THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES - Chapter 19 - Verse 35

Verse 35. And when the town-clerk. o grammateuv. The scribe; the secretary. The word is often used in the New Testament, and is commonly translated scribe, and is applied to public notaries in the synagogues; to clerks, and to those who transcribed books, and hence to men skilled in the law or any kind of learning. Compare 2 Sa 8:17; 2 Ki 12:11; Ezr 7:6,11,12; Mt 5:20; 12:38; 13:52; 15:1; 23:34

1 Co 1:20. It is, however, nowhere else applied to a heathen magistrate. It probably denoted a recorder; or a transcriber of the laws; or a chancellor.—Kuinoel; Doddridge. This officer had a seat in their deliberative assemblies; and on him it seems to have devolved to keep the peace. The Syriac, "Prince of the city." The Vulgate and Arabic, "Scribe."

Had appeased the people. katasteilav. Having restrained, quieted, tranquillized, so as to be able to address them.

What man is there. Who is there that can deny this? It is universally known and admitted. This is the language of strong confidence, of reproof, and of indignation. It implied, that the worship of Diana was so well established, that there was no danger that it could be destroyed by a few Jews; and he therefore reproved them for what he deemed their unreasonable alarms. But he little knew the power of that religion which had been the innocent cause of all this tumult; nor that, at no very distant period, this then despised religion would overturn, not only the worship of Diana at Ephesus, but the splendid idolatry of the mighty Roman empire.

Is a worshipper. newkoron. Margin, Temple-keeper. The word here used does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament. It is derived from newv for naov, a temple, and korew, to sweep, to cleanse. But, among the ancients, the office of keeping their temples was by no means as humble as that of sexton is with us. It was esteemed to be an office of honour and dignity to have charge of the temples of the gods, and to keep them in order. The name was also given to the cities that were regarded as the peculiar patrons or worshippers of certain gods and goddesses. They esteemed it an honour to be regarded as the peculiar keepers of their temples and images; and as having adopted them as their tutelar divinities. Such was Ephesus in regard to Diana. It was esteemed a high honour that the city was known, and everywhere regarded as being intrusted with the worship of Diana, or with keeping the temple regarded by the whole world as peculiarly her own. See Schleusner on this word.

And of the image. A special guardian of the image, or statue of Diana.

Which fell down, etc. Which was feigned or believed to have been sent down from heaven. Of what this image was made is not known. Pliny says, (Hist. Nat. xvi. 79,) that it was made of a vine. Mucian (on Pliny) says, that the image was never changed, though the temple had been seven times rebuilt. It is probable that the image was so ancient that the maker of it was unknown, and it was therefore feigned to have fallen from heaven. It was for the interest of the priests to keep up this impression. Many cities pretended to have been favoured in a similar manner with images or statues of the gods, sent directly from heaven. The safety of Troy was supposed to depend on the Palladium, or image of Pallas Minerva, which was believed to have fallen from heaven. Numa pretended that the ancilia, or sacred shields, had descended from heaven. Thus Herodian expressly affirms, that "the Phenicians had no statue of the sun polished by the hand, but only a certain large stone, circular below, and terminated acutely above in the figure of a cone, of a black colour, and that they believe it to have fallen from heaven." It has been supposed that this image at Ephesus was merely a conical or pyramidal stone which fell from the clouds—a meteorite —and that it was regarded with superstitious reverence, as having been sent from heaven. See the Edinburgh Ency., article Meteorites.

From Jupiter. See Barnes "Ac 14:12".

{a} "men of Ephesus" Eph 2:12 {1} "is a worshipper" "temple keeper"