Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 19:26
Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands:
26. Moreover ye see and hear ] Better, And ye, &c. They were eyewitnesses of what had taken place in Ephesus, and the falling-off in the demand would be made known from all the country round, for the preaching and preachers spread far and wide.
that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia ] Beside Ephesus itself we have only notices through St Paul’s writings of churches founded at Coloss, Laodica and Hierapolis. But in the Apocalypse we find beside these, Pergamus, Smyrna, Thyatira, Sardis and Philadelphia, places whose position shews us that through about two-thirds of the coastline of Asia important centres of Christian life were formed before that book was written, and we cannot doubt that from St Paul and his fellow-workers the Gospel was preached in all that district. Hence the alarm of Demetrius.
this Paul ] If we think of the bodily presence of St Paul which he himself always describes as insignificant, and which would be familiar to the hearers of Demetrius, we can fancy the scorn which would be thrown into the words as they fell from angry lips.
hath persuaded and turned away, &c.] From their devotion to Artemis, and so from the purchase of shrines.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Ye see and hear – You see at Ephesus, and you hear the same in other places.
Throughout all Asia – All Asia Minor; or perhaps the province of which Ephesus was the capital. See the notes on Act 2:9.
This Paul hath persuaded – We have here the noble testimony of a pagan to the zeal and success of the ministry of Paul. It is an acknowledgment that his labors had been most strikingly successful in turning the people from idolatry.
Saying that they be no gods … – See the notes on Act 14:14-15.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 26. This Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people] Prom the mouth of this heathen we have, in one sentence, a most pleasing account of the success with which God had blessed the labours of the apostles: not only at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, they had persuaded and converted much people; for they had insisted that they could be no gods which are made with hands; and this the common sense of the people must at once perceive.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
He tells them indeed what was St. Pauls doctrine; but he conceals the reasons of his doctrine; for there can be nothing more evident to any considering man, than that there is but one God who made all things; as Psa 115:3,4; Jer 10:10.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
26. ye see and hearTheevidences of it were to be seen, and the report of it was ineverybody’s mouth.
that not alone at Ephesus,but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath . . . turned away muchpeopleNoble testimony this to the extent of Paul’s influence!
saying that they be no godswhich are made with handsThe universal belief of the peoplewas that they were gods, though the more intelligent regarded themonly as habitations of Deity, and some, probably, as mere aids todevotion. It is exactly so in the Church of Rome.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Moreover, ye see and hear,…. Demetrius appeals to their senses of seeing and hearing; they saw what was done in their own city, and they had heard how things were elsewhere; they might believe what they saw with their eyes, and they had reason to depend upon the report which was brought to their ears:
that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people; by “all Asia” is meant Ionia, that part of Asia, of which Ephesus was the metropolis; from whence great multitudes came to Ephesus, and heard Paul in the school of Tyrannus, Ac 19:10 so that not only many in the city of Ephesus, but even in almost every city and town of Asia, had heard and received the Gospel preached by Paul; of whom Demetrius speaks very contemptibly, as if he was a worthless vagabond fellow, who had the art of persuading and deluding people; he prevailed upon them to believe in Christ whom he preached, and turned away much people from the worshipping of idols, to the living God:
saying, that they be no gods which are made with hands; such as was their Diana, and the images of her, which these workmen made; and consequently if his doctrine prevailed, as it had much already, their trade would be worth nothing, and their livelihood be lost, which was the grand thing they had in view; for one would think they could never believe themselves, that the images they made were really gods; but whether they did or not, certain it is, that the apostle’s doctrine was true, that such could not be gods, and which agrees both with reason and revelation.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
At Ephesus (). Genitive of place as also with (Asia). Cf. Robertson, Grammar, pp. 494f.
This Paul ( ). Contemptuous use of .
Hath turned away (). Changed, transposed. First aorist active indicative, did change. Tribute to Paul’s powers as a preacher borne out by Luke’s record in 19:10. There may be an element of exaggeration on the part of Demetrius to incite the workmen to action, for the worship of Artemis was their wealth. Paul had cut the nerve of their business. There had long been a Jewish colony in Ephesus, but their protest against idolatry was as nothing compared with Paul’s preaching (Furneaux).
Which are made with hands ( ). Note the present tense, made from time to time. No doubt Paul had put the point sharply as in Athens (Ac 17:29). Isaiah (Isa 44:9-17) had pictured graphically the absurdity of worshipping stocks and stones, flatly forbidden by the Old Testament (Exod 20:4; Ps 135:15-18). The people identified their gods with the images of them and Demetrius reflects that point of view. He was jealous of the brand of gods turned out by his factory. The artisans would stand by him on this point. It was a reflection on their work.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “Moreover ye see and hear,” (kai theoreite kai akouete) “And you all behold (observe) and hear,” as a rumor being circulated. The purpose of Demetrius was to stir up or incite hostility against Paul whom Demetrius referred to as “this (fellow) Paul.”
2) “That not only at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia,” (hoti ou monon Ephesou alla schedon Oases tes Asias) “That not only (those) of Ephesus but almost all (those) of Asia,” or what was also known as Asia Minor, Act 19:27.
3) “This Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people,” (ho Paulos houtos metestesen hikanon ochlon) “This Paul has already persuaded and perverted (turned away) a considerable crowd,” an high compliment to Paul’s evangelistic, missionary, and teaching ministry, and its influence, as it went out from the school of Tyrannus, Act 19:10.
4) “Saying, that they be no gods,” (legon hoti ouk eisin theoi) “Saying repeatedly that they are not gods,” do not exist as gods, a matter repeatedly certified in the Scriptures, Psa 115:4-8; Jer 10:3-5; Jer 16:19-20; Hos 8:6-7.
5) “That are made with hands:” (hoi dia cheiron ginomenoi) “Those coming into being through hands,” or having been made with hands; handmade idols are not gods, Act 17:29; 1Co 8:3-7; 1Co 10:19-22. Paul put it plainly, so that a prejudiced, covetous, infidel Jew could understand that worshippers and customers and patronizers of idols and idolators, were worshippers, patronizers, customers and clients of devils or demon spirits, a matter forbidden by both Jewish law and the teachings of Jesus Christ, Exo 20:1-5; 1Co 8:5; Act 4:12; Act 17:30-31.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(26) Not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia.The language of Demetrius, though, perhaps, betraying the exaggeration of alarm, confirms the statement of Act. 19:10 as to the extent of St. Pauls labours. Pliny, in his Epistle to Trajan (Epp. x. 96), uses language, half a century later, which is hardly less strong, speaking of deserted temples, worship neglected, hardly a single purchaser (rarissimus emptor) found for sacrificial victims.
Saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands.The wrath of the mob-leader makes him virtually commit himself to the opposite statement that the idol is the god. Philosophers might speak of symbolism and ideal representations, but this was, and always has been, and will be, the conclusion of popular idolatry.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
26. Not Ephesus all Asia Demetrius doubtless exaggerates: but there is truth enough left after all deductions to impress us with the powerful and broad success of Paul’s assaults. He and his ministers confine themselves not to the hall of Tyrannus, but circuit into adjacent country and city. Dissatisfaction is prevailing through this intellectual region of Ionian Greeks, with their past systems, and the soul is hungry for higher and more cheering truth. How dear to many a heart must have come the welcome message of life and immortality of the incarnate Son of God!
No gods made with hands But did the pagan really hold the image to be not solely the representative and reminder of the god, but the actual god himself? No doubt, we reply, there were enlightened minds of antiquity who affirmed not only that the image was not the god, but that no image could ever represent the Divine. Passages so affirming can be quoted from different philosophers. But then it is equally true that pages of passages could be quoted identifying the god with the image. Image-makers were called and , god-makers and god-moulders. And Plutarch says that the Greeks were “Neither taught nor accustomed to call brazen, sculptured, or stone figures images or honours of the gods, but gods themselves.” The converted philosopher, Arnobius, assures us of himself, when a pagan, “If ever I saw a lubricated stone, being smeared with olive-oil, I addressed it with adulation, as if a present power dwelt within it, and begged the benefactions of the senseless block.” After Christianity spread its influence, however, paganism itself grew more reflective and more careful of its language.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“And you see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they are no gods, which are made with hands.”
Then he turned their attention to their major problem. Throughout the whole region, as they could see and had no doubt heard, many people had ceased buying silver shrines, and the reason was because Paul had turned them away from worshipping gods which were made with hands and were therefore not gods at all. The drop in trade was wholly his fault.
This admission was, of course, evidence that what was done in the Name of Jesus had proved far more powerful and effective than anything connected with the name of Artemis of the Ephesians. Her followers might yell her name for hours, but she was totally ineffective, whereas all had seen earlier what the Name of Jesus could do (Act 19:11-17).
‘This Paul.’ Paul was a much loved figure by Christians, but he was also much hated. His very success was his undoing. Here many important people in Ephesus hated him because of the effect he had had on their Temple trade. We can compare how around that part of the world many Jews who had rejected the name of Jesus also hated him so much that in many cities they were constantly seeking means to kill him, something which we constantly discern throughout Acts (Act 14:5; Act 14:19; Act 17:13; Act 20:3; Act 21:30-31; Act 22:22; Act 23:12; Act 25:3), to such an extent that they were willing to travel some distances to do so. This intense hatred cannot be described as normal even in those days. Such intense hatred was directed at no one else as far as we know. He took the blame for all their anger directed at the name of Jesus. Even some extreme Judaisers among the Christians hated him. It was probably they who had tried to make the Corinthian church hate him. He was possibly the most loved and the most hated man in the world.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Act 19:26. That not alone at Ephesus, &c. That this Paul has persuaded great numbers of people, not only of Ephesus, but of almost all the provinces of Asia, as they have occasionally visited us; and has turned them aside from the established religion, saying, that they are not true deities, which are made with hands, nor worthy of being at all worshipped or regarded. The last clause of this verse plainly shews, that the contrary opinion generally prevailed; namely, that there was a kind of divinity in the images of their supposed deities; which Elsner fully shews that the heathens didthink; though some of them, and particularly Maximus, Tyrias, and Julian, had learned to speak of them just as the Papists do now; who indeed seem to have borrowed some of their apologies from these late heathens.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
26 Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands:
Ver. 26. They be no gods ] The town clerk then told a loud lie, Act 19:5 . Politicians think they may lawfully lie for peace sake. Howbeit Paul decried Diana’s temple and worship with better discretion than Abdias the bishop burnt down the temple of the fire (which the Persians worship) at Persepolis. Whereupon not only he himself was slain, but all the temples of the Christians throughout Persia were overthrown, and many Christians put to death; the Persian priests being their chief persecutors, A. D. 413. (Funccius.)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
26. ] The people believed that the images themselves were gods: , , . Plutarch de Isid [99] p. 379, c (Wetst.): see ch. Act 17:29 .
[99] Isidore of Pelusium, 412
And so it is invariably, wherever images are employed professedly as media of worship.
The genitives . and . are governed by
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Act 19:26 . : non modo sed. , Act 13:44 , we cannot take the genitive with , as Hackett suggests. : the Roman province, so Ramsay, St. Paul , p. 278, where he corrects his former interpretation of the word in this passage in Church in the Roman Empire , p. 166; see above on Paul’s work outside Ephesus. : contemptuous. , cf. Jos 14:8 . The testimony thus borne to the wide and effective influence of the Apostles even by their enemies is well commented on by St. Chrys., Hom. , xlii., and see also below.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Moreover = And.
see = behold. Greek. theoreo. App-133.
almost. See Act 13:44.
turned away. Greek. methistemi. See note on Act 13:22.
much people = a great crowd (Greek. ochlos).
gods. App-98.
with = by. Greek. dia. App-104. Act 19:1.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
26.] The people believed that the images themselves were gods: , , . Plutarch de Isid[99] p. 379, c (Wetst.): see ch. Act 17:29.
[99] Isidore of Pelusium, 412
And so it is invariably, wherever images are employed professedly as media of worship.
The genitives . and . are governed by
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Act 19:26. , this) The demonstrative, to kindle their passions.- , they are no gods) Are they then, Demetrius?
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
that not: Act 19:10, Act 19:18-20, 1Co 16:8, 1Co 16:9, 1Th 1:9
that they: Act 14:15, Act 17:29, Psa 115:4-8, Psa 135:15-18, Isa 44:10-20, Isa 46:5-8, Jer 10:3-5, Jer 10:11, Jer 10:14, Jer 10:15, Hos 8:6, 1Co 8:4, 1Co 10:19, 1Co 10:20, 1Co 12:2, Gal 4:8
made: Act 19:35
Reciprocal: Gen 35:2 – strange Exo 20:4 – General Exo 32:1 – make Exo 34:17 – General Jdg 18:24 – what have 1Ch 16:26 – all the gods 2Ch 13:9 – no gods 2Ch 32:13 – were the gods 2Ch 32:15 – persuade Neh 2:10 – it grieved Psa 96:5 – For Jer 16:20 – General Dan 3:1 – made Joh 3:26 – and all Act 6:9 – Asia Act 13:49 – was Act 16:6 – Asia Act 18:4 – persuaded Act 18:19 – Ephesus Act 19:34 – they knew Act 21:28 – Men 2Co 5:11 – we persuade 2Co 6:9 – well Gal 2:8 – the same Rev 9:20 – worship
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
6
Act 19:26. Demetrius called attention of his fellows to the preaching of Paul, stating that it had extended throughout Asia. The part of Paul’s preaching that worried him was that against idolatry, especially the kind that was the work of human hands.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Act 19:26. Not only at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people. This testimony of the shrine-maker of Ephesus to the singular and rapid success of the early preaching of Christianity is thoroughly borne out by witnesses outside the New Testament writers. The words of Pliny in his letter to the Emperor Trajan have already been quoted (see the note on Act 19:10). Tertullian of Carthage, at another extremity of the Roman Empire, in the far west of the north of Africa, writing towards the end of the second century, a little more than a hundred years after these words were spoken by Demetrius at Ephesus, says: We are a people of yesterday, and yet we have filled every place belonging to you, cities, islands, castles, towns, assemblies, your very camp, your tribes, companies, palaces, senate, forum: we leave your temples only (Apologeticum, chap, xxxvii.).
Saying that they be no gods which are made with hands. The comment of Professor Plumptre on these words of the shrine-maker is admirable. The wrath of the mob leader leads him virtually to commit himself to the opposite statement that the idol is the god. Philosophers may speak of symbolism and ideal representation, but this was and always has been and will be the conclusion of popular idolatry.
With these strange sad words of the idol artificer should be compared the striking picture of an idol image made to be worshipped, painted by Isa 44:9-18. The enthusiasm, however, here displayed for the maintenance of the old religion was based upon the most sordid feelings. The master-worker of these makers of the silver shrines feared that if the old religion fell into disrepute, his craft would be brought to nought, there would be an end to his gains. It is true that in the next verse another and a more disinterested plea is put forward to excuse his vehement appeal to his fellow – citizens. It is, however, evidently only an after-thought.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
See notes on verse 23