Acts 19:33-34

19:33 Some of the crowd concluded ¹  it was about ²  Alexander because the Jews had pushed him to the front. ³  Alexander, gesturing ⁴  with his hand, was wanting to make a defense ⁵  before the public assembly. ⁶  19:34 But when they recognized ⁷  that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison, ⁸  “Great is Artemis ⁹  of the Ephesians!” for about two hours. ¹⁰ 

Acts 19:1

Disciples of John the Baptist at Ephesus

19:1 While ¹¹  Apollos was in Corinth, ¹²  Paul went through the inland ¹³  regions ¹⁴  and came to Ephesus. ¹⁵  He ¹⁶  found some disciples there ¹⁷ 

Acts 1:20

1:20 “For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his house become deserted, ¹⁸  and let there be no one to live in it,’ ¹⁹  and ‘Let another take his position of responsibility.’ ²⁰ 

[19:33]  ¹ tn Or “Some of the crowd gave instructions to.”

[19:33]  ² tn The words “it was about” are not in the Greek text but are implied; ᾿Αλέξανδρον (Alexandron) is taken to be an accusative of general reference.

[19:33]  ³ tn BDAG 865 s.v. προβάλλω 1 has “to cause to come forward, put forward…τινά someone…push someone forward to speak in the theater…Ac 19:33.”

[19:33]  ⁴ tn Or “motioning.”

[19:33]  ⁵ sn The nature of Alexander’s defense is not clear. It appears he was going to explain, as a Jew, that the problem was not caused by Jews, but by those of “the Way.” However, he never got a chance to speak.

[19:33]  ⁶ tn Or “before the crowd.” According to BDAG 223 s.v. δῆμος 2, “in a Hellenistic city, a convocation of citizens called together for the purpose of transacting official business, popular assembly…ἀπολογεῖσθαι τῷ δ. make a defense before the assembly vs. 33.”

[19:34]  ⁷ tn Grk “But recognizing.” The participle ἐπιγνόντες (epignonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[19:34]  ⁸ tn Grk “[they shouted] with one voice from all of them” (an idiom).

[19:34]  ⁹ sn Artemis was a Greek goddess worshiped particularly in Asia Minor, whose temple, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, was located just outside the city of Ephesus, 1.25 mi (2 km) northeast of the Grand Theater. Dimensions were 418 ft by 239 ft (125 m by 72 m) for the platform; the temple proper was 377 ft by 180 ft (113 m by 54 m). The roof was supported by 117 columns, each 60 ft (18 m) high by 6 ft (1.8 m) in diameter. The Emperor Justinian of Byzantium later took these columns for use in construction of the Hagia Sophia, where they still exist (in modern day Istanbul).

[19:34]  ¹⁰ sn They all shouted…for about two hours. The extent of the tumult shows the racial and social tensions of a cosmopolitan city like Ephesus, indicating what the Christians in such locations had to face.

[19:1]  ¹¹ tn Grk “It happened that while.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[19:1]  ¹² map For location see JP1 C2; JP2 C2; JP3 C2; JP4 C2.

[19:1]  ¹³ tn Or “interior.”

[19:1]  ¹⁴ tn BDAG 92 s.v. ἀνωτερικός has “upper τὰ ἀ. μέρη the upper (i.e. inland) country, the interior Ac 19:1.”

[19:1]  ¹⁵ map For location see JP1 D2; JP2 D2; JP3 D2; JP4 D2.

[19:1]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “and found.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the sequencing with the following verse the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.

[19:1]  ¹⁷ tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[1:20]  ¹⁸ tn Or “uninhabited” or “empty.”

[1:20]  ¹⁹ sn A quotation from Ps 69:25.

[1:20]  ²⁰ tn Or “Let another take his office.”