Actschapter 16
40 verses · Luke · about AD 62 · Acts
Among those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.
Introduction
Luke, Acts, Acts Overview.
Luke wrote part of this chapter as a witness, and partway through it he begins to say we. He wrote for readers across the Roman world who needed to know how the church first reached Macedonia and what Roman officials made of it. The chapter follows a team that is turned back twice before it is sent. Listen for the guidance and for how the travellers read it. Listen also for the three people Philippi brings forward and how far apart their stations are. Watch Roman law enter the story at the close. Read it as the founding of the church that received the letter to the Philippians.
Context
- Who
- Theophilus and Gentile readers, watching the gospel cross into a new continent and collide with Roman law.
- What
- The move of the second mission from the churches of Galatia into Europe, the founding of the church at Philippi, and the beating, imprisonment and release of Paul and Silas.
- Where
- Derbe and Lystra, then Phrygia and Galatia to Troas, then across the Aegean by Samothrace and Neapolis to Philippi, a Roman colony in Macedonia.
- When
- About AD 49 or 50 on the usual reckoning, in the first months of the second mission after the council of Acts 15.
- Why
- To show the Spirit directing the mission into Macedonia, and the gospel reaching people of every rank at Philippi under the eye of Roman law.
Historical context
Philippi had been settled with Roman army veterans after a famous battle in 42 BC and held the highest civic privilege, its citizens counted as citizens of Rome itself. It was proud, Latin-speaking at the top, and thin on Jews: with no synagogue, believers met at a riverside place of prayer, which suggests fewer than the ten men a synagogue required.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
Lydia dealt in purple cloth, a luxury dyed at great expense and associated with rank. She headed her own household and could offer lodging to four travelling men, which marks her as a businesswoman of real means and makes her the first named convert in Europe.
The slave girl earned her owners money by fortune-telling, and Luke's phrase links her to the python of Delphi, the language used for oracular possession. Freeing her destroyed an income stream, and the charge her owners bring is dressed up as patriotism: these Jews are pushing customs unlawful for Romans.
The magistrates order a public beating with rods by their attendants, the standard colonial punishment. What makes it a scandal is that Roman citizens were legally protected from such treatment without trial, which is why the magistrates panic the next morning and come in person.
Significance
The first readers met three converts in one chapter who could not have been more different: a wealthy foreign businesswoman, a trafficked slave girl, and a Roman jailer. Luke lines them up on purpose.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
The prison scene told them what to do when the law turns on them. Paul and Silas sing at midnight, refuse to escape when the doors open, and stop the jailer from killing himself, and then use their citizenship not to avoid the beating but to protect the young church's standing after they leave.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Timothy Joins the Journey
Acts 16:1-3
a disciple named Timothy: Timothy, son of a believing Jewish woman and a Greek father, had never been circumcised. Paul circumcised him on account of the Jews in that area. Titus the Gentile was spared the rite at Galatians 2:3, where it was demanded for salvation.
Acts 16:1
“Then came he - That is, Paul in company with Silas. Luke does not give us the history of Barnabas, but confines his narrative to the journey of Paul. To Derbe and Lystra - See the notes on Act 14:6. And behold, a certain disciple named Timotheus - It was to this disciple that Paul afterward addressed the two epistles which bear his name. It is evident that he was a native of one of these places, but whether of Derbe or Lystra it is impossible to determine.”
1 more voice on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
Acts 16:1
“His would be one of "the souls of the disciples confirmed" at the apostle's second visit, "exhorted to continue in the faith, and" warned "that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God" (Ac 14:21, 22). the son of a certain . . .”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
The brothers in Lystra and Iconium: Timothy was known in two churches, Lystra and Iconium, on the road Paul had travelled at 14:6. Paul later reminds him at 2 Timothy 3:11 that he saw what Paul suffered in those cities. He knew what following Paul cost.
Acts 16:2
“Which was well reported of,.... Not the father of Timothy, but Timothy himself; to whose piety, virtue, and good conversation witness was borne, by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium; the members of the churches which were in these places, and which were not far from one another; and as it is necessary that ministers of the Gospel should have a good report of them that are without, so likewise of them that are within; and the testimony of the latter is preferable to that of the former.”
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 16:2
“Which was well reported of - These words are spoken of Timothy, and not of his father. At this time Timothy must have been very young; for, several years after, when appointed to superintend the Church at Crete, he appears to have been then so young that there was a danger of its operating to the prejudice of his ministry: 1Ti 4:12, Let no man despise thy youth.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
took him and circumcised him: Paul states the principle at 1 Corinthians 9:20, becoming like a Jew to win Jews. The rite gave Timothy a place in the synagogues where Paul began his work in each town. Calvin calls it a thing indifferent, used freely for the gospel.
Acts 16:3
“But before his departure, Paul took and circumcised him--a rite which every Israelite might perform. because of the Jews . . . for they knew all that his father was a Greek--This seems to imply that the father was no proselyte. Against the wishes of a Gentile father no Jewish mother was, as the Jews themselves say, permitted to circumcise her son.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
3 more voices on this verse
Acts 16:3
“He took and circumcised him because of the Jews - The unbelieving Jews, to whom he designed he should preach. For they would not have conversed with him at all, so long as he was uncircumcised.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Acts 16:3
“Even if, for certain, the apostle had granted pardon of fornication to that Corinthian, it would be another instance of his once for all contravening his own practice to meet the requirement of the time. He circumcised Timotheus alone, and yet did away with circumcision.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · On Modestypatristic
Acts 16:3
“Now, the question is, whether it were lawful for Paul to use a vain sign, whose signification and force was abolished; for it seemeth a vain thing when there is a departure made from the institution of God. But circumcision was commanded by God to continue only until the coming of Christ.”
John Calvin · Commentaries (1554)reformed
Acts 16:4-5
they delivered the decisions handed down: They delivered the council's decisions to the Galatian churches of the first mission. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers, the book's fourth report of growth after 6:7, 9:31 and 12:24.
Acts 16:4
“And as they went through the cities,.... Of Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium, and others in Lycaonia, and in Phrygia and Galatia; the Arabic version reads, "they both"; that is, Paul and Barnabas: they delivered them the decrees for to keep; they gave the churches, in these cities, the sentiments, and determinations to be observed and followed by them: that were ordained of the apostles which were at Jerusalem; concerning the abstinence of the Gentiles from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication, Act 15:20.”
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 16:4
“They delivered them the decrees for to keep - Τα δογματα, τα κεκριμενα ὑπο των ΑποϚολων. Bishop Pearce contends that τα δογματα, the decrees, is a gloss which was not in the text originally; and that the τα κεκριμενα, the judgments or determinations of the apostles, was all that was originally written here.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
the churches were strengthened in the faith: The verb for strengthened appears elsewhere in the New Testament only at 3:7 and 3:16, of the lame man's feet made strong. Luke uses a word of bodily firmness for churches. The faith here names what the churches believed, as at 6:7.
Acts 16:5
“Established in the faith - Confirmed in the belief of the gospel The effect of the wise and conciliatory measure was to increase and strengthen the churches.”
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 16:5
“If they had been disposed to turn Jews, they could have done that long since, before the apostles came among them; but, if they cannot be interested in the Christian privileges without submitting to the Jews' yoke, they will be as they are. But, if they find there is no danger of their being so enslaved, they are ready to embrace Christianity, and join themselves to the church.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Doors Shut by the Spirit; The Macedonian Call
Acts 16:6-8
the Holy Spirit had prevented them: The Holy Spirit prevented them from speaking the word in Asia, and at Mysia the Spirit of Jesus would not permit them to enter Bithynia. Two doors shut in as many verses bring them down to Troas, where the guidance turns positive.
Acts 16:6
“And having gone through Phrygia - And spoken there what was sufficient, as well as in the region of Galatia, being forbid by the Spirit (probably by an inward dictate) to speak as yet in the proconsular Asia, the time for it not being come.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Acts 16:6
“Were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia - The Asia mentioned here could not be Asia Minor in general, for Galatia, Phrygia, Pisidia, Lycaonia, and Pamphylia, were provinces of it, and in these the apostles preached; but it was what was called Proconsular Asia, which included only Ionia, Aeolia, and Lydia. The apostles were not suffered to visit these places at this time; but they afterwards went thither, and preached the Gospel with success; for it was in this Proconsular Asia that the seven Churches were situated.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Acts 16:6
“At this time must have been formed "the churches of Galatia" (Ga 1:2; 1Co 16:1); founded, as we learn from the Epistle to the Galatians (particularly Ga 4:19), by the apostle Paul, and which were already in existence when he was on his third missionary journey, as we learn from Ac 18:23, where it appears that he was no less successful in Phrygia.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
the Spirit of Jesus would not permit them: The oldest manuscripts read the Spirit of Jesus, a phrase found nowhere else in the New Testament, and the received text has the Spirit alone. Verse 6 names the same guide the Holy Spirit. Luke gives the Spirit and Jesus one will.
Acts 16:7
“Coming to Mysia, and passing it by, as being a part of Asia, they attempted to go into Bithynia; but the Spirit suffered them not - Forbidding them as before. Sometimes a strong impression, for which we are not able to give any account, is not altogether to be despised.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Acts 16:7
“Mysia - This was a province of Asia Minor, having Propontis on the north, Bithynia on the east, Lydia on the south, and the Aegean Sea on the west. They assayed - They endeavored; they attempted. Into Bithynia - A province of Asia Minor lying east of Mysia.”
Acts 16:7
“They came to Mysia, and, as it should seem, preached the gospel there; for though it was a very mean contemptible country, even to a proverb ( Mysorum ultimus, in Cicero, is a most despicable man ), yet the apostles disdained not to visit it, owning themselves debtors both to the wise and to the unwise, Rom. i.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
passed by Mysia and went down to Troas: Alexandria Troas was a Roman colony near old Troy and the usual port for the crossing to Macedonia. Paul comes back to Troas at 20:6, and 2 Corinthians 2:12 records an open door for him there. The road ran out at the sea.
Acts 16:8
“And they passed by Mysia,.... Without stopping or staying there, though they came to it: came down to Troas; either the country of Troas, as the Syriac version renders it; which, according to Solinus (m), is bordered on the north part of Galatia, and was near to Lycaonia, Pisidia, and Mygdonia on the south, and to Lydia on the east, and to Mysia and Caria on the north: or rather the city of Troas, which Pliny says (n), was formerly called Antigonia, now Alexandria, a colony of the Romans.”
2 more voices on this verse
Acts 16:8
“Came down to Troas - The Troad, or part of Phrygia Minor in which the celebrated city of Troy was formerly situated. This city was first built by Dardanus, who was its king, and from whom it was called Dardania; from Tros, his grandson, it was called Troja, or Troy; and from his son, Ilus, it was called Ilium. It has been long so completely destroyed that no ascertainable vestige of it remains; insomuch that some have even doubted of its existence.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Acts 16:8
“This visional Macedonian discovered himself by what he said. But it was a cry not of conscious desire for the Gospel, but of deep need of it and unconscious preparedness to receive it, not only in that region, but, we may well say, throughout all that western empire which Macedonia might be said to represent.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Acts 16:9-10
Paul had a vision: After Paul's vision of a man of Macedonia, the narrative shifts into the first person with the words we got ready to leave for Macedonia. It is the first of the book's we passages, Luke joining as an eyewitness.
Acts 16:9
“A vision appeared to Paul by night - It was not a dream, though it was by night. No other dream is mentioned in the New Testament than that of Joseph and of Pilate's wife.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
we got ready to leave for Macedonia: Luke writes in the first person from this verse to 16:17, and again from 20:5 through the voyage to Rome in chapters 27 and 28. Irenaeus argued from these passages that Luke travelled with Paul. The first of them begins at Troas, after the vision of Macedonia.
Acts 16:10
“We endeavored to go into Macedonia - This is the first place that the historian St. Luke refers to himself: We endeavored, etc. And, from this, it has been supposed that he joined the company of Paul, for the first time, at Troas. Assuredly gathering - Συμβιβαζοντες, Drawing an inference from the vision that had appeared. That the Lord had called us for to preach - That is, they inferred that they were called to preach the Gospel in Macedonia, from what the vision had said, come over and help us; the help meaning, preach to us the Gospel.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
3 more voices on this verse
Acts 16:10
“And here he does it only in an oblique manner. Nor does he throughout the history once mention his own name, or any one thing which he did or said for the service of Christianity; though Paul speaks of him in the most honourable terms, Colossians iv, 14; 2 Tim. iv, 11; and probably as the brother whose praise in the Gospel went through all the Churches, 2 Cor. viii, 18.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Acts 16:10
It should be noted that in these cities Luke was also with Paul. This is evident from the fact that the latter unites his own person with the former, when he says: "we resolved to set out... we sailed a straight course... we stayed."
Theophylact of Ohrid · written before 1107 · Commentary on Actspatristic
Acts 16:10
“And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia--The "we," here first introduced, is a modest intimation that the historian himself had now joined the missionary party. (The modern objections to this are quite frivolous).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Lydia's Heart Opened by the Riverside
Acts 16:11-12
We sailed from Troas: to Neapolis in two days, against five on the return at 20:6, and came to the Roman colony of Philippi. Philippi brings the gospel onto European soil for the first time in the book.
Acts 16:11
“Loosing from Troas - Setting sail from this place. To Samothracia - This was an island in the Aegean Sea not far from Thrace. It was populated by inhabitants from Samos and from Thrace, and hence called Samothracia. It was about 20 miles in circumference, and was an asylum for fugitives and criminals. And the next day to Nepalese - This was a maritime city of Macedonia, near the borders of Thrace. It was about 10 miles from Philippi.”
the leading city of that district of Macedonia: Rome divided Macedonia into four districts in 167 BC, and the capital of the district of Philippi was Amphipolis. Ramsay reads leading city as local pride, while Jamieson, Fausset and Brown take it as the first city of the district reached from Neapolis. Luke knew the town.
Acts 16:12
“Which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. A colony is one that, due to the lack of natives, is filled with new settlers. Hence it is also called a colony from the cultivation of fields.”
Bede · written before 735 · Commentary on Actspatristic
2 more voices on this verse
Acts 16:12
“And from thence to Philippi - This was a town of Macedonia, in the territory of the Edones, on the confines of Thrace, situated on the side of a steep eminence. It took its name from Philip II., king of Macedon. It is famous for two battles, fought between the imperial army, commanded by Octavianus, afterwards Augustus, and Mark Antony, and the republican army, commanded by Brutus and Cassius, in which these were successful; and a second, between Octavianus and Antony on the one part, and Brutus on the other.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Acts 16:12
“Why was not Paul introduced with solemnity, and the keys of the city put into his hand? Here is nothing like this; for, 1. It is a good while before any notice at all is taken of him: We were in that city abiding certain days, probably at a public house and at their own charge, for they had no friend to invite them so much as to a meal's meat, till Lydia welcomed them.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Acts 16:13-15
along the river: The place of prayer by the river suggests Philippi lacked the ten Jewish men needed for a synagogue. There Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from Thyatira, became Europe's first convert, and her house its first church.
Acts 16:13
“And on the sabbath - There is no doubt that in this city there were Jews; In the time of the apostles they were scattered extensively throughout the known world. By a river side - What river this was is not known. It is known, however, that the Jews were accustomed to provide water, or to build their synagogues and oratories near water, for the convenience of the numerous washings before and during their religious services. Where prayer - Where there was a place of prayer, or where prayer was commonly offered.”
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 16:13
“We went out of the gate - The Jews usually held their religious assemblies (either by choice or constraint) at a distance from the heathens: by a river side - Which was also convenient for purifying themselves. Where prayer was wont to be made - Though it does not appear there was any house built there.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
a dealer in purple cloth: Thyatira lay in the region of Lydia in the province of Asia, and inscriptions found there name a guild of dyers. The province the Spirit closed at verse 6 met Paul in Macedonia through a woman from Asia. Revelation 2:18 addresses a church at Thyatira.
Acts 16:14
“Lydia, a seller of purple - She probably had her name from the province of Lydia, in which the city of Thyatira was situated. The Lydian women have been celebrated for their beautiful purple manufactures. Which worshipped God - That is, she was a proselyte to the Jewish religion; as were probably all the women that resorted hither.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Acts 16:14
“And a certain woman, named Lydia,.... Whether this woman was a Jewess or a Gentile, is not certain, her name will not determine; she might be called so from the country of Lydia, which was in Asia minor, and where was Thyatira, her native place; Horace makes frequent mention of one of this name (g) and it might be a Jewish name; we read of R.”
Acts 16:14
“A worshipper of God - Probably acquainted with the prophetic writings whose heart the Lord opened - The Greek word properly refers to the opening of the eyes: and the heart has its eyes, Eph. i, 18. These are closed by nature and to open them is the peculiar work of God.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
ConnectionsRevelation 2:13
Lydia makes her request rest on their judgment of her faith, and the missionaries accept her house. Her hospitality began a partnership. Philippians 4:15 says the church at Philippi alone shared with Paul in giving and receiving.
Acts 16:15
“And when she was baptized - Apparently without any delay. Compare Act 2:41; Act 8:38. It was usual to be baptized immediately on believing. And her household - Greek: her house ὁ οἶκος ἀυτῆς ho oikos autēs, her family. No mention is made of their having believed, and the case is one that affords a strong presumptive proof that this was an instance of household or infant baptism. Because: (1) Her believing is particularly mentioned. (2) It is not intimated that they believed. (3) It is manifestly implied that they were baptized because she believed.”
2 more voices on this verse
Acts 16:15
“She was baptized and her family - Who can believe that in so many families there was no infant? Or that the Jews, who were so long accustomed to circumcise their children, would not now devote them to God by baptism? She entreated us - The souls of the faithful cleave to those by whom they were gained to God.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Acts 16:15
“Here also is the first mention of a Christian household. Whether it included children, also in that case baptized, is not explicitly stated; but the presumption, as in other cases of household baptism, is that it did.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
A Slave Girl Set Free, and the Inner Prison
Acts 16:16-18
spirit of divination: The slave girl had a spirit of divination, a puthon in the Greek, the Delphic oracle's spirit. She shouted that these men are servants of the Most High God, a true statement from a false source, as when demons spoke of Jesus.
Acts 16:16
“As we went to prayer - Εις προσευχην, Into the proseucha: see on Act 16:13 (note), and on Luk 6:12 (note). The article, την, is added here by ABCE, several others, Origen and Theophylact: thus makes the place more emphatic, and seems to determine the above meaning of προσευχην to be right - not the act of prayer or praying to God, but the place, the oratory, in which these proselytes assembled for the purpose of praying, reading the law and the prophets, and such like exercises of devotion.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
servants of the Most High God: Most High God was a title Greek hearers gave Zeus, and the demon of Luke 8:28 used it of Jesus. The Greek says a way of salvation, one road among many to a pagan ear. The shouting blurred the message.
Acts 16:17
“The same followed Paul ... - Why she did this, or under what presence, the sacred writer has not informed us. It may have been: (1) That as she prophesied for gain, she supposed that Paul and Silas would reward her if she publicly proclaimed that they were the servants of God. Or, (2) Because she was conscious that an evil spirit possessed her, and she feared that Paul and Silas would expel that spirit, and by proclaiming them to be the servants of God she hoped to conciliate their favor.”
2 more voices on this verse
Acts 16:17
“Jesus our Lord does not accept witness from demons, as he said, "Be silent and come out of him." So, in imitation of him, his apostle Paul "grieving" it says, "turned and addressed the spirit of Python, 'I command you in the name of Jesus Christ, depart from her.' " Perhaps you may ask why Paul is grieving when he rebukes the spirit of Python.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Homilies on Numbers 16.7.10patristic
Acts 16:17
“These men are servants of the most high God, &c.--Glorious testimony! But see on Lu 4:41. this did she many days--that is, on many successive occasions when on their way to their usual place of meeting, or when engaged in religious services.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Paul speaks to the spirit and leaves the girl out of it, and the name does the work, as the seventy found at Luke 10:17. At 19:13 the sons of Sceva borrow the same name without faith and are overpowered. The name belongs to its servants.
Acts 16:18
“Paul, being grieved - Probably for the reasons assigned above. Turned - to the spirit - Not to the woman; she was only the organ by which the spirit acted. I command thee, in the name of Jesus - Jesus is the Savior; Satan is Abaddon and Apollyon, the destroyer. The sovereign Savior says to the destroyer, Come out of her; and he came out in the same hour. Every circumstance of this case proves it to have been a real possession.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Acts 16:18
“Thus Paul shows the way of salvation indeed, that it is by breaking the power of Satan, and chaining him up, that he may not deceive the world ( Rev. xx. 3 ), and that this salvation is to be obtained in the name of Jesus Christ only, as in his name the devil was now cast out and by no other.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Acts 16:18
“Paul being grieved--for the poor victim; grieved to see such power possessed by the enemy of man's salvation, and grieved to observe the malignant design with which this high testimony was borne to Christ.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Acts 16:19-21
their hope of making money: When the girl’s owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas. They charged them with promoting customs that are unlawful for Romans, and Luke shows lost income dressed as public order.
Acts 16:19
“If the preaching of the gospel ruin the craft of the silversmiths ( ch. xix. 24 ), much more the craft of the soothsayers; and therefore here is a great outcry raised, when Satan's power to deceive is broken: the priests hated the gospel because it turned men from the blind service of dumb idols, and so the hope of their gains was gone.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 16:19
“The magistrates - The supreme magistrates of the city. In the next verse they are called by a title which often signifies pretors. These officers exercised both the military and civil authority.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
About this time Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome, which Luke records at 18:2 and Suetonius in his Life of Claudius 25.4. In a Roman colony the word Jews carried suspicion. Only Paul and Silas were seized.
Acts 16:20
“Brought them to the magistrates - Στρατηγοις, The commanders of the army, who, very likely, as this city was a Roman colony, possessed the sovereign authority. The civil magistrates, therefore, having heard the case, as we shall soon find, in which it was pretended that the safety of the state was involved, would naturally refer the business to the decision of those who had the supreme command. Exceedingly trouble our city - They are destroying the public peace, and endangering the public safety.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Acts 16:20
“They take it for granted that these men are Jews, a nation at this time as much an abomination to the Romans as they had long ago been to the Egyptians. Piteous was the case of the apostles, when it was turned to their reproach that they were Jews, and yet the Jews were their most violent persecutors!”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Acts 16:20
“There is some color of truth in all such accusations, in so far as the Gospel, and generally the fear of God, as a reigning principle of human action, is in a godless world a thoroughly revolutionary principle . . .”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
customs that are unlawful for us Romans: Cicero records the Roman rule that no one should worship new or foreign gods unless the state had admitted them, in On the Laws 2.19. Jews could practice their own customs, and Jews promoting them to Romans in a Roman colony were another matter. The charge had a legal edge.
Acts 16:21
“And teach customs - The word “customs” here ἔθη ethē refers to “religious rites or forms of worship.” See the notes on Act 6:14. They meant to charge the apostles with introducing a new religion which was unauthorized by the Roman laws. This was a cunning and artful accusation. It is perfectly evident that they cared nothing either for the religion of the Romans or of the Jews. Nor were they really concerned about any change of religion.”
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 16:21
“Right or wrong, they would adhere to that, how vain soever, which they had received by tradition from their fathers. No foreign nor upstart deity must be allowed, without the approbation of the senate; the gods of their country must be their gods, true or false. This was one of the laws of the twelve tables.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Acts 16:22-24
The crowd joined in the attack: The magistrates ordered Paul and Silas stripped and beaten with rods before any defense was heard or their citizenship checked. Beating uncondemned Roman citizens was illegal, as Paul says at verse 37, and the haste returns to embarrass them.
Acts 16:22
“The magistrates commanded that they should be whipped as vagabonds, by the lictors or beadles who attended the prætors, and carried rods with them for that purpose; this was one of those three times that Paul was beaten with rods, according to the Roman usage, which was not under the compassionate limitation of the number of stripes not to exceed forty, which was provided by the Jewish law.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 16:22
“The multitude rose up together - There was a general outcry against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes, and delivered them to the mob, commanding the lictors, or beadles, to beat them with rods, ῥαβδιζειν. This was the Roman custom of treating criminals, as Grotius has well remarked.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
striking them with many blows: This is one of the three beatings with rods Paul counts at 2 Corinthians 11:25. He recalls the shameful treatment at Philippi to the Thessalonians at 1 Thessalonians 2:2. At verse 35 the officers are named for the rods.
Acts 16:23
“They laid many stripes upon them - Either they did not immediately say they were Romans, or in the tumult it was not regarded. Charging the jailer - Perhaps rather to quiet the people than because they thought them criminal.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 16:23
“And when they had laid many stripes on them - The Jews were by law prohibited from inflicting more than 40 stripes, and usually inflicted but 39, 2Co 11:24. But there was no such law among the Romans. They were unrestricted in regard to the number of lashes, and probably inflicted many more. Perhaps Paul refers to this when he says 2Co 11:23, “In stripes above measure.” that is, beyond the usual measure among the Jews, or beyond moderation.”
fastened their feet in the stocks: The stocks held the feet apart in a wooden frame, and Paul and Silas sat in them with their wounds open. Eusebius records martyrs at Lyons whose feet were stretched in the stocks to the fifth hole.
Acts 16:24
“Thrust them into the inner prison - Into the most retired and secure part of the prison. The cells in the interior of the prison would be regarded as more safe, being doubtless more protected, and the difficulty of escape would be greater. And made their feet fast in the stocks - Greek: and made their feet secure to wood. The word “stocks,” with us, denotes a machine made of two pieces of timber between which the feet of criminals are placed, and in which they are thus made secure.”
3 more voices on this verse
Acts 16:24
“When therefore he was led to the dungeon, after having received a great number of stripes, he took prisoner the keeper of the prison. His feet were in the stocks, and his hands in the chain; and the prison shook at midnight while they were singing hymns. See you, how His power was perfected in weakness? If Paul had been at large, and had shaken that building, the thing would not have been so wonderful.”
John Chrysostom · written before 407 · Homilies Concerning the Statues 1.16patristic
Acts 16:24
“The inner prison - Probably what we would call the dungeon; the darkest and most secure cell. Made their feet fast in the stocks - The το ξυλον, which we here translate stocks, is supposed to mean two large pieces of wood, pierced with holes like our stocks, and fitted to each other, that, when the legs were in, they could not be drawn out. The holes being pierced at different distances, the legs might be separated or divaricated to a great extent, which must produce extreme pain.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Acts 16:24
“THE work of God at Philippi went on very quietly and successfully in the hands of Paul and Silas. It was the commencement of the Gospel in Europe and very auspicious were its circumstances. The good work was intimately connected with Prayer Meetings, which for this reason should always wear a charm for Europeans. Godly women met together for devotion. Paul spoke to them and households were converted and baptized. The work went on delightfully, but the devil, as usual, must put in his foot!”
Charles Spurgeon · written before 1892 · The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3372: “Conversion and Character” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition)Particular Baptist
Midnight Songs, an Earthquake, and a Jailer Saved
Acts 16:25-26
About midnight Paul and Silas: were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. A strong earthquake shook the prison, all the doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose, as at Peter's release in 12:6.
Acts 16:25
“And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises--literally, "praying, were singing praises"; that is, while engaged in pouring out their hearts in prayer, had broken forth into singing, and were hymning loud their joy.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
3 more voices on this verse
Acts 16:25
“Paul and Silas sung a hymn to God - Notwithstanding weariness, hunger stripes, and blood. And the prisoners heard - A song to which they were not accustomed.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Acts 16:25
That we must never murmur, but bless God concerning all things that happen. In Job: "Say some word against the Lord, and die. But he, looking upon her, said, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women. If we have received good things from the Lord's hand, why shall we not endure evil things? In all these things which happened unto him, Job sinned not with his lips in the sight of the Lord."
Cyprian · written before 258 · Treatise XII Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jewspatristic
Acts 16:25
“And at midnight - Probably their painful posture, and the sufferings of their recent scourging, prevented their. sleeping. Yet, though they had no repose, they had a quiet conscience, and the supports of religion. Prayed - Though they had suffered much, yet they had reason to apprehend more. They sought, therefore, the sustaining grace of God. And sang praises - Compare the notes on Job 35:10. Nothing but religion would have enabled them to do this. They had endured much, but they had cause still for gratitude.”
shook the foundations of the prison: At 4:31 the place of prayer was shaken, and here a prison shakes while two men pray. Ramsay, who had seen Turkish prisons, explains how a shock could force the bars from the doors and the chains from the walls. The timing was God's.
Acts 16:26
“There was a great earthquake - Thus God bore a miraculous testimony of approbation to his servants; and, by the earthquake, and loosing the bonds of the prisoners, showed, in a symbolical way, the nature of that religion which they preached: while it shakes and terrifies the guilty, it proclaims deliverance to the captives, and the opening of the prison-doors to them that are bound; and sets at liberty them that are bruised.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 16:26
“And suddenly there was a great earthquake--in answer, doubtless, to the prayers and expectations of the sufferers that, for the truth's sake and the honor of their Lord, some interposition would take place. every one's bands--that is, the bands of all the prisoners. were loosed--not by the earthquake, of course, but by a miraculous energy accompanying it.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Acts 16:27-28
he drew his sword: The jailer drew his sword to kill himself, since Roman law made a guard answer with his life for an escaped prisoner. Paul called out that all were there, so the men he had confined saved his life by staying in an opened prison.
Acts 16:27
“Would have killed himself - This was done in the midst of agitation and alarm. He supposed that the prisoners had fled. He presumed that their escape would be charged on him. It was customary to hold a jailor responsible for the safe keeping of prisoners, and to subject him to the punishment due them if he suffered them to escape. See Act 12:19. It should be added that it was common and approved among the Greeks and Romans for a man to commit suicide when he was encompassed with dangers from which he could not escape.”
In the dark the jailer saw open doors and drew his conclusion. Paul's word that every prisoner remained is the surprise, and the other prisoners stayed with Paul and Silas. Their staying left the jailer blameless.
Acts 16:28
“With a loud voice - Through earnestness, and because he was at some distance. Do thyself no harm - Although the Christian faith opens the prospect into another life, yet it absolutely forbids and effectually prevents a man's discharging himself from this.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Acts 16:28
“Do thyself no harm - As it was now dark, being midnight, St. Paul must have had a Divine intimation of what the jailor was going to do; and, to prevent it, cried out aloud, Do thyself no harm, for we are all here.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Acts 16:28
“But how, it has been asked by skeptical critics, could Paul in his inner prison know what the jailer was about to do? In many conceivable ways, without supposing any supernatural communication.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Acts 16:29-31
Calling for lights: Trembling, the jailer asked what he must do to be saved. The answer, to believe in the Lord Jesus, is the book's simplest statement of the gospel. Faith alone is the condition, as Peter argued at the council in chapter 15.
The jailer may have heard the slave girl cry for many days that these men proclaimed the way of salvation, at verse 17. Sirs renders kyrioi, lords. The answer in verse 31 names the one Lord.
Acts 16:30
“Brought them out - Of the dungeon in which they were confined. What must I do to be saved? - Whether this regard personal or eternal safety, it is a question the most interesting to man. But it is not likely that the jailor referred here to his personal safety.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Acts 16:30
“Sirs - He did not style them so the day before. What must I do to be saved? - From the guilt I feel and the vengeance I fear? Undoubtedly God then set his sins in array before him, and convinced him in the clearest and strongest manner that the wrath of God abode upon him.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Acts 16:30
"That was a true cry which the Pythoness uttered, 'These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation! That I now must know, and from them, as divinely sent to me, must I learn that way of salvation!'" Substantially, this is the cry of every awakened sinner, though the degree of light and the depths of anxiety it expresses will be different in each case.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Households come to faith together at 11:14 with Cornelius, at 16:15 with Lydia and at 18:8 with Crispus. A household in this world took in slaves and dependents as well as kin. Verse 32 tells how each one heard the word.
Acts 16:31
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved--The brevity, simplicity, and directness of this reply are, in the circumstances, singularly beautiful.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 16:31
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ - This was a simple, a plain, and an effectual direction. They did not direct him to use the means of grace, to pray, or to continue to seek for salvation. They did not advise him to delay, or to wait for the mercy of God. They told him to believe at once; to commit his agitated, and guilty, and troubled spirit to the Saviour, with the assurance that he should find peace. They presumed that he would understand what it was to believe, and they commanded him to do the thing.”
Acts 16:32-34
spoke the word of the Lord: At that hour of the night the jailer washed their wounds, his first act of faith a mercy to wounds his order caused. Then he and all his household were baptized, and he set a meal before them.
Acts 16:32
“And they spake unto him the word of the Lord - Thus, by teaching him and all that were in his house the doctrine of the Lord, they plainly pointed out to them the way of salvation. And it appears that he and his whole family, who were capable of receiving instructions, embraced this doctrine, and showed the sincerity of their faith by immediately receiving baptism.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 16:32
“And they spake unto him the word of the Lord--unfolding now, doubtless, more fully what "the Lord Jesus Christ" was to whom they had pointed his faith, and what the "salvation" was which this would bring him. and to all that were in his house--who from their own dwelling (under the same roof no doubt with the prison) had crowded round the apostles, aroused first by the earthquake.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
the jailer took them and washed their wounds: Chrysostom draws a double washing out of the verse, the jailer washing their stripes and being himself washed from his sins. Both took place in that hour of the night. Baptism came without delay.
Acts 16:33
"Having taken them at that hour of the night, he washed their wounds." The jailer washed their wounds, but he himself was washed from his sins.
Theophylact of Ohrid · written before 1107 · Commentary on Actspatristic
2 more voices on this verse
Acts 16:33
“And he took them - To a convenient place for washing. It is evident from this that, though the apostles had the gift of miracles, they did not exercise it in regard to their own sufferings or to heal their own wounds. They restored others to health, not themselves. And washed their stripes - The wounds which had been inflicted by the severe scourging which they had received the night before. We have here a remarkable instance of the effect of religion in producing humanity and tenderness.”
Acts 16:33
“But now, when his whole heart was opened to his spiritual benefactors, he cannot rest until he has done all in his power for their bodily relief. and was baptized, he and all his, straightway--probably at the same fountain, since it took place "straightway"; the one washing on his part being immediately succeeded by the other on theirs.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
set a meal before them: The jailer was a Gentile, so to believe in God meant turning from the gods of Philippi to the living God. Faith, baptism and a shared meal in the home follow each other here as at 2:41 to 46. The household rejoiced together.
Acts 16:34
"And he rejoiced with all his house, that he believed in God," though he had received nothing except good words and good hopes.
Theophylact of Ohrid · written before 1107 · Commentary on Actspatristic
Acts 16:35-36
At daylight the magistrates sent their officers to release the men quietly, likely uneasy about the legality of the night's violence. The jailer relayed the order as good news, expecting the prisoners to leave quietly. Paul's answer in the next verse keeps the matter open.
Acts 16:35
“And when it was day ... - It is evident from the narrative that it was not contemplated at first to release them so soon, Act 16:22-24. But it is not known what produced this change of purpose in the magistrates. It is probable, however, that they had been brought to reflection, somewhat as the jailor had, by the earthquake, and that their consciences had been troubled by the fact, that in order to please the multitude, they had caused strangers to be beaten and imprisoned without trial and contrary to the Roman laws.”
The jailer, now a believer, adds the blessing go in peace to the magistrates' bare order. Jesus sent the healed woman away with those words at Luke 8:48. The release was still meant to be quiet.
Acts 16:37-38
Paul answered that they had been beaten publicly without a trial, though Roman citizens, and demanded that the magistrates lead them out. He claimed citizenship after the punishment to make the leaders answer in public, since beating an uncondemned citizen was a serious offense.
Acts 16:37
“They have beaten us openly uncondemned - There are three aggravating circumstances mentioned, of which Paul complains: (1) That they had been beaten contrary to the Roman laws. (2) That it had been public; the disgrace had been in the presence of the people, and the reparation ought to be as public. (3) That it had been done without a trial, and while they were uncondemned, and therefore the magistrates ought themselves to come and release them, and thus publicly acknowledge their error.”
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 16:37
“They have beaten us publicly, being Roman - St. Paul does not always plead this privilege. But in a country where they were entire strangers, such treatment might have brought upon them a suspicion of having been guilty of some uncommon crime, and so have hindered the course of the Gospel.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Paul and Silas were Roman citizens: Luke states that Silas too was a Roman citizen only here. The Porcian and Valerian laws forbade beating a Roman citizen, and the speech of Cicero against Verres shows the outrage such a beating raised. The magistrates were alarmed with reason.
Acts 16:38
“They feared when they heard - they were Romans - They feared, because the Roman law was so constituted that an insult offered to a citizen was deemed an insult to the whole Roman people. There is a remarkable addition here, both in the Greek and Latin of the Codex Bezae. It is as follows: “And when they were come with many of their friends to the prison, they besought them to go out, saying: We were ignorant of your circumstances, that ye were righteous men.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Acts 16:39-40
They came to appease them: The magistrates who had ordered the beating came to appease them and led them out, a reversal from mob violence to apology. Paul and Silas then went to Lydia’s house to encourage the brothers, returning to the home where the church in Philippi began.
Acts 16:39
“And they came and besought them - A most humiliating act for Roman magistrates, but in this case it was unavoidable. The apostles had them completely in their power, and could easily effect their disgrace and ruin. Probably they besought them by declaring them innocent; by affirming that they were ignorant that they were Roman citizens, etc. And desired them to depart ... - Probably: (1) To save their own character, and be secure from their taking any further steps to convict the magistrates of violating the laws; and, (2) To evade any further popular tumult on their account.”
they went to Lydia’s house: Luke writes they here, and the first person returns only at 20:5, again at Philippi. Ramsay concludes that Luke stayed in the city for those years. Timothy also drops from view until 17:14.
Acts 16:40
“Entered into the house of Lydia - This was the place of their residence while at Philippi: see Act 16:15. They comforted them, and departed - The magistrates were sufficiently humbled, and the public at large, hearing of this circumstance, must be satisfied of the innocency of the apostles. They, therefore, after staying a reasonable time at the house of Lydia, and exhorting the brethren, departed; having as yet to go farther into Macedonia, and to preach the Gospel in the most polished city in the world, the city of Athens. See the succeeding chapter.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 16:40
“And they went out of the prison--Having attained their object--to vindicate their civil rights, by the infraction of which in this case the Gospel in their persons had been illegally affronted--they had no mind to carry the matter farther. Their citizenship was valuable to them only as a shield against unnecessary injuries to their Master's cause.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
How this psalm is built
The form: Travel narrative with a first-person section, set in a Roman colony, as Ramsay classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| Two doors closed and one call | The Holy Spirit prevents the team from speaking in Asia at verse 6, the Spirit of Jesus stops them at Bithynia at verse 7, and the vision at verse 9 calls them to Macedonia. The site's exposition, citing John Wesley and Adam Clarke, reads the Spirit as guide by two refusals before the positive word.This site's published exposition of Acts 16:6 to 8, The exposition_notes row on Acts 16:6 to 8, citing John Wesley and Adam Clarke. | Acts 16:6, Acts 16:7, Acts 16:9 |
| The first person plural | The narrative says we from verse 10 to verse 17 and returns to they at verse 19. Irenaeus argued from these passages that Luke travelled with Paul, and the first person returns at 20:5 at Philippi.Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies 3.14.1, about 180. | Acts 16:10, Acts 16:11, Acts 16:13, Acts 16:17 |
| The churches strengthened and growing | Verse 5 closes the first section with a summary of growth, one of the panels Luke sets at 6:7, 9:31 and 12:24 to mark the end of a phase before the next begins.This site's published exposition of Acts 16:4 to 5, The exposition_notes row on Acts 16:4 to 5, citing Jamieson, Fausset and Brown and John Gill. | Acts 16:5, Acts 6:7, Acts 9:31, Acts 12:24 |
| Two households | Lydia hears, is baptized with her household and opens her house at verses 14 and 15, and the jailer hears, is baptized with his household and sets a meal in his house at verses 32 to 34. The two scenes frame the deliverance of the slave girl between them.The text of Acts 16 itself, The Berean Standard Bible, Acts 16:14 to 15 and 16:32 to 34. | Acts 16:14, Acts 16:15, Acts 16:33, Acts 16:34 |
The shape of the chapter
11 more paragraphs on the patterns
Verses 1 to 5 add Timothy to the team and carry the council's decisions to the churches. Verses 6 to 10 give the guidance, two refusals and a vision. Verses 11 to 40 are set at Philippi in four scenes: Lydia at the place of prayer, the slave girl and the arrest, the midnight earthquake and the jailer, and the release at daylight.
Where it stands in Acts
Chapter 15 sent Paul out with Silas and the letter of the council, and verse 4 delivers that letter. The chapter hands on to 17:1, where the road leads through Amphipolis and Apollonia to Thessalonica.
The first person of verse 10 begins the first of the passages in which Luke writes as a member of the team. It stops at Philippi and resumes there at 20:5, and W. M. Ramsay concludes that Luke stayed in the city in between.
The debated readings
Timothy's circumcision. Paul circumcises Timothy at verse 3, and Galatians 2:3 says Titus was not compelled to be circumcised. John Calvin reads the rite as a thing indifferent used freely for the gospel, and Albert Barnes reads Titus as the case where the rite was demanded as a condition of salvation.
The leading city. Philippi lay in the first district of Macedonia, whose capital was Amphipolis. W. M. Ramsay reads the phrase at verse 12 as the pride of a writer who knew the city, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown take it as the first city of the district reached from Neapolis.
The households. Lydia's household and the jailer's are baptized with them. John Gill reads both households as believers who heard the word, as verse 32 says of the jailer's, and Matthew Henry reads the household as taken into the covenant with its head.
Where it reaches
The slave girl's title for God, the Most High, is the one the demon uses of Jesus at Luke 8:28. The beating with rods is one of the three Paul counts at 2 Corinthians 11:25, and he recalls the shameful treatment at Philippi at 1 Thessalonians 2:2.
The church founded here received the letter to the Philippians. Paul thanks it for its partnership from the first day at Philippians 1:5 and names its gifts at 4:15 to 16.
Keep studying
Studies18
Words12
Trails1
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The form and classifications
Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies 3.14.1, about 180 and W. M. Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen, 1895, on the crossing to Macedonia and the stay at Philippi.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Cicero; E. H. Plumptre, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, The Acts of the Apostles; Eusebius, Church History 5.1.27 and 6.39.5; Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.14.1; J. A. Alexander, The Acts of the Apostles Explained; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary upon the Acts of the Apostles; John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Livy, History of Rome 45.29; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; R. J. Knowling, The Acts of the Apostles, The Expositor's Greek Testament; Suetonius, Life of Claudius 25.4; W. M. Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen and William Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen.