Verse 37
For ye have brought hither these men, who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess. If therefore, Demetrius, and the craftsmen that are with him, have a matter against any man, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls: let them accuse one another.
Neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers ... A marvelous insight into Paul's method of preaching appears quite incidentally here. He did not blaspheme pagan deities, nor indulge any violent or destructive operations against the pagan temples. As Boles observed, "He preached positive truths, rather than making a direct attack on their error."[38]
Robbers of temples ... This expression is unique to the New Testament, except for Paul's use of the verb in Romans 2:22, in which he accused certain Jews of robbing temples; and, as Murray said:
Since the town clerk at Ephesus defends Paul and his colleagues against any such charge as robbing temples, we cannot suppose this wrong was one to which the Jews were entirely immune.[39]
There is no way that we can accommodate to the notion of Ramsay that "`robbers of temples' is a mere mistranslation."[40] The word used in the Greek text is "temple-robbers."[41]
There are proconsuls ... Critics have been quick to point out that the Greek cities had only one proconsul each; but, as Blaiklock noted:
A Roman knight and a freedman had murdered the proconsul (shortly after the accession of Nero) and administered his estates in Asia. If these villains assumed temporary proconsular authority, the plural is accounted for, and the date fixed. It must have been A.D. 54.[42]
Again, the absolute and invariable accuracy of the sacred historian is attested.
[38] H. Leo Boles, op. cit., p. 313.
[39] John Murray, The Epistle to the Romans (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans, Publishers, 1968), vol. 1p. 83.
[40] Sir William M. Ramsay, op. cit., p. 226.
[41] The Nestle Greek Text with a Literal English Translation (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1958), p. 557.
[42] E. M. Blaiklock, op. cit., p. 65.
Be the first to react on this!
