Acts 19 is the nineteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It records part of the third missionary journey of Paul, focussing on his time spent in Ephesus. Early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that Luke composed this book as well as the Gospel of Luke.Holman Illustrated Bible Handbook. Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. 2012. Critical opinion on the tradition was evenly divided at the end of the 20th century.
Text The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 41 verses.
Textual witnesses Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are: Papyrus 38 (~AD 250) Codex Vaticanus (325–350) Codex Sinaiticus (330–360) Codex Bezae (~400) Codex Alexandrinus (400–440) Codex Laudianus (~550)
Locations
This chapter mentions the following places (in the order of appearance): Corinth Ephesus Asia (Roman province) Macedonia Achaia Jerusalem Rome
Timeline
This part of the third missionary journey of Paul took place in ca. AD 53–55.Robinson, J. A. T. (1976), "Redating the New Testament", Westminster Press. 369 pages
Paul's ministry in Ephesus (verses 1–22) This section covers Paul's long stay in Ephesus, lasting 3 years,Paul's speech to the Ephesian elders, : New King James Version where he encountered "some disciples" of John the Baptist and confronted the influence of magic and occult in that city.
Verse 1 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,: King James Version The "upper coasts" (wording of the King James Version) or "upper regions" (New King James Version), are thought to have been inland areas to the east of Ephesus. The English Standard Version refers to "the inland country".: ESV Henry Alford suggests that Paul travelled through "the eastern parts of Asia Minor, beyond the river Halys" (now the Kizilirmak River).Alford, H., Greek Testament Critical Exegetical Commentary - Alford on Acts 19, accessed 24 May 2024
Verse 4 Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus".: NKJV "Believe on him" is the translation used by the King James Version and New King James Version. The more natural phrase "believe in him" is used by the New American Standard Bible.: NASB
Verse 11 So remarkable were the miracles worked by God at Paul's hands ...Jerusalem Bible (1966): Acts 19:11 Loveday Alexander notes that Luke's emphasis on God as the worker of miracles is not typical of his narrative: he sees it as important to appreciate that Paul's spiritual power does not come from himself but is a direct divine endorsement of his mission".Alexander, L., 62. Acts, in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001), The Oxford Bible Commentary , p. 1052, accessed 25 May 2024 Methodist writer Joseph Benson suggests that as Paul stayed longer in Ephesus than elsewhere on his journeys, the miracles wrought through him would have stood out both in number and in wonder.Benson, J., Benson Commentary on Acts 19, accessed 25 May 2024
Verse 14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so (i.e. attempted to heal using the name of the Lord Jesus). NKJVSceva''' () was a Jew called a "chief priest" (). Some scholars note that it was not uncommon for some members of the Zadokite clan to take on an unofficial high-priestly role, which may explain this moniker. However, it is more likely that he was an itinerant exorcist based on the use of the Greek term () "going from place to place" in .
In this verse, it is recorded that he had seven sons who attempted to exorcise a demon from a man in Ephesus by using the name of Jesus as an invocation. This practice is similar to the Jewish practice, originating in the Testament of Solomon, of invoking Angels to cast out demons. Sorcery and exorcism are mentioned several times in Acts: Simon Magus and Elymas Bar-Jesus, and divination is illustrated by the girl at Philippi. "She was regarded as spirit-possessed, and it was the spirit who was addressed and expelled by Paul in ".Magic and Sorcery, Encyclopedia of the Bible, accessed 6 October 2015
Verse 15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” NKJV This evil spirit had heard of both Jesus and Paul, but not of the seven sons of Sceva, which soon received 'such a beating' from the spirit 'that they ran' (); theologian Conrad Gempf argues that this shows that power over evil spirits does not work in a mechanical way in the name of Jesus, but because one knows Jesus and, more importantly, is known by him.
Verse 19 Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver.: NKJV "50,000 pieces of silver": or "50,000 drachmas" (1 drachma represents the average wage for a day) representing over 135 years' wages.
Verse 21When these things were accomplished, Paul purposed in the Spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, "After I have been there, I must also see Rome".: NKJV Paul has already intended to have his trip to Jerusalem followed with a trip to Rome.
The riot in Ephesus (verses 23–41)
The amount of money in the scroll-burning incident (verse 19) must have stirred many people, whose livelihood (that is dependent on the selling of religious objects) is threatened by the successful growth of the Christian church, and now is bolstering a serious opposition.
Verse 23And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way.: NKJV Reference to Christian belief as "the Way" was already made in Acts 9:2. "The expression "the way" had evidently become a well-known one among Christians".Alford, H., Greek Testament Critical Exegetical Commentary - Alford on Acts 9, accessed 27 May 2024
Verse 29So the whole city was filled with confusion, and rushed into the theater with one accord, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul's travel companions. NKJV
"Aristarchus": One of Paul's travel companions, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, who is known from some references in the Acts of the Apostles (19:29; 20:4; 27:2) and Colossians 4:10.
Verse 33And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand, and wanted to make his defense to the people.'' NKJV "Alexander": was "to make a defense" for the Jews in order to distance themselves from the Christians. Could be the Alexander of 1 Timothy 1:20 and maybe the Alexander the Coppersmith of 2 Timothy 4:14.
See also Apollos Diana (mythology) Erastus of Corinth John the Baptist Timothy Acts 14, Acts 15, Acts 16, Acts 17, Acts 18, 1 Timothy 1, and 2 Timothy 4
References
Sources
External links King James Bible – Wikisource English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate Online Bible at GospelHall.org (ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English) Multiple bible versions at Bible Gateway (NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.)