He of verse 11 is, of course, a reference to Paul. Naturally Paul did not eat by himself, but he is the central figure in the narrative and therefore is the one mentioned. Some commentators take broke bread as a reference to Paul’s participation in the Lord’s Supper, while they understand ate to refer to a meal beyond this. Others take the two verbs together to refer either to Paul’s participation in the Lord’s Supper or in the fellowship meal, or simply to the fact that Paul ate for the sake of nourishment before leaving. In light of the way that Luke uses the phrase “broke bread,” it seems likely that the reference is either to the Lord’s Supper or to the fellowship meal which was eaten in conjunction with it.

In order to avoid the implication that Paul ate by himself, it may be necessary to introduce some reference to those who evidently participated with him in this meal, “broke bread and ate with the believers.”

Until sunrise is taken by a number of commentators to mean the sunlight that comes a little before sunrise, that is, daybreak.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .