Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 19:14
And there were seven sons of [one] Sceva, a Jew, [and] chief of the priests, which did so.
14. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests ] The Greek says simply a chief priest, and so Rev. Ver. We cannot tell why the title is given to him, but it is most likely that the name was applied to the heads of the twenty-four courses of the Levitical priesthood, who are called in the Old Testament “heads of fathers’ houses.”
which did so ] i.e. which agreed to adopt this form of words in their exorcisms. There is no need to suppose that the whole seven were present in the case about to be named, but only that they were all exorcists, and in their wish to seem the best of their class they determined to use words which should connect them with the Christian preacher through whom many miracles were known to have been wrought.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
One Sceva – Sceva is a Greek name, but nothing more is known of him.
Chief of the priests – This cannot mean that he was high priest among the Jews, as it is wholly improbable that his sons would be wandering exorcists. But it denotes that he was of the sacerdotal order. He was a Jewish chief priest; a priest of distinction, and had held the office of a ruler. The word chief priest, in the New Testament, usually refers to men of the sacerdotal order who were also rulers in the Sanhedrin.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 14. Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests] The original , dignifies a Jewish high priest; but it is not probable that any sons, much less seven sons of a Jewish high priest, should be strolling exorcists: it is therefore likely that , the sons of Skeva, a certain priest, as it stands in the Codex Bezae, is the true reading. The whole verse in that MS. reads thus: Among them there also the sons of Skeva, a priest, who wished to do the same: for they were accustomed to exorcise such persons. And entering in to the demoniac, they began to invoke that Name, saying, We command thee by Jesus, whom Paul preacheth, to go out. And the evil spirit angered, and said unto them, Jesus I know, c. It has been often remarked that in our Lord’s time there were many of the Jews that professed to cast out demons and perhaps to this our Lord alludes, Mt 12:27. See Clark’s note there; “Mt 12:27“.
Josephus, in speaking of the wisdom of Solomon, says that he had that skill by which demons are expelled; and that he left behind him the manner of using exorcisms, by which they are cast out; and that those arts were known among his countrymen down to his own time; and then gives us the following relation: “I have seen a certain man of my own country whose name was Eleazar, releasing people that were demoniacs, in the presence of Vespasian, his sons, his captains, and the whole multitude of his soldiers. The manner of the cure was this: He put a ring, that had a root of one of those sorts mentioned by Solomon, to the nostrils of the demoniac, after which he drew out the demon through his nostrils; and, when the man fell down, immediately he adjured him to return into him no more, making still mention of Solomon, and reciting the incantations that he had composed. And when Eleazar would persuade the spectators that he had such power, he set at a little distance a cup of water, and commanded the demon, as he went out of the man, to overturn it; and, when this was done, the skill and wisdom of Solomon were showed very manifestly.” Joseph. ANTIQ. book viii. cap. 2, sect. 5. Whiston’s edition.
That there were such incantations among the Jews we know well, and that there are still such found, and that they are attributed to Solomon; but that they are his remains to be proved; and could this even be done, a point remains which can never be proved, viz. that those curious arts were a part of that wisdom which he received from God, as Josephus intimates. Indeed, the whole of the above account gives the strongest suspicion of its being a trick by the Jewish juggler, which neither Josephus nor the emperor could detect; but the ring, the root, the cup of water, the spell, c. all indicate imposture. Magicians among the Jews were termed baaley shem, Masters of the Name, that is, the name of Jehovah by a certain pronunciation of which they believed the most wonderful miracles could be wrought. There were several among them who pretended to this knowledge; and, when they could not deny the miracles of our Lord, they attributed them to his knowledge of the true pronunciation of this most sacred name.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
One of the chief of the twenty-four courses into which the priests were divided, 1Ch 24:4, or such as (according to the corruption of those times) had been high priests, and were laid aside, or were of the high priests family, and hoped to succeed him.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
14-17. seven sons of . . . Sceva . .. chief of the priestshead, possibly, of one of thetwenty-four courts.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And there were seven sons of one Sceva a Jew,…. Who strolled about the country, and used exorcisms: and
chief of the priests; that were at Ephesus; not the high priest of the Jews, for he would have been at Jerusalem, and not at Ephesus; though indeed it does not necessarily follow from the words, that Sceva himself was there, only his seven sons: however, no such name appears in the catalogue of the Jewish high priests, nor is it reasonable to think, that seven sons of an high priest should follow such a vagabond course of life: Beza’s ancient copy only calls him “a priest”; and the Alexandrian copy reads his name, Sceuta, and the Ethiopic version omits it; it is the same with , and signifies a spectator, or observer; see the Targum on 2Sa 13:34.
which did so; adjured the devils in the name of Jesus, to come out; at least they did so in one case, as follows.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Seven sons of Sceva ( ). Who this Sceva was we do not know. If a high priest, he was highly connected in Jerusalem (cf. 5:24). Some MSS. have ruler instead of priest. His name may be Latin in origin. has Doric form of genitive. But that he had seven sons in this degraded business shows how Judaism had fared poorly in this superstitious city. Did they imagine there was special power in the number seven?
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Did [] . The participle denotes a practice.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And there were,” (hesan de) “And there were,” existed in Ephesus.
2) “Seven sons of one Sceva,” (tinos Skeua hepta hpioi) “Seven sons of a certain vagabond Jew named Sceva,” in dispersion in Ephesus of Asia Minor, who were wandering, meandering, strolling, lying, deceiving Jocobites, known as exorcists.
3) “A Jew, and chief of the priests,” (Ioudaiou archiereos) A Jewish chief priest,” or chief of the priestly line of Aaron, of the tribe of Levi in Asia Minor, in dispersion, where they had no Jewish temple for sacrifice, but synagogues only.
4) “Which did so.” (touto poiountes) “Who did this,” attempted to use this phrase as a means of performing miracles as Jesus, Paul, and the Apostles did. In concourse, collusion, with ulterior motives, like Simon the Sorcerer, they moved to perform this wicked deed on an obsessed demon controlled man, Act 8:9-11; Act 8:18-24, recounted as follows:
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(14) Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests.Better, a Jewish chief priest. The word might mean that he was at the head of one of the twenty-four courses into which the priests of the Temple were divided. (See Notes on Mat. 21:15; Luk. 3:2.) It is hardly probable, however, that one in that position would have taken to this disreputable calling, and it seems more likely that the title itself was part of the imposture. He called himself a chief priest, and as such St. Luke, or Tyrannus, described him. The scene is brought vividly before us. The seven exorcists, relying partly, we may believe, in the mystical virtue of their number, stand face to face with a demoniac, frenzied and strong like the Gadarene of Mat. 8:28; Mar. 5:3-4.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
14. Chief priests It is evident from Act 19:18-19, that the priesthood of Sceva, though a Jew, was in the service of Artemis. For the defeat of his sorcerer sons induced the people to burn their books of Artemisian rites.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, a chief priest, who did this, and the evil spirit answered and said to them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?” ’
Included among these exorcists were seven sons of Sceva, a chief priest (which suggests connection with one of the Jerusalem hierarchy, a member of a high priestly family). They also sought to use the name of Jesus in order to cast out evil spirits. The ‘seven sons’, the divinely perfect number, would be seen as signifying that working together they had ‘sevenfold’ effectiveness. Their connection with ‘a chief priest’ would be considered to further proof of their effectiveness. So if any could succeed these could. But when they made the attempt the spirit replied through his victim, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?” The reply is significant to Luke. The realm of evil were very much aware of Jesus and Paul. But of connections with the chief priests they knew nothing.
We do not know who this chief priest was. He may even have been an exaggeration of the seven as they sought to bolster their powers of exorcism by suggesting that they knew the hidden secrets of Jerusalem and the hidden name of God. But Luke saw this connection with the ‘chief priest’ of whatever kind as conveying an important message. Christianity was now revealed as the main enemy of Satan, not Judaism. Judaism was now irrelevant, and no longer recognised by Satan as a threat. The sevenfold sons of Sceva with their claimed Jerusalem connections were dismissed by him. Indeed later Christians would speak of synagogues as being ‘synagogues of Satan’ because of their fierce attacks against Christians (Rev 2:9; Rev 3:9).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Act 19:14 . .] Whether he was a former head of one of the twenty-four priestly classes, or a past de facto high priest, remains undecided , as this Skeuas according to A: Skeujas, according to Ewald, perhaps is otherwise entirely unknown.
] is by many (including Kuinoel and Olshausen) taken as some seven, i.e. about seven; but then Luke would have placed the pronoun close to the numeral, either before or after it (Act 23:23 ; Thuc. vii. 34. 4, , and see Khner, 633. 5; Krger, Lev 16:4 ); and the merely approximate expression would not be in keeping with the significance of the number seven. The correct mode of taking it is: but there were certain sons of Skeuas, a Jewish high priest, (and indeed) seven, who did this. The number, not thought of at the very beginning (instead of ), is introduced afterwards. Baur, I. p. 215, Exo 2 , converts the sons into disciples, without any ground whatever in the text.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
Ver. 14. Seven sons of one Sceva ] All fathers, but especially ministers, should use all utmost care that their children be well educated and instructed; and not think it sufficient to say of them as Pope Paul III did of his dissolute sea Farnesius, Haec vitia me non commonstratore didicit, He never learned it from his father.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
14. ] The word must be used in a wide sense. He may have been chief of the priests resident at Ephesus: or perhaps chief of one of the twenty-four courses.
does not belong to , see ch. Act 23:23 , but stands alone, recalling the of the preceding verse.
Without the it would be, ‘ certain men, &c. were attempting this ,’ and being taken together. With it, They were (it was) certain men, seven sons, &c. who attempted this .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Act 19:14 . See critical note. : probably a Latin name adapted to Greek, see Blass, in loco , who gives instances of its occurrence, see also Gram. , p. 13, and Winer-Schmeidel, p. 75. Ewald refers it to the Hebrew . .: the description is difficult, as it seems incredible if we take it in its strictest sense; it may have denoted one who had been at the head of one of the twenty-four courses of priests in Jerusalem, or perhaps used loosely to denote one who belonged to the high-priestly families ( cf. Act 4:6 ). We cannot connect him with any special sacred office of the Jews in Asia Minor, as Nsgen proposes, for the Jews in the Diaspora had no temple, but synagogues; see reading in , critical note. Nothing further is known of Sceva, but there is no reason to suppose that he was an impostor in the sense that he pretended to be a high priest. , Lucan, see above on Act 1:10 .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
sons. Greek. huios. App-108.
chief of the priests = a chief priest. Greek. archiereus. This word is only used in the Gospels, Acts, and Hebrews. It is used of the High Priest and priestly members of the Sanhedrin. Compare Mat 26:3. Every town with a synagogue had a Sanhedrin of twenty-three members, if there were 120 Jews in the place; of three members, if there were fewer. Sceva was a member of the Sanhedrin at Ephesus.
which did so = doing this.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
14. ] The word must be used in a wide sense. He may have been chief of the priests resident at Ephesus: or perhaps chief of one of the twenty-four courses.
does not belong to , see ch. Act 23:23, but stands alone, recalling the of the preceding verse.
Without the it would be, certain men, &c. were attempting this, and being taken together. With it, They were (it was) certain men, seven sons, &c. who attempted this.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Act 19:14. ,-seven) On which very number the exorcists seem to have relied, as also upon the dignity of their nation and their Father. In our time seven sons, or the seventh among them, is reputed, I know not whether without superstition, to be endowed with a healing power for the cure of diseases.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
4
Act 19:14. Sceva was a high priest, and he had seven sons who were practicing this fraud, attempting to cast out a devil from an unfortunate man.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Act 19:14. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. Many suppositions have been hazarded respecting this title of Sceva the Jew, chief of the priests. Some imagine he must have been head of one of the twenty-four courses into which the priests of the Temple were divided. But surely one holding such a dignified position in the proud Hebrew hierarchy of Jerusalem, never would have stooped to the occupation of a charlatan and an impostor. Others have suggested that he was once the high priest at Jerusalem, and had been deposed, as we know was not unfrequently the case, by the Roman imperial government. But no such name appears in the list of high priests that we possess. It is more probable that the rank he held was purely a local one in the synagogue of Ephesus, a city where we should not be surprised to find, even among her most distinguished citizens, dabblers in these occult arts.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
See notes on verse 13
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
14. Here we see a case in which those Jewish exorcists [i. e., people gifted with the power of demoniacal ejectment, of course delegated by Jehovah], undertake to utilize the Christ of Paul in that way.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Sceva may have been a chief priest or the head of a priestly family (cf. Act 5:24), or he may have only claimed to be one. [Note: Bruce, The Book . . ., p. 390.] Compare Simon Magus, who claimed to be someone great (cf. Act 8:9).
". . . whoever he [Sceva] was, he was not a Jewish high priest who had held office in Jerusalem, since their names are all known; nor is it likely that he even belonged to a high-priestly family. It is possible that he may have been a self-styled ’high priest’ of one of the innumerable pagan cults, who found that it paid him to pass himself off as a Jew." [Note: Neil, p. 205.]
Apparently two or more-the Greek word auton can mean "all" (NIV) as well as "both" (NASB) in Act 19:16 -of Sceva’s sons participated in the exorcism that backfired. They were fortunate to have escaped from the house with their lives.
"The name of Jesus, like an unfamiliar weapon misused, exploded in their hands; and they were taught a lesson about the danger of using the name of Jesus in their dabbling in the supernatural." [Note: Longenecker, p. 498.]