those whose heart would open up to his gospel while Paul was there. We should have no doubt that the Spirit empowered church reached out to people when Paul was not there. We will never be able to draw the line between God’s calling people and people’s free will to respond to the call. He wants everyone to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4), and he calls everyone when they hear the gospel, but some people resist his call. So humans do not have enough free will to walk into God’s kingdom unassisted by the Spirit, but they have enough free will to resist the gospel of the kingdom, for all of their lives. Human free will is God’s gift to us, but we use it for better or for worse.
Peterson, quoting another scholar (Buckwalter), says of the vision: “Here, and in 22:17-21 and 23:11, the exalted Jesus behaves towards Paul ‘as deity supreme in power and knowledge and as one who is personally present.” (comment on vv. 9-11).
11:
“settled in”: its basic meaning is “to sit.” So I see Paul settling in for the long haul.
“word of God”: it is the noun logos, plus the prepositional phrase “of God.” Paul was a “Word guy.” People need the whole counsel of God and must be taught. It is not about flash and panache and shallow sermons. See v. 5 for a closer look.
12:
“Gallio”: he was “a son of the elder Seneca, the rhetorician (c. 50 B.C to c. A.D. 40) and brothers of the younger Seneca, the Stoic philosopher (c. 3 B.C to A.D. 65). His name was originally Marcus Annaeus Novatus, but after his father brought him to Rome from his native Cordova [Spain] in the principate of Tiberius, he was adopted by the rhetorician Lucius Junius Gallio, and thereafter bore the name of his adoptive father. …. After holding the praetorship in Rome, he was appointed proconsul of Achaia” (Bruce, comment on v. 12). Bruce goes on to say that Gallio was appointed proconsul in the summer of A.D. 51. He left Achaia because of a fever and went on a cruise because of his health (before his proconsulship had expired?) After his proconsulship (A.D. 55) he took a cruise from Rome to Egypt. He was killed by Nero in A.D. 65.
Bock dates this episode in AD 51-52.
“united in spirit”: Being united in spirit, whether for good or evil, is powerful. Unite for the good, which is the gospel.
Paul’s fellow Jews gave him such a tough time. It is remarkable that he did not give up on them and bypass the synagogue, instead of making a beeline towards it. But he believed God had not given up on the Jews, since they had received and wrote Scripture and had an Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 12; Rom. 1:16; 4; 9-10).
“rose up”: the verb is used only here in the entire NT, and it literally means “stand down upon” or “bring down upon” or “place down upon.” It works well with “united in spirit” and “brought him to court.”
“judgment seat”: it is the noun bēma (pronounced bay-mah) and it is used 12 times in the NT and literally means “a step or footsteps, space to set one’s foot on; an elevated place ascended by steps; a tribunal, throne” (Mounce, p. 1048). It is an official’s place or seat of judgment. Think of a judge sitting behind his “bench” today. Therefore it is often means “judgment seat.” Paul uses it in Rom. 14:10 for God’s judgment seat, and in 2 Cor. 5:10, for Christ’s judgment seat. It is clear where he got the image from—right here (and other places). In Acts 12:21, it is used of Herod’s throne, where he delivered a speech. Also see Acts 25:6, 10, 17.
13:
“worship”: it comes from the Greek verb sebō (pronounced as it looks), and it means to “worship” or “honor” or “fear” God.
“men and women”: the Greek is broad enough to include humanity. It is incomplete to translate it as just “men.” We know from the Corinthian church that women were included.
14-16:
“speak up”: the Greek is literally “about to open his mouth.”
“reckless act”: here it means to “behave recklessly, without thinking ahead, to do wrong casually.” But their accusation was false. Paul knew exactly what he was saying and thought ahead. He got revelations from the risen Jesus, after all.
“accept”: it can mean “bear with you” (in court) or “put up with you” (in court).
“court”: it is the noun bēma, and see v. 12 for a closer look.
“The debate is over issues that reach back into Judaism and the Hebrew Scriptures. Gallio is seen as a fair, impartial judge of the matter, although his later indifference to Sosthenes’ beating makes Luke’s portrait more complex. There is an element of indifference and hastiness in Gallio that will be unlike later investigations, but the instinct that this new faith is not a threat to Rome and is about Jewish issues is correct, in Luke’s view” (Bock, comments on vv. 14-15).
17:
They wanted to punish Paul through Sosthenes because the new faction called the Way (see v. 25) or Christianity was a threat to the old traditions. We should have no doubt that Paul’s preaching included some of 2 Cor. 3, where he says that the old law of Moses had some glory in it, but it was nothing contrasted with the glory of the gospel through Christ and his New Covenant. Is it any wonder that they took offense at Paul? If you preach the gospel to close followers in other religions, like Judaism or Islam, expect some blowback.
“court”: it is the noun bēma, and see v. 12 for a closer look.
GrowApp for Acts 18:1-17
1. Paul worked while he ministered. Do you see your job as a ministry? Or do you work and minister at church? Tell your story of your contribution to church and his kingdom.
2. While Paul was ministering, he received confirmation through a dream that he was in the will of God. Has God ever encouraged you while you were moving towards his will? (You cannot steer a parked car.) How do you receive encouragement from God? Tell your story.
3.. Sosthenes (pronounced SAH-thuh-neez) experienced an injustice without help from the authorities. What is your response when the legal system lets you down? Do you get bitter or better?
RELATED
The Historical Reliability of the Book of Acts
Book of Acts and Paul’s Epistles: Match Made in Heaven?
SOURCES
For the bibliography, please click on this link and scroll down to the very bottom:
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 