Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 19:27
So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at naught; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.
27. so that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought ] This is an instance where the Rev. Ver., though more literal, gains nothing in force, and loses in diction. “And not only is there danger that this our trade come into disrepute.” The requirements of the connexion would be sufficiently met by, “and not only is this, &c.”
The word for “craft” means literally our “interest,” our “share” (i.e. in the profits of trade).
but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana ] This was one of the wonders of the ancient world, and the glory and pride of all the Ephesians, and the recent explorations of Mr Wood (see Wood’s Ephesus) have made us aware of the grandeur of the edifice and the consequent reason for this pride. Even the fragments of the architecture in the British Museum make it plain that the whole temple must have been a work of unsurpassed magnificence. No expense had been spared on its building, and the munificence of worshippers maintained it in full splendour. It was also used as a divinely-secured treasure-house, and those who made use of it in this way no doubt paid liberally for the protection. Tradition said, as it said of many another heathen idol, that the image in the shrine fell down from heaven. The description of this image (see Act 19:24) is taken from coins which were current at the date when the Acts of the Apostles was written.
should be despised ] More literally (as Rev. Ver.) “ be made of no account.” As would be the case if men began to think that they were no gods which were made with hands. In his eagerness to save the trade, Demetrius forgets to put forward what the townclerk mentions afterwards (Act 19:35), that the image was held to have come down from heaven. He is only interested in the support of what supplied his wealth.
and her magnificence should be destroyed ] According to the best supported reading: and that she should even be deposed from her magnificence. The Greek word rendered “magnificence” is not unfrequently used to express the “majesty” of God.
whom all Asia and the world worshippeth ] For wealth from the East, as well as from Greece, was bestowed on this gorgeous shrine.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
So that not only … – The grounds of the charge which Demetrius made against Paul were two: first, that the business of the craftsmen would be destroyed usually the first thing that strikes the mind of a sinner who is influenced By self-interest alone; and, second, that the worship of Diana would cease if Paul and his fellow-laborers were suffered to continue their efforts.
This our craft – This business in which we are engaged, and on which we are dependent. Greek: this part to meros which pertains to us.
To be set at nought – To be brought into contempt. It will become so much an object of ridicule and contempt that we shall have no further employment. Greek: Is in danger of coming into refutation eis apelegmon. Since what is refuted by argument is deemed useless, so the word comes also to signify what is useless, or which is an object of contempt or ridicule. We may here remark:
(1) That the extensive prevalence of the Christian religion would destroy many kinds of business in which people now engage. It would put an end to all that now ministers to the pride, vanity, luxury, vice, and ambition of people. Let religion prevail, and wars would cease, and all the preparations for war which now employ so many hearts and hands would be useless. Let religion prevail, and temperance would prevail also; and consequently all the capital and labor now employed in distilling and vending ardent spirits would be withdrawn, and the business be broken up. Let religion prevail, and licentiousness would cease, and all the arts which minister to it would be useless. Let Christianity prevail, and all that goes now to minister to idolatry, and the corrupt passions of people, would be destroyed. No small part of the talent, also, that is now worse than wasted in corrupting others by ballads and songs, by fiction and licentious tales, would be withdrawn. A vast amount of capital and talent would thus be at once set at liberty, to be employed in nobler and better purposes.
(2) The effect of religion is often to bring the employments of people into shame and contempt. A revival of religion often makes the business of distilling an object of abhorrence. It pours shame on those who are engaged in ministering to the vices and luxuries of the world. Religion reveals the evil of such a course of life, and those vices are banished by the mere prevalence of better principles. Yet,
(3) The talent and capital thins disengaged is not rendered useless. It may be directed to other channels and other employment. Religion does not make people idle. It leads people to devote their talents to useful employments, and opens fields in which all may toil usefully to themselves and to their fellow-men. If all the capital, the genius, and the learning which are now wasted, and worse than wasted, were to be at once withdrawn from their present pursuits, they might be profitably employed. There is not now a useless man who might, not be useful; there is not a cent wasted which might not be employed to advantage in the great work of making the world better and happier.
But also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised – This temple, so celebrated, was regarded as one of the seven wonders of the world. It was 220 years in building before it was brought to perfection. It was built at the expense of all Asia Minor. The original object of worship among the Ephesians was a small statue of Diana, made of wood, but of what kind of wood is unknown. Pliny says that the temple was made of cedar, but that it was doubtful of what kind of wood the image was made. Some have said that it was of ebony. Mucian, who was three times consul, says that the Image was made of vine, and was never changed, though the temple was rebuilt seven times (Pliny, 16:79). See Vitruvius, ii. 9. It was merely an Egyptian hieroglyphic, with many breasts, representing the goddess of Nature – under which idea Diana was probably worshipped at Ephesus. Since the original figure became decayed by age, it was propped up by two rods of iron like spits, which were carefully copied in the image which was afterward made in imitation of the first.
A temple, most magnificent in structure, was built to contain the image of Diana, which was several times built and rebuilt. The first is said to have been completed in the reign of Servius Tullius, at least 570 b.c. Another temple is mentioned as having been designed by Ctesiphon, 540 years before the Christian era, and which was completed by Daphnis of Miletus and a citizen of Ephesus. This temple was partially destroyed by fire on the very day on which Socrates was poisoned, in 400 b.c., and again in 356 b.c., by the philosopher Herostratus, on the day on which Alexander the Great was born. He confessed, upon being put to the torture, that the only motive he had was to immortalize his name. The four walls, and a few columns only, escaped the flames. The temple was repaired, and restored to more than its former magnificence, in which, says Pliny (lib. xxxvi. c. 14), 220 years were required to bring it to completion.
It was 425 feet in length, 220 in breadth, and was supported by 127 pillars of Parian marble, each of which was 60 feet high. These pillars were furnished by as many princes, and 36 of them were curiously carved, and the rest were finely polished. Each pillar, it is supposed, with its base, contained 150 tons of marble. The doors and panelling were made of cypress wood, the roof of cedar, and the interior was rendered splendid by decorations of gold, and by the finest productions of ancient artists. This celebrated edifice, after suffering various partial demolitions, was finally burned by the Goths, in their third naval invasion, in 260 a.d. Travelers are now left to conjecture where its site was. Amidst the confused ruins of ancient Ephesus, it is now impossible to tell where this celebrated temple was, once one of the wonders of the world. So passes away the glory of this world. See the Edinburgh Encyclopedias Ephesus also Anacharsis Travels, vol. vi. p. 188; Ancient Universal Hist., vol. vii. p. 416; and Pocockes Travels.
And her magnificence – Her majesty and glory; that is, the splendor of her temple and her worship.
Whom all Asia – All Asia Minor.
And the world – Other parts of the world. The temple had been built by contributions from a great number of princes, and doubtless multitudes from all parts of the earth came to Ephesus to pay their homage to Diana.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 27. The temple of the great goddess Diana] From a number of representations of the Ephesian goddess Diana, which still remain, we find that she was widely different from Diana the huntress. She is represented in some statues all covered over with breasts, from the shoulders down to the feet; in others she is thus represented, from the breast to the bottom of the abdomen, the thighs and legs being covered with the heads of different animals. From this it is evident that, under this name and form, nature, the nourisher and supporter of all things, was worshipped: the sun and moon, being grand agents, in all natural productions, were properly introduced as her attributes or symbols. Because she was the representative of universal nature, she was called, in opposition to Diana the huntress and goddess of chastity, the GREAT goddess Diana; not only worshipped in Asia, but throughout the whole world; both the Greeks and the Romans unanimously conjoining in her worship.
Several statues of this Ephesian Diana still remain; and some beautiful ones are represented by Montfaucon, in his Antig. Expliq. vol. i. book iii. cap. 15, plates 46, 47, 48. From this father of antiquaries, much information on this subject may be derived. He observes that the original statue of Diana of Ephesus, which was in that noble temple, esteemed one of the wonders of the world, was made of ivory, as Pliny says; but Vitruvius says it was made of cedar; and others, of the wood of the vine. The images of this goddess are divided into several bands, or compartments; so that they appear swathed from the breasts to the feet. On the head is generally represented a large tower, two stories high. A kind of festoon of flowers and fruit descends from her shoulders; in the void places of the festoon a crab is often represented, and sometimes crowned by two genii or victories. The arms are generally extended, or stretched a little out from the sides; and on each one or two lions. Below the festoon, between the two first bands, there are a great number of paps: hence she has been styled by some of the ancients, Multimammia, and , the goddess with the multitude of paps: on one figure I count nineteen. Between the second and third bands, birds are represented; between the third and fourth, a human head with tritons; between the fourth and fifth, heads of oxen. Most of the images of this goddess are represented as swathed nearly to the ancles, about which the folds of her robe appear. Though there is a general resemblance in all the images of the Ephesian Diana, yet some have more figures or symbols, some less: these symbols are generally paps, human figures, oxen, lions, stags, griffins, sphinxes, reptiles, bees, branches of trees, and roses.
That nature is intended by this goddess is evident from the inscription on two of those represented by Montfaucon: , Nature, full of varied creatures, and mother of all things. It is evident that this Diana was a composition of several deities: her crown of turrets belongs to Cybele, the mother of the gods; the lions were sacred to her also; the fruits and oxen are symbols of Ceres; the griffins were sacred to Apollo; and the deer or stags to Diana. The crab being placed within the festoon of flowers evidently refers to the northern tropic Cancer; and the crab being crowned in that quarter may refer to the sun having accomplished his course, and begun to return with an increase of light, heat, c: The paps, or breasts, as has already been observed, show her to be the nurse of all things and the different animals and vegetables represented on those images point out nature as the supporter of the animal and vegetable world: the moon and tritons show her influence on the sea; and the sun her influence on the earth. All these things considered, it is no wonder that this goddess was called at Ephesus the Great Diana, and that she was worshipped, not only in that city, but in all the world. In the worship of this deity, and in the construction of her images, the heathens seem to have consulted common sense and reason in rather an unusual manner. But we must observe, also, that among the Greeks and Romans they had two classes of deities: the Dii Majores, and the Dii Minores: the great gods, and the minor gods. The latter were innumerable; but the former; among whom was Diana, were only twelve-Jupiter, Neptune, Apollo, Mars, Mercury, and Vulcan; Juno, Vesta, Ceres, Diana, Venus, and Minerva. These twelve were adored through the whole Gentile world, under a variety of names.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; not only that we shall have no more to do, and be without work; but that it will be a reproach unto us to have had such an employment.
But also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised; this is made an aggravation to the loss of their all, that religion should suffer too. How much more ought it to concern those who have a sure foundation for what they do profess!
All Asia; this temple is said to have been burnt down the same day that Alexander was born, and that it was two hundred and twenty years in rebuilding, at the charge of all Asia.
The world worshippeth; though the Romans might worship any god (of those multitudes) which they allowed, yet they might leave their estates only to a very few amongst them; but Diana of the Ephesians was one of those few; as also one of those twelve whom they accounted dii or deae majorum gentium, gods and goddesses of the highest quality, or first rank.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
27. So that not only this our craftis in danger . . . but, c.that is, “that indeed is asmall matter but there is something far worse.” So the mastersof the poor Pythoness put forward the religious revolutionwhich Paul was attempting to effect at Philippi, as the sole cause oftheir zealous alarm, to cloak the self-interest which they felt to betouched by his success (Ac16:19-21). In both cases religious zeal was the hypocriticalpretext; self-interest, the real moving cause of the opposition made.
also the temple of the greatgoddess Diana . . . despised, and her magnificence . . . destroyed,whom all Asia and the world worshippethIt was reckoned one ofthe wonders of the world. It was built about 550 B.C.,of pure white marble, and though burned by a fanatic on the night ofthe birth of Alexander the Great, 356 B.C.,was rebuilt with more splendor than before. It was four hundredtwenty-five feet long by two hundred twenty broad, and the columns,one hundred twenty-seven in number, were sixty feet in height, eachof them the gift of a king, and thirty-six of them enriched withornament and color. It was constantly receiving new decorations andadditional buildings, statues, and pictures by the most celebratedartists, and kindled unparalleled admiration, enthusiasm, andsuperstition. Its very site is now a matter of uncertainty.The little wooden image of Diana was as primitive and rude as itsshrine was sumptuous; not like the Greek Diana, in the form ofan imposing huntress, but quite Asiatic, in the form of amany-breasted female (emblematic of the manifold ministrations ofNature to man), terminating in a shapeless block. Like some otherfar-famed idols, it was believed to have fallen from heaven (Ac19:35), and models of it were not only sold in immense numbers toprivate persons, but set up for worship in other cities [HOWSON].What power must have attended the preaching of that one man by whomthe death blow was felt to be given to their gigantic and witchingsuperstition!
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought,…. Or “to come into reproof”, as the words may be literally rendered, and as they are in the Vulgate Latin version; that is, if this notion prevails, that they are not gods, which are made with hands, this art and business of making shrines and images for Diana will be brought into contempt, and come to nothing; who will buy them, when once they believe there is no divinity in them? they will despise them, and the makers of them; yea, the latter will be in danger of being taken up, and charged, convicted, reproved and punished as idolaters, and blasphemers of deity; to which sense the Ethiopic version inclines, which renders it, “and not only for this thing we shall be in danger”; of being called to an account for making these shrines; our business will be put down, and we shall be treated with disgrace, if not with severity:
but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised; here religion is pretended, and a concern shown for that; partly on purpose to cover, as much as could be, the selfish and avaricious principles from which Demetrius acted; and partly the more to stir up the meaner and more ignorant sort of people, and irritate and provoke them, and set them against Paul and his doctrine, who generally speaking are the most bigoted. Diana is said to be the daughter of Jupiter, by Latona; she is often called the goddess of hunting, and is said to preside at births; the moon was worshipped by the Heathens under her name; she is here called the “great” goddess, for the Gentiles had their greater and their lesser gods, and she is reckoned among the former, which were in number twelve; Juno, Vesta, Minerva, Ceres, Diana, Venus, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Neptune, Vulcan, and Apollo: the temple of Diana at Ephesus is reckoned among the seven wonders of the world; it was about seven furlongs distant from the city l, and was 425 feet long, and 220 feet broad, and had in it 127 pillars, 60 feet high; it was built on marshy ground, that it might not be affected with earthquakes; and yet that such a pile of building might not stand upon a slippery and unstable foundation, coals and fleeces of wool were laid in the foundation and trodden in it, according to Pliny m, from whom this account is taken; who says it was two hundred and twenty years in building, and elsewhere he says it was four hundred years; the architect who first began it, he makes to be one Chersiphron; but it is commonly ascribed to the Amazons, and particularly to the Amazon Otrira, the wife of Mars; though Pausanias n, as he observes that the temple of Diana of the Ephesians was built before the Ionians came into these parts, so he denies that it was built by the Amazons, but affirms that the builders of it were Cresus, and Ephesus, the son of Caystrus. Solinus o, who calls it a fabric of the Amazons, says it was
“so magnificent, that Xerxes, when he burnt all the temples in Asia, spared this only; but (adds he) this clemency of Xerxes did not preserve the sacred temple from evil; for Herostratus set fire to this noble fabric with his own hands, for no other reason, as he confessed, than to get himself a name.”
At which the Ephesians were so enraged, that they got an order published by the common council of Asia, throughout all the neighbouring kingdoms and nations, that his name should not be once mentioned p; which however, though it might be regarded for a while, was not always; for his name has since been both spoken of, and transmitted in writing to posterity. The above historian observes, that the temple at Ephesus was burnt, the same day in which Alexander was born at Pella; which occasioned Timaeus facetiously to say, as is related by Cicero q
“it is no wonder that the temple of Diana of the Ephesians should be burnt the same night that Alexander was born, seeing Diana, being desirous to be present at the delivery of Olympias, (the mother of Alexander,) was absent from her own house.”
However, the inhabitants of Ephesus being very rich, and also willing to communicate to the charge of rebuilding this edifice, the women even bringing their gold, silver, and other precious ornaments, the work was set about, and a fabric was raised much more beautiful than the former; the name of the architect by whom it was rebuilt was Dinocrates; and so it continued, to this time the apostle was at Ephesus, a very fine and grand building, and commanded great attention, veneration, and respect from men; and which Demetrius suggests would fall into contempt, through the doctrine of the apostle, should he be suffered to go on:
and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth; by “her magnificence” is meant, her deity; which must be denied her, as well as her temple despised, if Paul’s doctrine was true, and should obtain; so the Syriac version renders it, “the goddess herself”; and the Ethiopic version, “her divinity”: what Demetrius says of her, that she was worshipped by all Asia, and the world, was fact; not only all Asia was concerned in building her temple at Ephesus, as many writers affirm r; but she was one of the highest class of deities, and received as such by the whole Gentile world; yea, Diana of the Ephesians, as distinguished from all other Dianas, was revered by all nations. There were temples of Diana of the Ephesians in other places, particularly at Corinth, as Pausanias relates; and who also affirms, that all the cities celebrate Diana of the Ephesians, and men in private honour her above other deities; the reasons are, the glory of the Amazons, from whom according to fame her image was, and because of the antiquity of the temple: three other things besides these, adds he, contribute to the glory of it; the magnificence of the temple, which exceeds whatever was done by man, and the splendour of the city of the Ephesians, and the renown of the deity in it s: here the silversmith suggests the catholicism and universality of their religion, in favour of it.
l Herodot. l. 1. c. 26. m Nat. Hist. l. 16. c. 40. & l. 36. c. 14. n Achaica sive, 1. 7. p. 399. o Polyhistor. c. 53. p A. Gell. Noct. Attic. l. 2. c. 6. q De natura Deorum, l. 2. p. 1918. r Plin. l. 16. c. 40. & l. 36. c. 14. Alex. ab Alex. l. 6. c. 2. Ganz Chronolog. par. 2. fol. 9. 2. s Corinthiaca sive, l. 2. p. 88. & Messenica, sive, l. 4. p. 275.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
This our trade ( ). Part, share, task, job, trade.
Come into disrepute ( ). Not in the old writers, but in LXX and Koine. Literally, reputation, exposure, censure, rejection after examination, and so disrepute. Their business of making gods would lose caste as the liquor trade (still called the trade in England) has done in our day. They felt this keenly and so Demetrius names it first. They felt it in their pockets.
Of the great goddess Artemis ( ). She was generally known as the Great ( ). An inscription found at Ephesus calls her “the greatest god” ( ). The priests were eunuchs and there were virgin priestesses and a lower order of slaves known as temple-sweepers (, verse 35). They had wild orgiastic exercises that were disgraceful with their Corybantic processions and revelries.
Be made of no account ( ). Be reckoned as nothing, first aorist passive infinitive of and .
Should even be deposed of her magnificence ( ). Note the present infinitive after , ablative case (so best MSS.) after , to take down, to depose, to deprive of. The word occurs also in Lu 9:43 (the majesty of God) and in 2Pe 1:16 of the transfiguration of Christ. It is already in the LXX and Deissmann (Light from the Ancient East, p. 363) thinks that the word runs parallel with terms used in the emperor-cult.
All Asia and the world () () . See 11:28 for same use of . An exaggeration, to be sure, but Pausanias says that no deity was more widely worshipped. Temples of Artemis have been found in Spain and Gaul. Multitudo errantium non efficit veritatem (Bengel). Even today heathenism has more followers than Christianity. To think that all this splendour was being set at naught by one man and a despised Jew at that!
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Craft [] . Lit., part or department of trade.
To be set at nought [ ] . Lit., to come into refutation or exposure; hence, disrepute, as Rev. Compare ch. 18 28, and see note there. ‘Apelegmov, refutation, occurs only here in New Testament.
Diana. Or Artemis. We must distinguish between the Greek Artemis, known to the Romans as Diana, and the Ephesian goddess. The former, according to the legend, was the daughter of Zeus (Jove), and the sister of Apollo. She was the patroness of the chase, the huntress among the immortals, represented with bow, quiver, and spear, clad in hunting – habit, and attended by dogs and stags. She was both a destroyer and a preserver, sending forth her arrows of death, especially against women, but also acting as a healer, and as the special protectress of women in childbirth. She was also the goddess of the moon. She was a maiden divinity, whose ministers were vowed to chastity.
The Ephesian Artemis is totally distinct from the Greek, partaking of the Asiatic character; and of the attributes of the Lydian Cybele, the great mother of the gods. Her worship near Ephesus appears to have existed among the native Asiatic population before the foundation of the city, and to have been adopted by the Greek immigrants, who gradually transferred to her features peculiar to the Grecian goddess. She was the personification of the fructifying and nourishing, powers of nature, and her image, as represented on current coins of the time, is that of a swathed figure, covered with breasts, and holding in one hand a trident, and in the other a club. This uncouth figure, clad in a robe covered with mystic devices, stood in the shrine of the great temple, hidden by a purple curtain, and was believed to have fallen down from heaven (ver. 35). In her worship the oriental influence was predominant. The priests were eunuchs, and with them was associated a body of virgin priestesses and a number of slaves, the lowest of whom were known as neocori, or temple – sweepers (ver. 35). “Many a time must Paul have heard from the Jewish quarter the piercing shrillness of their flutes, and the harsh jangling of testable dances and Corybantic processions, as, with streaming hair, and wild cries, and shaken torches of pine, they strove to madden the multitudes into sympathy with that orgiastic worship which was but too closely connected with the vilest debaucheries” (Farrar, ” Life and Work of Paul “).
Magnificence. See on 2Pe 1:16.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “So that not only this our craft is in danger,” (ou monon de touto kinduneuei hemin to meros) “Not only is our share or stock now in danger,” in this local union of the craft of Ephesus. It is here evident that the “fear of man bringeth a snare,” for these craftsmen were incited to fear true men of God, to their own demon directed destruction, Pro 29:1; Pro 29:25.
2) “To be set at nought,” (eis apelegmon elthein) “To come into disrepute,” to be rejected, no longer bought and used, to be shut down, because of limited demand for our product.
3) “But also that the temple of the great goddess Diana,” (alla kai to tes megales theas Artemidos heiron) “But also the temple of the great goddess known as Artemis or Diana,” a dumb idol, and more dumb in spiritual matters were those who worshipped the idol, Gal 4:8; Psa 115:4-8. He argued “perish the thought” that this goddess worship should be destroyed by a little Christian missionary and his church band, 2Co 11:13-15.
4) “Should be despised,” (eis outhen logisthenai) “Is in danger to be reckoned as nothing,” rejected, abandoned as an object of worship or adoration, as believers turned to Jesus Christ, the adorable living Son of the living God, 1Th 1:9-10; as the Thessalonians, Corinthians, and Galatians had done, 1Co 12:2; Gal 4:8.
5) “And her magnificence should be destroyed,” (mellein te kai kathareistheisthai tes megaleiotetos autes) “And her greatness is about to be diminished;” This deceitful, devil empowered, little heathen, Jewish union-craft-master cared no more for the significance of Diana as an object of devotion than a “pimp of prostitution trade,” cares for a prostitute or her clients, and that is for the covetous profits of greed he may get as gain from the debauching trade, 1Ti 6:10; Joh 3:19; He loved “darkness rather than light,” and used the trade as a shadow box for his vulgar, heartless, wicked profit.
6) “Whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.” (hen hote he Asia kai he oikoumene sebetai) “Whom all Asia and the inhabited part of the earth worships;” What a compliment to heathenism! It was a lie, an exaggeration-but, such as might be expected of a child of the devil, demon incited in a broadside hate-attack upon God’s man and God’s people in Ephesus, Joh 8:44.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
−
27. Not only this part. This is first disorderly handled in − (389) that Demetrius is careful for religion after other things; − (390) because nothing is more absurd than to prefer the belly before the goddess; but even this is also vain, in that he pretendeth that the worship of Diana is in hazard. For if he had suffered no loss by Paul’s doctrine, he would have sat quietly at home; he would neither have taken thought for the worship of Diana, neither would he have troubled others. What is the cause, then, he is so diligent and so earnest in his business? even this, because he was plagued at home; and because he saw that he and his copartners had no honest or probable cause to make any stir, he goeth about to color [gloss] the matter with some other color. Therefore, to the end he may cover the shame of his wicked fact, he cloaketh it with the title of religion, which is plausible. So that the wicked, howsoever they strive frowardly against God, yet they gather here and there honest excuses − (391) impudently; but God doth not suffer himself to be mocked, but doth rather pull them out of their starting-holes [subterfuges]. There needeth no other witness to refute Demetrius’ hypocrisy, because he cutteth his own throat with his own words, when he betrayeth the sorrow which he had conceived, because of the loss which he sustained. − (392) In like state do the Papists stand at this day; they boast with full mouth that they be patrons of the Catholic faith and of the holy mother the Church, but when they have spoken − (393) thus touching their zeal, in the very handling of the cause they breathe out with open throat the smell of their kitchens. But if we have a desire to handle the cause of godliness purely and in earnest, let us forget our commodities, that the glory of God may have the chief place. For the show of profit doth so tie all our senses with enticements, that though we wander through all manner of wickedness, yet do we flatter ourselves so long as we be determined to provide for our own commodity. −
Whom all Asia and the world doth worship. It seemeth to Demetrius an unmeet thing that Diana her majesty should be brought to naught, which all the world doth reverence and worship, and this is a common starting-hole [subterfuge] for all superstitious persons, to pretend the consent of the multitude. But true religion requireth a more steadfast stay than in the will and pleasure of men. There is nothing which at this day doth more keep back the simple and unskillful than that they dare not cast from them (such ancient) errors as are commonly received everywhere. Because they feign and imagine that that which pleased many, though foolishly and rashly, is to be counted lawful. For which cause they be not afraid boldly to set the very name of custom against God himself. But the Lord doth prescribe to us another manner of rule, to wit, that being content with his authority alone, we do not pass either for the opinion of men, nor for our own commodity, nor for the custom of many nations.
(389) −
“
Hoc primum praepostere,” this is, in the first place, preposterous.
(390) −
“
Secundo tandem loco,” only in the second place.
(391) −
“
Captant honestos praetextus,” catch at specious pretexts.
(392) −
“
Dum privatae jacturae dolorem prodit,” while he betrays grief for a private loss.
(393) −
“
Sic praefati,” premised this much.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(27) Not only this our craft.The English word conveys, perhaps, too much the idea of art. Our business, or our interests, would be a somewhat better equivalent. The Greek word is not the same as that so translated in Act. 19:25.
The temple of the great goddess Diana.The adjective was one specially appropriated to the Artemis of Ephesus, and appears on many of the coins and medals of the city.
Should be despised.Literally, should come to an exposurei.e., should become a laughing-stock and a by-word. Panic is sometimes clear-sighted in its previsions, and the coppersmith of Ephesus becomes an unconscious prophet of the future.
And her magnificence should be destroyed.The connection between the substantive and the received epithet is closer in the Greek than in the English. The great goddess was in danger of being robbed of her attribute of greatness.
Whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.Asia is, of course, the proconsular province, and the world is used conventionally, as in Luk. 2:1, for the Roman empire. Apuleius uses language almost identical with that of Demetrius, Diana Ephesia cujus nomen unicum . . . totus veneratur orbis.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
27. Our craft Literally, our part; that is, our branch or share in the common interests concerned.
Temple With a fine show of religious public spirit Demetrius assumes, in words, that our share of interests is altogether subordinate to the great point of the honour and universal worship of the great Artemis. Our impoverishment is rather an evil; but it is horrible to think of our dishonoured religion!
This temple of Artemis (Diana) was indeed reckoned one of the seven wonders of the world. Central within the whole structure was a small roofed chapel or cella containing the sacred image. The temple itself enclosing the chapel was an immense oblong four hundred and twenty-five feet in length and two hundred and twenty feet in breadth. The whole was without roof, being in fact rows of columns, colonnades, surmounted by a horizontal entablature. The whole was simply an honorary open columnar structure, enclosing the cell that enclosed the goddess.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“And not only is there danger that this our trade come into disrepute; but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis (Diana) be made of no account, and that she should even be deposed from her magnificence whom all Asia and the world worship.”
But while Demetrius could probably see that the entrepreneurs like himself were agreeing strongly and nodding at the thought of losing profits, he also probably recognised that many of the lower level workers present were not too impressed. Drop in trade had not yet affected them too much, and was not so obviously important for them. So he now changed his tack. Not only was there the danger that their trade would come into disrepute (a slight exaggeration. Those who worshipped idols were still well in the majority) but they should also take into account the effect of it all on the worship of Artemis with its huge Temple. If things went on as they were Artemis herself would be degraded and her magnificence lost. Her very name would be brought into disrepute. Did not all the world look to Artemis? Yet here was this Paul deposing her from her magnificence, and, if things went on as they were, visitors would cease coming because of her lost reputation.
Economically speaking it was, of course, an argument with little basis. The grand temple remained, the famous statue of Artemis was still in place, and those who came from worldwide to see her would not be affected by what was virtually a minority religion in Asia. While sales had undoubtedly been lost, that would only be in the local and regional market, and had already happened, although it had been sufficient to cause this stir. It would, however, not at this stage very much affect their worldwide and souvenir trade. But what stirred a chord more with the lower level workers was the possibility of Artemis being humiliated. It is doubtful if Demetrius and some of the other entrepreneurs were too bothered about that side of things, but the lower level workers certainly were.
‘All the world.’ Over thirty sites around the Roman Empire from Spain to Syria have been located where the worship of Artemis was carried on, while according to Pausanias this cult achieved the most extensive and most supreme worship in the ancient world. People flocked to Ephesus from all over the Empire in order to participate in the Games, take part in the festivities, and enjoy the religious orgies (compare Rev 2:14; Rev 2:20). Gifts and coins from many different countries, discovered at the site of the Temple, bear witness to the worldwide nature of her appeal. Thus when the Emperor married Agrippina commemorative coins were struck at Ephesus with the profiles of the newlyweds on one side and a figure of the statue with the legend “Diana Ephesia” on the other. She was seen as extremely important.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Act 19:27. Whom all Asia and the world worshippeth. As Diana was known under a great variety of titles and characters, as the goddess of hunting, of travelling, of childbirth, of enchantments, &c. as Luna, Hecate, Lucina, Proserpine, and so on,she had undoubtedly, in one or other of these views, a vast number of votaries. She was one of the objects of the Eleusinian mysteries, which were resorted to from the remotest regions. The Ephesian Diana was of a singular form, being always represented with several tiers or rows of breasts, intimating her to be the mother of mankind: and in this form it appears from a curious manuscript preserved in the British museum, that she was known even to the Druids.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Act 19:27 . And not only this matter ( , see on Col 2:16 ), this point, namely, our lucrative trade, is in danger for us of coming into contempt, but also [99] the temple of the great goddess Artemis (is in danger) of being regarded as nothing, and there will also (he added) be brought down the majesty of her, whom , etc.
] dative of reference, i.e. here incommodi .
. .] i.e. to come into discredit ; is not preserved elsewhere; but comp. , frequent in the LXX. and Apocr.
] a habitually employed epithet, as of other gods, so particularly of the Ephesian Artemis. Xen. Eph. i. 11; Alberti, Obss. p. 259.
With the oratio recta passes into the oratio obliqua ; [100] see Buttmann, neut. Gr. p. 330 [E. T. 385].
is and , simply annexing; is also , climactic: “destructum que etiam iri majestatem,” etc. Comp. Act 21:28 ; Buttmann, p. 309 [E. T. 360].
(see the critical remarks) is to be taken partitively (as if stood with it); there will be brought down something of her majesty . Comp. Xen. Hellen. iv. 4. 13 : , also ii. 2. 11. Nothing of this magnificence will they sacrifice. On of the lowering of the honour of one, comp. Herodian. iii. 3. 4, vii. 9. 24. ] again the direct form of address. See on such mixing of direct and indirect elements, Khner, ad Xen. Anab. i. 3. 14; Dissen, ad Dem. de cor. p. 203. The relative applies to .
[99] “Efficax sermo, quem utilitas et superstitio acuit,” Bengel. Comp. Act 16:19 .
[100] Still may also be governed by . . But in that case would itself simply appear very unnecessary, and the passage would more fittingly after the preceding be continued: . . .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
27 So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.
Ver. 27. This our craft ] Whereof they had the patent, the monopoly, . Dictio est mercimoniorum et negotiorum, in genere significans illud quod in divisione obvenit, saith Lorinus. Istud quod nobis est peculiare. So Beza renders it.
To be set at nought ] Gr. . To be refuted, disgraced, decried, and we greatly damnified. Nobis refutatum intercidat. (Beza.) This was the Diana they strove for, and about which they raised all this uproar. So the poor Waldenses were persecuted, not for detestation of their tenets, but out of a jealousy lest these men’s plain dealing should discover their drifts and mar their markets.
And her magnificence should be destroyed ] Her majesty, . Utinam aeque saltem reverenter de Dei nomine hodie homines loquerentur, saith Malcolm. I would men would but use like reverence in speaking of the true God.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
27. ] is best taken as the dativus incommodi , not for , nor with , but with .
, as we say, department .
] but that eventually even the temple itself of the great goddess Artemis will be counted for nothing . was the usual epithet of the Ephesian Artemis: Xen. Ephes. i. p. 15: , . There is an inscription in Boeckh, 2963 c, containing the words . The same inscription also mentions and . C. and H. ii. 98.
The temple of Artemis at Ephesus, having been burnt to the ground by Herostratus on the night of the birth of Alexander the Great (B.C. 355), was restored with increased magnificence, and accounted one of the wonders of the ancient world. Its dimensions were 425 X 220 feet, and it was surrounded by 127 columns, 60 feet high. It was standing in all its grandeur at this time. See C. and H. ch. 16 vol. ii. pp. 84 ff.
is the more difficult and probably original reading: and that she should be deposed from her greatness, whom &c.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Act 19:27 . , sc. , , Act 19:25 , Grimm-Thayer this branch of their trade, which was concerned with the making of the shrines. Others take = trade , the part assigned to one. : “the most sensitive part of ‘civilised’ man is his pocket,” Ramsay, St. Paul , p. 277, and the opposition thus naturally came not from the priests as instigators of the riot against Paul, but from the fact that trade connected with the Artemis-worship was endangered; so at Philippi, “when the masters saw that the hope of this was gone,” Act 16:19 ; see Ramsay, Church in the Roman Empire , p. 129 ff., as against Hicks. “See how wherever there is idolatry, in every case we find money at the bottom of it, both in the former instance it was for money, and in the case of this man for money; it was not for their religion, because they thought that in danger; no, it was for their lucrative craft, that it would have nothing to work upon,” Chrys., Hom. , xlii., : noun, not found either in classical Greek or in the LXX; the verb is found in Mal 2:11Mal 2:11 ( cf. Symm., Psa 119:118 ), and is not uncommon in LXX, confutatio, repudiatio (for the phrase cf. Mar 5:26 ), in contemptum venire , Wetstein; but in redargutionem venire , Vulgate. : the utilitarian aspect of the appeal stands first, but speciously seconded by an appeal to religious feelings (“non tam pro aris ipsos quam pro focis pugnare,” Calvin). . .: St. Luke appears to have retained the precise title of the goddess, according to the witness of the inscription; “Diana” (Ramsay), Hastings’ B.D., p. 605, so Blass, in loco. : the Temple of Artemis was burnt to the ground by the fanatic Herostratus in B.C. 356 on the night of the birth of Alexander the Great, but its restoration was effected with great magnificence, and it was regarded as one of the seven wonders of the world. Its dimensions are given by Pliny, xxxvi., 95. For references, and a description of its worship, see C. and H., p. 422, small edition; Renan, Saint Paul , p. 427; Ramsay, “Diana,” u. s.; Wood’s Ephesus , pp. 4 45; Greek Inscrip. at British Museum , iii., 1890, and for a complete account of the temple, its structure, and literature relating to its history and site, B.D. 2 , “Ephesus”. So sumptuous was the magnificence of this sanctuary that it could be said , Philo Byz., Spect. Mund. , 7, and the sun, so the saying ran, saw nothing in his course more magnificent than Diana’s temple. ., cf. for a similar phrase LXX, Isa 40:17 , Wis 3:17 ; Wis 9:6 ( om. 1 ), and Dan. Theod., iv., 32. The verb is also frequent in St. Paul with and the accusative. , cf. Act 21:28 , not correlative, but: “ and that she should even ,” etc., Simcox, Language of the New Testament , p. 163. , see critical note, if we read the genitive, “and that she should even be deposed from her magnificence,” R.V., cf. Winer-Schmiedel, xxx., 6. Grimm-Thayer regards the genitive as partitive, aliquid de majestate ejus , as if it was inconceivable that all her magnificence should be lost: so Meyer, Zckler, Weiss, cf. Xen., Hellen. , iv., 4, 13; Diod. Sic., iv., 8. But Wendt (as against Meyer) regards as the subject; cf. 1Ti 6:5 . The word is used, Luk 9:43 , of the majesty of God, cf. 2Pe 1:16 (Friedrich, p. 30); in LXX, Jer 40 (33):9; Est 1:5Est 1:5 ; 1Es 4:40 , Dan 7:27 . : “multitudo errantium non efficit veritatem”: Bengel. The temple was built by contributions from the whole of Asia, tota Asia exstruente , Pliny, Nat. Hist. , xvi., 40, so that the goddess was evidently held in veneration by the whole province, cf. ibid. , 36:21; Liv., i., 45. According to the testimony of Pausanias, iv., 31, 8; cf. Xen., Anab. , v., 3, 4, no deity was more widely worshipped by private persons (Wetstein, Ramsay, Blass), see also Apuleius , 2, quoted by Mr. Page from Wordsworth. For the way in which the imperial government allied itself with the Artemis worship and the revival of paganism in the second century, and the universal honour paid to Artemis by Greek and barbarian alike, cf. Greek Inscriptions of the British Museum (Hicks), iii., pp. 135, 145. , see above on Act 11:28 . Plumptre points out that the language is almost identical with that of Apuleius (perhaps from this passage): “Diana Ephesia cujus nomen unicum totus veneratur orbis”.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
this our craft. Literally this share for us, i.e. our line of trade.
is in danger. Greek. kinduneuo. Only here, Act 19:40. Luk 8:23. 1Co 15:30.
to be set at nought. Literally to come into (Greek. eis) rejection (Greek. apelegmos). Only here.
also. Read after Diana.
temple. Greek. hieron. See Mat 23:16. The ruins of this temple, one of the wonders of the ancient world, and of the amphitheatre (Act 19:20), still remain.
goddess. Greek. thea, fem, of theos. Only here, verses: Act 19:19, Act 19:35, Act 19:37.
despised = reckoned for (Greek. eis) nothing (Greek. ouden).
magnificence. Greek. megaleiotes. Only here, Luk 9:43. 2Pe 1:16.
destroyed. Greek. katliaireo; literally taken down. Compare Act 13:19, Act 13:29. Luk 1:52. 2Co 10:5.
world. Greek. oikoumene. App-129.
worshippeth. Greek. sebomai. App-137.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
27.] is best taken as the dativus incommodi, not for , nor with , but with .
, as we say, department.
] but that eventually even the temple itself of the great goddess Artemis will be counted for nothing. was the usual epithet of the Ephesian Artemis: Xen. Ephes. i. p. 15: , . There is an inscription in Boeckh, 2963 c, containing the words . The same inscription also mentions and . C. and H. ii. 98.
The temple of Artemis at Ephesus, having been burnt to the ground by Herostratus on the night of the birth of Alexander the Great (B.C. 355), was restored with increased magnificence, and accounted one of the wonders of the ancient world. Its dimensions were 425 X 220 feet, and it was surrounded by 127 columns, 60 feet high. It was standing in all its grandeur at this time. See C. and H. ch. 16 vol. ii. pp. 84 ff.
is the more difficult and probably original reading: and that she should be deposed from her greatness, whom &c.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Act 19:27. , for us) The dative of profit or loss.- , but also) An effective speech, which is whetted by personal interest and by superstition.-, of the great) A solemn and customary epithet of Diana. Hence presently, , her magnificence, or majesty; comp. Act 19:28; Act 19:34-35. Hillers Onom., pp. 795, 634, 625, shows that also the names and Diana denote greatness.- ) So the LXX., 1Sa 1:13, , he counted her as drunken.-, to he destroyed) Wretched majesty, which is thus destroyed.-) her.-, the whole) The multitude (great number) of those in error does not make error into truth.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
world
“oikoumene” = inhabited earth. (See Scofield “Luk 2:1”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
that not: Act 19:21, Zep 2:11, Mat 23:14, 1Ti 6:5
whom: 1Jo 5:19, Rev 13:3, Rev 13:8
Reciprocal: Neh 2:10 – it grieved Hos 10:5 – for the glory Joh 3:26 – and all Act 2:9 – Asia Act 16:6 – Asia Act 19:24 – Diana 2Ti 1:15 – that
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
7
Act 19:27. These men were not concerned about the merits of the religious issue, but feared that financial loss would come to them if people were made to believe in the one living God. That is the meaning of the statement, our craft [business or occupation] is in danger. It was the old story of men being more interested in their financial than in their spiritual welfare. Yet they pretended to be concerned about the dignity of the idolatrous goddess, that was worshiped by the world.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Act 19:27. But also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth. This temple was popularly called the temple of Asia. The month of May was consecrated to the goddess Artemis of the Ephesians: all kinds of games and contests were celebrated in the city annually during this month, which became a national Ionian festival. Crowds from the neighbouring cities were in the habit of being present at these games and religious ceremonies. The officials who presided over these great festivities were elected annually by the whole province (see note on Act 19:31). It was scarcely to be wondered at that popular indignation was so quickly aroused, when it seemed probable that Ephesus might lose through the influence of the foreign preacher Paul all this splendour. It was no difficult matter to show its tradesmen and citizens how the commerce of the place would suffer if strangers were no longer attracted to the shrine of Artemis and to the festivities held in her honour.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
See notes on verse 23
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
Verse 27
But also, &c. They who, in public contests and discussions, are secretly contending for their own private ends, generally cloak their designs under pretended zeal for the cause of virtue and religion.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
19:27 So that not only {m} this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.
(m) As if he said, “If Paul goes on in this way as he has begun, to confuse the opinion which men have of Diana’s image, all of our gain will come to nothing.”