PORTER Did Paul Baptize Himself? 97
translation but without comment at this point,^19 K. Lake and HJ. Cad-
bury using their own translation without comment,^20 W.F. Flemington in
his book on baptism,^21 L.T. Johnson using his own translation butwithout comment at this point,^22 and J. A. Fitzmyer on his own translation
but without explication of the point.^23 J.R. Lumby, commenting on the
Greek text, uses the AV translation, 'be baptized', and makes the com-
ment that baptism, which Paul is to offer to others, 'should also be
received by himself, clearly a passive interpretation.^24 Witheringtonperhaps provides the closest to an argument for the passive interpreta-
tion. His argument rests on two factors. The first is that he sees 'deliber-
ate ambiguity of the narrative here'. The second is that 'Since, however,
"baptized" is coupled with "Have your sins washed away", we should
probably construe the former verb in the passive'.^25 1 am not sure how
the issue of ambiguity in the narrative solves the problem, since the verb
form itself is not ambiguous, but is clearly aorist middle in form. The
second argument seems to be based upon a misunderstanding. The form,
aTToXouoai, is also an aorist middle form. Witherington seems to have
taken it as passive, as indicated by his translation, and uses this parallel-
ism as a means of solving the problem of pdiTTiaai. The argument is at
best circular, since he has already decided that the aorist middle aTroAou-
oai is passive in sense, which is the issue to be decided here.
More pertinent is Lampe's attempt to explain the middle voice in terms
of the 'balance' provided by the passive form in Acts 9.18.^26 The question- Benham, 'The Acts of the Apostles', in The New Testament of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ according to the Authorised Version (London: SPCK, 1905), ad
loc. - FJ. Foakes-Jackson, The Acts of the Apostles (MNTC; London: Hodder &
Stoughton, 1943), p. 201. - K. Lake and H. J. Cadbury, The Beginnings of Christianity. Part I. The Acts of
the Apostles. IV. English Translation and Commentary (London: Macmillan, 1933),
p. 281. - W.F. Flemington, The New Testament Doctrine of Baptism (London: SPCK,
1957), p. 75. - L.T. Johnson, The Acts of the Apostles (SP, 5; Collegeville, MN: Liturgical
Press, 1992), p. 386. - J. A. Fitzmyer, The Acts of the Apostles (AB, 31; New York: Doubleday, 1998),
p. 707. - J.R. Lumby, The Acts of the Apostles (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1904), p. 389. - Witherington, Acts of the Apostles, p. 672.
- Lampe, Seal of the Spirit, p. 86. However, he also says that the middle form,