No small stir - No little excitement, disturbance, or tumult τάραχος tarachos. Compare Acts 17:4-5. “About that way.” Respecting the doctrines of Christianity which Paul preached. See the notes on Acts 9:2; Acts 18:26; Acts 19:9. read more
Acts 19:23-27. The same time there arose no small stir Ταραχος ουκ ολιγος , no small tumult, about that way The way of worshipping God, and securing a happy immortality, which Paul taught. For Demetrius, a silversmith A man of considerable influence; who made silver shrines for Diana Greek, ναους αργυρους Αρτεμιδος , literally, silver temples of Diana; that is, silver models, or representations in miniature, of the temple of Diana, and of the image which, as they said, fell down... read more
Ephesus and the surrounding region (19:8-22)After Paul had preached for three months in the synagogue, the Jews forced him out, so he went and taught in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. He carried on his teaching work there for the next two years, during which the disciples took the message into the surrounding countryside (8-10). This activity seems to have resulted in churches being founded, without Paul’s help, in the towns of Colossae, Hierapolis and Laodicea (Colossians 2:1; Colossians 4:13),... read more
A riot in Ephesus (19:23-41)Paul preached and taught in Ephesus for almost three years (see 20:31), and many people became Christians. Ephesus was considered to be the home of the goddess Artemis (or Diana), and the citizens of Ephesus were the honoured guardians of the magnificent temple of Artemis in their city. With so many people turning from the worship of Artemis, the temple was losing its popularity. Furthermore, local silversmiths who made small images and household shrines of the... read more
the same time = at (Greek. kata. App-104 .) that season. stir . See note on Acts 12:18 . about = concerning. Greek. peri. App-104 . read more
THE RIOT AT EPHESUSAnd about that time there arose no small stir concerning the Way. For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, brought no little business unto the craftsmen; whom he gathered together, with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs ye know that by this business we have our wealth.EPHESUSOnly a miserable village remains near the site of this once proud city of a third of a million. Its history reaches back more than a millennium... read more
23. the same time—of Paul's proposed departure. about that—"the" way—So the new religion seemed then to be designated (Acts 9:2; Acts 22:4; Acts 24:14). read more
D. The extension of the church to Rome 19:21-28:31"The panel is introduced by the programmatic statement of Acts 19:21-22 and concludes with the summary statement of Acts 28:31. Three features immediately strike the reader in this sixth panel: (1) the disproportionate length of the panel, including one-third of the total material of Acts; (2) the prominence given the speeches of Paul in his defense; and (3) the dominance of the ’we’ sections in the narrative portions (cf. Acts 20:5-15; Acts... read more
Christianity, the Way (cf. Acts 19:9; Acts 9:2; Acts 16:17; Acts 18:25-26; Acts 22:4; Acts 24:14; Acts 24:22), had such an influence in Ephesian society that the local pagan worship suffered."Cassidy has rightly pointed out that the use of the phrase ’the Way’ ’identifies the disciples as constituting a socially cohesive movement, a movement arising out of and grounded in their shared faith in Jesus.’ [Note: Footnote 106: R. Cassidy, Society and Politics in the Acts of the Apostles, p. 95.]... read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 19:23-41
A typical exhibition of human nature. This section of the history marks itself off—an episode which gave apostles and disciples, albeit in a very modified time, to rest, and made them spectators of an ample display of certain aspects of human nature. The world, ever ready to arm against the truth, and especially against Christ, the first distinct and bright embodiment of truth, is left sometimes to fight out its own battles. And the amount of smoke in which they end is sometimes, as in the... read more