Acts 23:13
in Acts 23More than forty of them were involved in this plot.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they were more than forty that made this conspiracy.
KJV
And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy.
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This verse in Acts 23
Commentary
9 notes on this verseAnd they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy. Who met together, formed this resolution, entered into this scheme, and bound themselves with this oath; the word rendered "conspiracy", signifies an agreement by oath; such a number of them banded together, that they might have strength sufficient to take Paul out of the hands of the soldiers, as he was conducted by them from the castle to the temple.
This site's exposition
bound themselves with an oath
on Acts 23:12-13
More than forty men bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. Luke never records whether it was kept, and rabbinic practice allowed a sage to dissolve such vows for sufficient cause.
This site's exposition
More than forty of them
Albert Barnes and John Gill note that the Greek word for this plot means a compact sealed by an oath. Matthew Henry sets the scene beside the verse before it. Christ had stood by Paul in the night, before the forty rose to plot at dawn.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"We have bound ourselves," they say, "under a curse, that we will not eat nor drink." What is all this zeal? "Bound themselves by a curse:" it was a kind of necessity that those men fastened on themselves by the curse. "That they would neither eat nor drink." Behold fasting the mother of murder! Just as Herod imposed on himself that necessity by his oath, so also do these. For such are the devil's ways: under the pretext forsooth of piety he sets his traps.
"And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy." "They bound themselves under a curse," it says. See how vehement and revengeful they are in their malice! What means, "bound under a curse?" Why then those men are accused forever, seeing they did not kill Paul. And forty together. For such is the nature of that nation: when there needs concerting together for a good object, not even two concur with each other: but when it is for an evil object, the entire people does it.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
In the night Christ appeared to Paul to protect him, and, when it was day, here were forty men appearing against him to destroy him; they were not up so soon but Christ was up before them God shall help her, and that right early, Ps. xlvi.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Which had made this conspiracy - This oath συνωμοσίαν sunōmosian, this agreement, or compact. This large number of desperate men, bound by so solemn an oath, would be likely to be successful, and the life of Paul was therefore in special danger. The manner in which they purposed to accomplish their design is stated in Act 23:15.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3153: “Paul Cheered in Prison by His Lord” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
FROM the midnight whisper of the Lord to Paul we may draw forth sweet encouragement. Those of the Lord's children who have been engaged in His work and are called to suffer in it, have here a special word of consolation! Paul had been in a great tumult and had been roughly rescued from the wrath of the people by the chief captain who saw that otherwise he would be pulled in pieces. Paul was like the rest of us, made of flesh and blood and, therefore, liable to be cast down.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3153: “Paul Cheered in Prison by His Lord” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
FROM the midnight whisper of the Lord to Paul we may draw forth sweet encouragement. Those of the Lord's children who have been engaged in His work and are called to suffer in it, have here a special word of consolation! Paul had been in a great tumult and had been roughly rescued from the wrath of the people by the chief captain who saw that otherwise he would be pulled in pieces. Paul was like the rest of us, made of flesh and blood and, therefore, liable to be cast down. He had kept himself calm at first, but still, the strong excitement of the day had no doubt operated upon his mind and when he was lying in prison all alone, thinking upon the perils that surrounded him, he needed good cheer—and he received it. The bravest man may find his spirit sinking after the battle and so perhaps it was with the Apostle. I. In this passage, we note the good cheer that came to Paul in the dungeon. This consisted, first, in HIS MASTER'S PRESENCE—"the Lord stood by him." If all else forsook him, Jesus was company enough! If all others despised him, the smile of Jesus was patronage enough! If the good cause seemed in danger—in the Presence of his Master victory was sure! The Lord, who had stood for him at the Cross, now stood by him in the prison. The Lord, who had called to him out of Heaven, who had washed him in His blood, who had commissioned him to be His servant, who had often sustained him in labors and trials, now visited him in his solitary cell! It was a dungeon, but the Lord was there! It was dark, but the Glory of the Lord lit it up with Heaven's own splendor! Better to be in a jail with the Lord than to be in Heaven without Him! The harps above could make no heavenly place without Jesus—and Jesus being there, the clanking fetters and the cold floor of the stony cell could not suggest a sorrow.
The words behind it
9 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἦσαν | esan | There were | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| δὲ | de | now | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| πλείους | pleious | more | G4183 → | 367 times |
| τεσσεράκοντα | tesserakonta | than forty | G5062 → | 21 times |
| οἱ | hoi | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ταύτην | tauten | this | G3778 → | 1381 times |
| τὴν | ten | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| συνωμοσίαν | sunomosian | plot | G4945 → | |
| ποιησάμενοι· | poiesamenoi | having made; | G4160 → | 569 times |
ἦσανThere were
esanG1510 →2333 times
δὲnow
deG1161 →2765 times
πλείουςmore
pleiousG4183 →367 times
τεσσεράκονταthan forty
tesserakontaG5062 →21 times
οἱ<the>
hoiG3588 →19766 times
ταύτηνthis
tautenG3778 →1381 times
τὴν<the>
tenG3588 →19766 times
συνωμοσίανplot
sunomosianG4945 →
ποιησάμενοι·having made;
poiesamenoiG4160 →569 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Samuel 15:31Now someone told David: “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” So David pleaded, “O LORD, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!”
it leads to
- Psalms 41:9
Even my close friend whom I trusted, the one who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Samuel 17:14
Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than that of Ahithophel.” For the LORD had purposed to thwart the good counsel of Ahithophel in…
- 2 Samuel 17:23
When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown. He put his affairs in order and hanged himself. So he…
- Psalms 41:9
Through
John 16:2They will put you out of the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.
it leads to
- John 9:22
His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. For the Jews had already determined that anyone who confessed Jesus as the Christ would be put out of the synagogue.
- Acts 26:9–11
So then, I too was convinced that I ought to do all I could to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
- Romans 10:2–3
For I testify about them that they are zealous for God, but not on the basis of knowledge.
- Acts 22:3–4
“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but raised in this city. I was educated at the feet of Gamaliel in strict conformity to the law of our fathers. I am just…
- Matthew 10:28
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
- John 9:22
Where this verse is studied
About Acts
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3153: “Paul Cheered in Prison by His Lord” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 49; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.