Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 19:29
And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theater.
29. And the whole city was filled with confusion ] The oldest texts omit “whole” and add an article before “confusion.” It is the special tumult which is meant. The city was not so much interested in the gains of the silversmiths, but equally with them in the glory and magnificence which Ephesus had, as the seat of the worship of Artemis. So that the noise, that began in the meeting which Demetrius had gathered, was taken up by the whole Ephesian population, and they needed a wider space for the crowds now pouring together from every side. The word for “confusion” intimates that the throng gathered in great excitement.
and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel ] These men must have been seized by the crowd because they were not able to find Paul. We may see therefore that between the meeting of the craftsmen and the greater assembly in the theatre, there had been search made by the mob that they might lay hands on the Apostle. It is interesting to note that the companionship of these Macedonian converts gives evidence of the permanent effect of the labours of St Paul in that country on his previous journey. The brevity of the record in the Acts makes it important to observe such indications wherever they are given undesignedly. This Gaius is not identical with any other of the same name met with in Act 20:4, and Rom 16:23 , 1Co 1:15. Of Aristarchus we hear again in Act 20:4 and Act 27:2, for he accompanied St Paul in his voyage to Rome and is mentioned in the Epistles written at that time (Col 4:10; Phm 1:24). As natives of Coloss, and most probably Philemon himself, came to Ephesus and heard the preaching of St Paul there, Aristarchus may have been personally known to those to whom the Apostle sends his greeting in the above-named letters.
they rushed with one accord into the theatre ] To preserve the order of the Greek, the Rev. Ver. places this clause before the preceding. The A.V. is more in agreement with the genius of the English language. The theatre was the scene of all the great games and exhibitions of the city. Its ruins still remain and give evidence that when this crowd assembled there it was a building that could hold 25,000 or 30,000 people (see Wood’s Ephesus, p. 68; Fellowes, Asia Minor, p. 274). As Gaius and Aristarchus were not Jews, but the former perhaps of Roman extraction, if we may judge by his name, and the latter a Greek, with rights which even the Ephesian mob would not venture to outrage, we do not read of anything more done to them, than their being dragged along with the crowd towards the place of meeting. It might be thought that they could tell how St Paul was to be found, and when they could not, they were let go.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Confusion – Tumult; disorder.
Gaius – He had lived at Corinth, and had kinky entertained Paul at his house, 1Co 1:14; Rom 16:23.
Aristarchus – He attended Paul to Rome, and was there a prisoner with him, Col 4:10.
With one accord – Tumultuously; or with one mind or purpose.
Into the theatre – The theaters of the Greeks were not only places for public exhibitions, but also for holding assemblies, and often for courts, elections, etc. The people, therefore, naturally rushed there, as being a suitable place to decide this matter.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Act 19:29
Gaius and Aristarchus Pauls companions in travel
The morals of travelling
These four words would be epitaph enough for any man.
It would take four days to tell the object, victories, sufferings of their travels. They trod the streets of the greatest cities, and fell at times among barbarians. Travelling then was hard work, and so it sometimes is now, as when a missionary like Livingstone, or an explorer like Columbus, or a philanthropist like Howard, goes on his travels. I smile when I meet some travellers with their finery, irritabilities, and affectations. They seem to think that the few words of disorganised French they have picked up warrants them carrying themselves higher than before. And then one thinks of Gaius and Aristarchus. Leaving them, however, let us consider the subject of travel.
I. Travel to learn. Some say that a man can learn no more abroad than at home. True if he learns nothing at home. Only those know how to travel who know that it would take a year to go round a room properly. Travelling is the most innocent of pleasures, and as a charming means of enlarging the mind is without an equal.
II. Learn what to avoid and what to see. A preacher of righteousness needs to speak plainly on that silly, unclean practice of Englishmen abroad of going to see what they call life–not that they always go abroad to see it. Call it rather seeing death, foulness. If someone were to go, for one day at least, to some of those shambles and spend the time in clearing up the dirt, it would be well; but that is not the motive. What I like to see when I travel is life–the vine in its glory, the field in its greenness, how men worship, their temples and shrines; and I always look out the English Church to worship the God of my fathers, in the language of my fathers. Some of you never do that. But, think where you would have gone to if you had been Pauls companions. Wherever he went the first thing he asked was, Where is the synagogue?
III. Take an agreeable companion. This will make the journey more agreeable. If two men can travel together, they can go anywhere and into any business together. And the same thing might be said of young people who are about to marry. If men and women were to do a little travelling together before marriage there would be fewer ill-assorted marriages.
IV. Be calm. Dont be irritated at mistakes, disappointments, discomforts. They are precious discipline which will help you much when you get home.
V. Know what you are to see. Read up the objects of interest.
VI. Avoid what you can see as well or perhaps better at home, such as third-rate picture galleries and museums. VII. Fight against doing abroad what you would be ashamed to do at home. What meanness to do before God what you would not dare to do before man, and amongst strange men what you would not do before friends. It is beautiful to see the Mohammedan, wherever he is, at a certain hour performing his ablutions, and where water is not to be had rubbing himself with sand, and saying his prayer. (G. Dawson, M. A.)
They rushed with one accord into the theatre.—
The temple of Ephesus
was, next to the temple of Artemis, its chief glory. It held twenty-five thousand people, and was constructed chiefly for gladiatorial combats with wild beasts and the like, but was also used for dramatic entertainments. The theatre of a Greek city, with its wide open area, was a favourite spot for public meetings of all kinds, just as Hyde Park is with us, or as the Champs de Mars was in the French Revolution. So Vespasian addressed the people in the theatre of Antioch. (Dean Plumptre.)
Sermon to the theatrical profession
1. The histrionic art has claimed much of the attention of the world since the day when Thespis acted his play in a waggon at the festival of Dionysius, until this hour when the finest audience rooms in Paris and London are given up to the drama. The theatre of Ephesus was a vast building–the seats rising in concentric circles until no human voice could reach the multitude, and the playactors had masks which served as speaking trumpets, while there were under the seats reflectors of sound. The building was roofless, but covered with an awning to keep out the glare of the sun, and all the performances were in the daytime; while, at the side, there were porticoes into which many of the people retired in time of rain. The building was an overmastering splendour of marble, and glass, and statuary, and gold, and silver, and precious stones.
2. Paul wanted to attend that theatre. What! had the apostle been so pleased with the writings of Eschylus, Sophocles and Euripedes, that between his sermons he must go and look upon the performances of the theatre? No! He wanted to go into that theatre to preach Christ to the people, and vindicate the cause of truth and righteousness. Indeed, I do not know any place more appropriate for the preaching of the gospel than these palaces of dramatic art. Chatham Theatre in New York was never put to a grander purpose than when in 1857, during the great revival, the doors were thrown open for religious assemblages, and hundreds of souls found that their birth place. But until the ministry shall be invited to preach in all theatres, the best thing we can do is to preach to the actors.
3. But, says someone, You are their avowed enemy. No, I am not. I acknowledge that there is as much genius in that profession as in any other; that there are men and women in it who are pure, honest, and generous. We must, however, acknowledge that there is an everlasting war between the Church and the playhouse. You do not like the Church. We do not like the theatre. But there is a common ground upon which we can meet today, as souls to be saved or lost, for whom there is a Saviour. I ask the members of the theatrical profession to surrender to Christ on two grounds.
I. Because of the vast amount of usefulness you might wield for Christ. The course of history would have been changed if actors had given themselves to Christian work. It was the dramatic element sanctified in Robert Hall, Chalmers, and Whitfield, that made them the irresistible instruments of righteousness. If Kean, Kemble, Junius Booth, Garrick, and their contemporaries of the stage, had given themselves to the service of the Lord, this would have been a far different world from what it is. If their successors would some night at the close of their performance come to the front of the stage and say, Ladies and gentlemen, from this time I am a servant of Jesus Christ: I am His for time and for eternity–it would save the world! Oh, you say, that is an impossibility; there is such a prejudice against us, that if we should come and knock at the door of a Christian Church, we would be driven back. Great mistake: When Spencer H. Cone stepped from the burning theatre in Richmond, December 26, 1811, into the pulpit of the Baptist denomination, he was rapturously welcomed, and I ask what impression that man ever made as a play actor compared with that which he made as an apostle. I ask that you give to God your power of impersonation, your grip over the human heart, your capacity to subdue, and transport great assemblages. Garrick and Whitfield were contemporaries; the triumph of the one was in Drury Lane Theatre; of the other in Moorfields. From the door of eternity, which man has the pleasanter retrospect?
II. On the ground of your own happiness and safety. There is no peace for any occupation or profession without Christ. The huzza in the Haymarket and Covent Garden could not give peace to Mrs. Siddons, and Betterton, and Kean, and Macready. The world may laugh at the farce, but the comedian finds it a very serious business. Liston in his day had more power to move the mirth of an audience than any other man. He went one day to Dr. Abernethy, saying: Oh, doctor, I am so low-spirited; cant you cure me? Dr. Abernethy, who did not know him, said, Pooh, pooh, I am not the man you want to see; dont come to a doctor; go to Liston; two doses would cure a madman. Alas for Liston, he might cure others, but he could not cure himself. When I preached on the subject before, several play actresses came and said, We would like to become Christians, if you could only find for us some other occupation. I said to them what I say to you: that no one ever becomes a Christian until he or she is willing to say, Lord Jesus, I take Thee now anyhow, come weal or woe, prosperity or privation, comfortable home or almshouse. But God lets no one be shelterless and hungry who comes in that spirit. (T. De Witt Talmage, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 29. The whole city was filled with confusion] Thus we find the peace of the whole city was disturbed, not by an apostle preaching the Gospel of Christ, but by one interested, unprincipled knave, who did not even plead conscience for what he was doing; but that it was by this craft he and his fellows got their wealth, and he was afraid to lose it.
Rushed – into the theatre.] The theatres, being very spacious and convenient places, were often used for popular assemblies and public deliberation, especially in matters which regarded the safety of the state. There are several proofs of this in ancient authors. So Tacitus, Hist. ii. 80, speaking concerning Vespasian, says: Antiochensium theatrum ingressus, ubi illis consultare mos est, concurrentes et in adulationem effusos alloquitur. “Having entered into the theatre of the Antiochians, where it was the custom to hold consultations, the people running together, and being profuse in flattery, he addressed them.” Frontinus, in Stratagem lib. iii. cap. 2, speaking of a public meeting at the theatre at Agrigentum, observes, ubi ex more Graecorum locus consultationi praebebatur; which, according to the custom of the Greeks, is the place for public deliberation. See several examples in Kypke.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Filled with confusion; tumults and noise; all conditions of men, high and low, promiscuously being met in such uproars.
Gaius; one born at Derbe, but living at Thessalonica, as Act 20:4.
Aristarchus; of whom we read, Act 27:2; Col 4:10.
The theatre; a place or structure built for public uses; whence;
1. Their sports or plays in any public solemnity were beheld.
2. Their speeches or orations in their common assemblies were heard.
3. Where they punished also their malefactors; it being accommodated with several steps or seats higher than one another, and of vast extent for these purposes.
Hither, according to their custom, they resort, to hear if any one would speak upon this occasion to them; or rather, to get these Christians condemned and executed for their supposed sacrilege and blasphemy.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
29. having caught Gaius andAristarchusdisappointed of Paul, as at Thessalonica (Act 17:5;Act 17:6). They are mentioned inAct 20:4; Act 27:2;Rom 16:23; 1Co 1:14;and probably 3Jo 1. If it was inthe house of Aquila and Priscilla that he found an asylum (see 1Co16:9), that would explain Rom 16:3;Rom 16:4, where he says of themthat “for his life they laid down their own necks”[HOWSON].
rushed . . . into thetheatrea vast pile, whose ruins are even now a wreck ofimmense grandeur [SIR C.FELLOWES, Asia Minor,1839].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the whole city was filled with confusion,…. For the workmen that made the silver shrines very likely ran up and down in the city, crying out, great is Diana of the Ephesians, which brought the people out of their houses to inquire what was the matter; and the mob gathering and increasing, as they went along, threw the whole city into confusion and disorder:
and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia; the latter of these was of Thessalonica in Macedonia, as appears from
Ac 20:4 but of what place the former was, is not certain; however, being a Macedonian, he could not be the Gaius of Derbe, mentioned in the same place, nor the Gaius of Corinth, 1Co 1:14 but some third person. They are both Greek names; Aristarchus signifies the chief of princes, or the prince of chiefs; and Gaius is a name taken from the joy of parents, and is the same with the Roman name, Caius; they are both reckoned among the seventy disciples; the former is said to be bishop of Apamea in Phrygia, and the latter Bishop of Ephesus;
[See comments on Lu 10:1]
Paul’s companions in travel; whom he brought with him out of Macedonia, and who had been with him to Jerusalem and Antioch, and were now returned with him to Ephesus, where they had been with him for the space of two years, or more: it is very much that this mob had not seized on Paul himself: it may be Paul was within doors, and these were without in the streets, and so were laid hold upon and carried away in a most forcible and violent manner by them: who having got them,
they rushed with one accord into the theatre; where the public plays were acted in honour of the goddess Diana, and where, among other things, men were set to fight with wild beasts; and very likely the intention of the mob, in hurrying Paul’s companions thither, was to throw them to the wild beasts. A theatre is a spectacle or show, so called, because in them fights were shown, plays were acted, games exercised, and battles fought between men and men, and between men and beasts, and between beasts and beasts; concerning which, take the following account x:
“Theatre, among the ancients, is a public edifice for the exhibiting of scenic spectacles, or shows to the people–under the word theatre was comprehended not only the eminence, whereon the actors appeared, and the action passed, but also the whole area, or extent of the place common to the actors and spectators: in this sense the theatre was a building encompassed with porticos, and furnished with seats of stone, disposed in semicircles, and ascending gradually over one another, which encompassed a space called the “orchestra”; in the front whereof was the “proscenium” or “pulpitum”, whereon the actors performed the “scena”, a large front adorned with orders of architecture; behind which was “postscenium”, or the place where the actors made themselves ready, retired, c. so that the “scena”, in its full extent, comprehended all the part belonging to the actors. In the Greek theatres, the “orchestra” made a part of the “scena” but in the Roman theatres, none of the actors ever descended into the “orchestra”, which was taken up by the seats of the senators.”
For the better understanding the terms used, and the several parts of the theatre, let it be observed, that the “scena”, according to others y was the place from whence the actors first went out; and it reached from one corner of the theatre to the other, and was threefold; “tragical”, which was adorned in a royal manner with pillars and signs; “comical”, which represented private buildings; and “satirical”, which exhibited trees, caves, mountains, c. Likewise, the “scena” was either “versile”, when on a sudden the whole scene was turned by some machines or “ductile”, when by drawing away the boards the inward face of the scene appeared, or by drawing curtains. The “proscenium” was a place lower than the scene, in which the actors chiefly spoke and acted: the “postscenium” was a place in which these things were done, which could not be done fitly, and with decorum in the scenes: the “pulpitum” was a higher place in the “proscenium”, in which those that recited stood: the “orchestra” was the last place, in which they danced, and near which the senators sat. Tarquinius Priscus was the first who introduced plays among the Romans; and the temple of Bacchus at Athens was the first theatre in the world, the remains of which are still to be seen. Of this theatre at Ephesus I have not met with any account; whether it was in the temple, or without, is not certain; very likely it might be a part of it, or adjoin unto it.
x Chamber’s Cyclopaedia in the word “Theatre”. y Nieupoort. Compend. Antiqu. Roman. p. 285, 286. Yid. Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Diet. l. 5. c. 16.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
With the confusion ( ). Genitive case after . An old word, but in the N.T. only here, from verb , to pour together like a flood (only in Acts in the N.T.). Vivid description of the inevitable riot that followed “the appearance of such a body in the crowded agora of an excitable city” (Rackham) “vociferating the city’s watch-word.”
They rushed (). Ingressive aorist active indicative of , old verb for impetuous dashing, a case of mob psychology (mob mind), with one accord ( as in Ac 1:14, etc.).
Into the theatre ( ). A place for seeing () spectacles, originally for dramatic representation (Thucydides, Herodotus), then for the spectators, then for the spectacle or show (1Co 4:9). The theatre (amphitheatre) at Ephesus can still be traced in the ruins (Wood, Ephesus) and shows that it was of enormous size capable of seating fifty-six thousand persons (some estimate it only 24,500). It was the place for large public gatherings of any sort out of doors like our football and baseball parks. In particular, gladiatorial shows were held in these theatres.
Having seized Gaius and Aristarchus men of Macedonia ( ). See 6:12 for this same verb. They wanted some victims for this “gladiatorial” show. These two men were “Paul’s companions in travel” ( ), together () with Paul in being abroad, away from home or people (–, late word, in the N.T. only here and 2Co 8:19). How the mob got hold of Gaius (Ac 20:4) and Aristarchus (Acts 20:4; Acts 27:2; Col 4:10; Phlm 1:24) we do not know whether by accidental recognition or by search after failure to get Paul. In Ro 16:4 Paul speaks of Priscilla and Aquila as those “who for my life laid down their own necks.” Paul lived with them in Ephesus as in Corinth. It is possible that Demetrius led the mob to their house and that they refused to allow Paul to go or to be seized at the risk of their own lives. Paul himself may have been desperately ill at this time as we know was the case once during his stay in Ephesus when he felt the answer of death in himself (2Co 1:9) and when God rescued him. That may mean that, ill as he was, Paul wanted to go and face the mob in the theatre, knowing that it meant certain death.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
The theater. The site of which can still be traced. It is said to have been capable of seating fifty – six thousand persons.
Having seized [] . Lit., “having seized along with [] :” carried them along with the rush.
Companions in travel [] . Only here and 2Co 8:19. The word is compounded of sun, along with, ejk, forth, and dhmov, country or land, and means, therefore, one who has gone forth with another from his country.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
CRISPUS, GAIUS, ARISTARCHUS, AND ALEXANDER MISSIONARY COMPANIONS OF PAUL, AS WELL AS TIMOTHY, TITUS, SILAS, BARNABAS, LUKE, JOHN MARK
1) “And the whole city was filled with confusion:” (kai eplesthe he polis tes sugcheseos) “And the city (of Ephesus) was filled with the murmuring and boisterous confusion;” The incited, fleshly motivated excitement of “hallelujah hurrahs,” the shouting and yelling, was motivated, not by virtue of affection for their goddess, but by virtue of losing their jobs, of popular prestige, and their lewd money making business, 1Ti 6:10. Rather than for love for the Iiving, true God, Act 17:27-28; 1Ti 6:17; 1Jn 2:15; 1Jn 5:21.
2) “And having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia,” (sunarpasantes Gaion kai Aristarchus Makesonas) “Having seized, “nabbed,” Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, with a firm grip,” when they could not find Paul at the school of Tyrannus, as they had hoped and expected, Act 20:4. Aristarchus was a native of Thessalonica, and once a prisoner with Paul, 1Co 1:14.
3) “Paul’s companions in travel,” (sunekdemos Paulon) “Close traveling companions of Paul,” in his missionary, evangelistic, educational, and benevolent labors, Act 27:2; Col 4:10; Phm 1:24.
Whether they were “nabbed,” “pounced upon,” or seized in their homes, at the school of Tyrannus, or elsewhere is not disclosed.
4) “They rushed with one accord into the theatre.” (hormesan te homothumadon eis to theatron) “They then rushed with one mind, purpose, or intent into the (city) theatre,” A public arena that would hold more than twenty thousand people; It is said to have been 495 feet in diameter, perhaps the largest in the world at that time. These men of God, Gaius and Aristarchus, were dragged into the theatre, in view of the Temple of the goddess Diana nearby, to listen to the two hours of mob violence that followed, Act 19:34.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
−
29. Luke setteth down in this place the nature of the people, as if it were depainted in a table. − (395) Like as if a thousand houses should be set on fire at a sudden, so all the city was on an uproar in one moment; and when such a tempest is once raised, it is not easily stayed. And forasmuch as the servants of Christ cannot avoid this mischief, they must be armed with invincible constancy, that they may boldly suffer the tumults raised among the people, and that they may not be troubled as with some new and strange matter, when they see that the people is unquiet. So Paul himself doth elsewhere triumph that he went valiantly through the midst of sedition ( 2Co 6:5). Nevertheless, the Lord doth uphold the ministers of his word with an excellent comfort, when as they be tossed amidst diverse storms and garboils, and with excellent boldness doth he establish them, when he doth testify that he holdeth the helm of his Church; and not that only, but that he is the governor and moderator of all tumults and storms, so that he can stay the same so soon as it seemeth good to him. Therefore, let us know that we must sail as it were in a tempestuous sea; yet that we must suffer this infamy, as if we ourselves were the procurers of trouble? − (396) neither may anything lead us away from the right course of our duty. So that in sailing we shall be sore troubled; yet will not the Lord suffer us to suffer shipwreck. Furthermore, we see that though sedition be confused, yet doth the people always take the worse part; as the men of Ephesus do now catch Gains and Aristarchus, and they drive back Alexander with their furious outcries. Whence cometh this, save only because Satan doth reign in their hearts, so that they rather favor an evil cause? There is also another reason, because a prejudice conceived upon a false report doth possess their minds, so that they cannot abide to sift the cause any farther. −
(395) −
“
In tabula,” in a picture
(396) −
“
Quasi turbas ipsi concitemus,” as if we ourselves excited the disturbance.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(29) The whole city was filled with confusion.The loud shouts from the quarter in which Demetrius and his workmen met would, of course, attract attention. A rumour would spread through the city that the company of strangers, who had been objects of curiosity and suspicion, were engaged in a conspiracy against the worship which was the pride and glory of their city. It was natural, in such circumstances, that they should flock together to the largest place of public concourse, and drag thither any of that company on whom they might chance to light. We may compare, as an interesting historical parallel, the excitement which was caused at Athens by the mutilation of the Herm-busts at the time of the Sicilian Expedition under Alcibiades (Thuc. vi. 27).
Gaius and Aristarchus.The former name represents the Roman Caius. It was one of the commonest of Latin names, and appears as belonging to four persons in the New Testament: (1) the Macedonian mentioned here; (2) Gaius of Derbe (but see Note on Act. 20:4); (3) Gaius of Corinth, the host of St. Paul, whom he baptised with his own hands (Rom. 16:23; 1Co. 1:14); (4) Gaius to whom St. John addressed his third Epistle; (3) and (4), however, may probably be the same. (See Introduction to the Third Epistle General of John.) Of Aristarchus we learn, from Act. 20:4, that he was of Thessalonica. As such he had probably had some previous experience of such violence, and had, we may believe, shown courage in resisting it (1Th. 2:14). He appears as one of St. Pauls companions in the journey to Jerusalem (Act. 20:4), probably as a delegate from the Macedonian churches. He appears, from Col. 4:10, to have been a Jewish convert, and to have shared the Apostles imprisonment at Rome, either as himself under arrest, or, more probably, as voluntarily accepting confinement in the Apostles hired house (Act. 28:30), that he might minister to his necessities. The description given of them, as Pauls companions in travel is not without significance as implying a missionary activity beyond the walls of Ephesus, in which they had been sharers.
They rushed with one accord into the theatre.The theatre of Ephesus was, next to the Temple of Artemis, its chief glory. Mr. Wood, the most recent explorer, describes it as capable of holding twenty-five thousand people (Ephes. p. 68). It was constructed chiefly for gladiatorial combats with wild beasts and the like, but was also used for dramatic entertainments. The theatre of a Greek city, with its wide open area, was a favourite spot for public meetings of all kinds, just as Hyde Park is with us, or as the Champ de Mars was in the French Revolution. So Vespasian addressed the people in the theatre of Antioch (Tacit. Hist. ii. 80; comp. also Apuleius, Metamorph., bk. iii.).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
29. Gaius Same name as the Latin Caius. This Gaius, mentioned only here, being a Macedonian, must not be identified with Gaius of Derbe, (Act 20:4,) and probably not with Gaius of Corinth, (Rom 16:23; 1Co 1:14.)
Aristarchus Name signifying most excellent ruler. He was a native of Thessalonica, and is here first mentioned as endangered for Paul. He seems to have left Ephesus with Paul for Greece; to have returned with him from Greece to Palestine (Act 20:4) as one of the seven; to have sailed with him from Palestine to Rome, (Act 27:2,) and there to have been his “fellow-prisoner” (Col 4:10) and “fellow-labourer,” (Phm 1:24.) In short, he seems to have been Paul’s faithful attendant from this time until his appearance before Nero. How much earlier he joined Paul we know not, as the mentions of him are incidental.
One accord into the theatre As the ancient theatre was a place not merely of dramatic gatherings, but for public assemblies of all sorts, especially for city affairs, this mob spontaneously, without very well knowing what it is about, moves to the theatre. This was all the more readily done, as the temple where the first assemblage seems to have taken place and the theatre were in sight of each other. The theatre of Ephesus was a structure of immense size. It was semicircular in form, able to hold thirty thousand occupants, with seats receding and ascending back.
After they were fairly in the theatre, from the business-like character of the place the mob became an assembly, (Act 19:32,) though not a very deliberative one, “for the most part knew not wherefore they had come together.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed with one accord to the theatre, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel.’
They poured out of their meeting and raced in large numbers down the main street which led to the theatre, yelling ‘Great is Artemis of the Ephesians’ and harassing people, and as they went, calling them to come to an unofficial assembly. And at one point they came across, and were able to seize, Gaius and Aristarchus, two Macedonians who were working with Paul as companions and assistants. Whether this was by going to where they were staying or from the unfortunate circumstance of their being in the street at the time we are not told. Then they dragged them to the large theatre calling for an informal public assembly to be held (something of which Rome did not approve) so that they could be given rough justice. All were to behold their humiliation.
For Aristarchus, who came from Thessalonica, see Act 20:4; Act 27:2; Col 4:10; Phm 1:24. If this Gaius was a Macedonian he was probably not the Gaius in Corinth (1Co 1:14; Rom 16:23) or the Gaius of Derbe (Act 20:4). Gaius was a very common name).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Act 19:29. Aristarchusof Macedonia, Aristarchus was afterwards imprisoned with St. Paul, his friend and companion, at Rome, in the cause of the gospel. See Col 4:10. The famous games in honour of Diana were celebrated in the theatre here mentioned, which was the usual place of concourse at public times.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
29 And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre.
Ver. 29. And the whole city was filled with confusion ] See Trapp on “ Act 17:1 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
29. ] The resort of the populace on occasions of excitement, as Wetst. shews by many instances. So Tacit Hist. ii. 80, ‘Tum Antiochensium theatrum ingressus, ubi illis consultare mos est .’ ‘Of the site of the theatre, the scene of the tumult raised by Demetrius, there can be no doubt, its ruins being a wreck of immense grandeur. I think it must have been larger than the one at Miletus; and that exceeds any I have elsewhere seen. Its form alone can now be spoken of, for every seat is removed, and the proscenium is a heap of ruins.’ Fellows, Asia Minor, p. 274. ‘The theatre of Ephesus is said to be the largest known of any that have remained to us from antiquity.’ C. and H. ii. p. 83, note 3.
.] It is not implied that they seized Gaius and Aristarchus before they rushed into the theatre: compare , ch. Act 1:24 , also ch. Act 18:27 , and Winer, edn. 6, 45. 6. b.
] A different person from the Gaius of ch. Act 20:4 , who was of Derbe, and from the Gaius of Rom 16:23 , and 1Co 1:14 , who was evidently a Corinthian. Aristarchus is mentioned ch. Act 20:4 ; Act 27:2 ; Col 4:10 ; Phm 1:24 . He was a native of Thessalonica.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Act 19:29 . : the noun only here in N.T. ( : only in Luke, see above p. 238), in LXX, Gen 11:9 , 1Sa 5:11 , 1Sa 14:20 , used in classical Greek in the sense of confusion, disturbance; , the immediate result was that they rushed (Weiss), , see above Act 1:14 , “with one accord,” uno animo , Vulgate (not simul ). : no doubt the great theatre explored by Mr. Wood, Ephesus , pp. 73, 74, App. vi.; Lightfoot, Contemp. Rev. , xxxii., p. 293; the theatre was the usual place for public assemblies in most towns, cf. Jos., B. J. , vii. 3, 3; Tac., Hist. , ii., 80; Blass, in loco , and Wetstein, and also Pseudo-Heraclitus, Letter vii., 47, condemning the Ephesians for submitting grave and weighty matters to the decision of the mobs in the theatre, Die Heraklitischen Briefe , p. 65; Gore, Ephesians , p. 255. The theatre was capable of holding, it is calculated, 24,500 people, its diameter was 495 feet, and it was probably the largest in the world (Renan). Wetstein remarks that the position of the places tended in no small degree to increase and foment the tumult, since the temple was in full view of the theatre. , cf. Act 6:12 , i.e. , being carried off with them in their rush; we are told whether they met Gaius and Aristarchus by chance, and seized them as well-known companions of Paul, , or whether they searched for them in their lodgings, and seized them when they could not find the Apostle. : a native of Thessalonica, cf. Act 20:4 ; he accompanied Paul on his last journey to Jerusalem, and hence to Rome, Act 27:2 . It is possible, as Lightfoot thinks, that the words “Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us” in the latter passage intimate that Aristarchus accompanied Luke and Paul on the former part of this route because he was on his way home, and that leaving Paul at Myra he may have returned to Thessalonica, Lightfoot, Philippians , p. 35. But however this may be, it is evident from Col 4:10 , Philem., Act 19:24 , that he was with the Apostle at Rome, probably sharing his captivity. , Col., u. s. , can hardly refer to this incident at Ephesus, Lightfoot, Philippians , p. 11, “Aristarchus,” B.D. 2 , or to a captivity in a spiritual sense, as bound and captive to Christ together with Paul; see also Salmon, Introd. , p. 383. : nothing was more natural than that devoted Christians from Thessalonica should be among St. Paul’s companions in travel when we consider his special affection for the Thessalonian Church. With this reading the Gaius here is of course to be distinguished from the Gaius of Act 20:4 , of Derbe, and from the Gaius of Rom 16:23 , 1Co 1:14 , a Corinthian. But if we could read , Ramsay, St. Paul , p. 280, the Gaius here may be identified with the Gaius of Act 20:4 . In Act 20:4 Blass connects with Timothy, making Gaius a Thessalonian with Aristarchus, Secundus, see in loco; but against this we must place the positive statement of Act 16:1 , that Timothy was a Lystran. : used only by Luke and Paul, 2Co 8:19 , not in LXX, but in Plut. and Josephus. The word may look forward to Act 20:4 (so Ramsay, u. s. ), or we may take it with Blass as referring to the part which the two men played as representatives of the Thessalonians, who were carrying with St. Paul the contribution to the Church at Jerusalem (2Co 9:4 ). These two men, as Weiss points out, may be our informants for some of the details which follow.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
whole. Omit.
confusion. Greek. sunchusis. Literally pouring together. Only here. Compare Act 19:32.
caught = seized. Greek. sunarpazo. See note on Act 6:12.
Gaius. If a Macedonian, not the same as in Act 20:4, nor the one in Rom 16:23. 1Co 1:14. He may have lived in Corinth.
Aristarchus. See Act 20:4; Act 27:2. Col 4:10. Phm 1:24.
men of Macedonia = Macedonians.
companions in travel = fellow travellers. Greek. sunekdemos. Only here and 2Co 8:19. Compare 2Co 5:6.
rushed. Greek. hormao. Only here, Act 7:57, and of the swine in Mat 8:32. Mar 5:13. Luk 8:33. In the Greek these two statements are transposed. See Revised Version.
with one accord. See note on Act 1:14.
theatre. Greek. theatron. Only here, Act 19:31. 1Co 4:9. Compare App-133.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
29. ] The resort of the populace on occasions of excitement, as Wetst. shews by many instances. So Tacit Hist. ii. 80, Tum Antiochensium theatrum ingressus, ubi illis consultare mos est. Of the site of the theatre, the scene of the tumult raised by Demetrius, there can be no doubt, its ruins being a wreck of immense grandeur. I think it must have been larger than the one at Miletus; and that exceeds any I have elsewhere seen. Its form alone can now be spoken of, for every seat is removed, and the proscenium is a heap of ruins. Fellows, Asia Minor, p. 274. The theatre of Ephesus is said to be the largest known of any that have remained to us from antiquity. C. and H. ii. p. 83, note 3.
.] It is not implied that they seized Gaius and Aristarchus before they rushed into the theatre: compare , ch. Act 1:24, also ch. Act 18:27, and Winer, edn. 6, 45. 6. b.
] A different person from the Gaius of ch. Act 20:4, who was of Derbe, and from the Gaius of Rom 16:23, and 1Co 1:14, who was evidently a Corinthian. Aristarchus is mentioned ch. Act 20:4; Act 27:2; Col 4:10; Phm 1:24. He was a native of Thessalonica.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Act 19:29. , they rushed) viz. Demetrius with his band.-) the theatre, which was also the forum.- , Gaius and Aristarchus) when they did not find Paul himself. Aristarchus was the same who recurs in ch. Act 20:4; with which comp. ch. Act 27:2 : but here the Gaius, a Macedonian, is distinct from the Gaius of Derbe, ch. Act 20:4; although there are some who think them one and the same person.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
the whole: Act 19:32, Act 17:8, Act 21:30, Act 21:38
Gaius: Rom 16:23, 1Co 1:14
Aristarchus: Act 20:4, Act 27:2, Col 4:10, Phm 1:24
Macedonia: Macedonia, an extensive province of Greece, was bounded on the north by the mountains of Haemus, on the south by Epirus and Achaia, on the east by the Aegean sea and Thrace, and on the west by the Adriatic sea; celebrated in all histories as being the third kingdom which, under Alexander the Great, obtained the empire of the world, and had under it 150 nations.
the theatre: 1Co 4:9,*Gr.
Reciprocal: Eph 4:31 – clamour Jam 3:16 – there 3Jo 1:1 – the wellbeloved
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
9
Act 19:29. The cry spread until it affected the whole city, throwing it into confusion. The excited people let their wrath be exhibited against the associates of Paul. They took them by force into a place where public performances were put on.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Act 19:29. And the whole city was filled with confusion. We can well understand how easily, when it was reported that a hitherto despised company of foreign Jewsfor as such the Christians of the first century were necessarily regardedwere engaged in a conspiracy to discredit the worship of the goddess which was the source of the fame and wealth of their city, a vast crowd of Ephesians of all ranks and callings would rapidly be gathered together, and how soon the city would be disturbed by their excited questionings and cries.
And having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia. Gaius is the Greek equivalent for the well-known Latin name of Caius. Three other persons called Gaius are mentioned in the New Testament: Gaius of Derbe, Act 20:4; Gaius of Corinth, 1Co 1:14; Gaius of Ephesus, to whom the Third Epistle of St. John was addressed. Aristarchus accompanied Paul on his journey to Jerusalem (Act 20:4) which ended in his arrest by the Romans. He was with Paul in the memorable voyage which terminated in the shipwreck off Melita (Act 27:2). He seems to have been the apostles companion during his first imprisonment at Rome, as he is mentioned in the Epistle to the Colossians, chap. Act 4:10, and in the little letter to Philemon, Act 19:24. Subsequent history speaks of him as suffering martyrdom with Paul, and by a similar death. There is another tradition which alludes to him as Bishop of Apama.
They rushed with one accord into the theatre. The theatre of Ephesus was of vast size, and capable of accommodating, according to the usual computation, at least 20,000 persons. These mighty buildings were used not only for dramatic representations, but also for great shows of gladiators, who fought sometimes one with the other, sometimes with wild beasts. They were also favourite meeting-places for the citizens when on any momentous occasion they were called together. This was the custom in Greek, not in Roman cities.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
See notes on verse 28
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
Verse 29
The theatre; a large edifice, used for public assemblages of all sorts.