Note 116 — Chapter V · ST. PAUL.

The action used by the Apostles was, it will be remembered, in obedience to the direct words of our Lord: “Whosoever,” said He, “shall not receive you nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them” (Matt. x. 14; Mark vi. 11; Luke ix. 5). It was, in fact, a symbolical act, implying that the city was regarded as profane. It may be presumed that the “devout and honourable women” (Acts xiii. 50) were proselytes.