Acts 18:17 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Acts 18:17
Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. And Gallio cared for none of those things.
a Hellen (Grecian) or inhabitant of Hellas · noun — nominative plural masculine, a people or place name
took
ἘπιλαβόμενοιEpilabomenoi
G1949
to seize (for help · verb — second aorist middle deponent participle, nominative plural masculine
Sosthenes
ΣωσθένηνSōsthenēn
G4988
of safe strength · noun — accusative singular masculine, a proper name
synagogue
ἀρχισυνάγωγονarchisunagōgon
G752
director of the synagogue services · noun — accusative singular masculine
beat
ἔτυπτονetupton
G5180
to "thump" · verb — imperfect active indicative, 3rd person plural
before
ἔμπροσθενemprosthen
G1715
in front of (in place (literally or figuratively) or ti… · preposition
seat
βήματος·bēmatos
G968
a step · noun — genitive singular neuter
And
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
Gallio
ΓαλλίωνιGalliōni
G1058
Gallion (i.e. Gallio) · noun — dative singular masculine, a proper name
for
ἔμελεν.¶emelen
G3199
to be of interest to · verb — imperfect active indicative, 3rd person singular
none
οὐδὲνouden
G3762
not even one (man · adjective — nominative singular neuter
things
τούτωνtoútōn
G5130
of (from or concerning) these (persons or things)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
1 Corinthians 1:1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
Amos 6:6 That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
Acts 17:32 And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.
1 Corinthians 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Acts 18:12-17
We have here an account of some disturbance given to Paul and his friends at Corinth, but no great harm done, nor much hindrance given to the work of Christ there.
I. Paul is accused by the Jews before the Roman governor, Act 18:12, Act 18:13. The governor was Gallio, deputy of Achaia, that is, proconsul; for Achaia was a consular province of the empire. This Gallio was elder brother to the famous Seneca; in his youth he was called Novatus, but took the name of Gallio upon his being adopted into the family of Julius Gallio; he is described by Seneca, his brother, to be a man of great ingenuous and great probity, and a man of wonderful good temper; he was called Dulcis Gallio - Sweet Gallio,…
all the Greeks--the Gentile spectators.
took Sosthenes--perhaps the successor of Crispus, and certainly the head of the accusing party. It is very improbable that this was the same Sosthenes as the apostle afterwards calls "his brother" (Co1 1:1).
and beat him before the judgment-seat--under the very eye of the judge.
And Gallio cared for none of those things--nothing loath, perhaps, to see these turbulent Jews, for whom probably he felt contempt, themselves getting what they hoped to inflict on another, and indifferent to whatever was beyond the range of his office and case. His brother eulogizes his loving and lovable manners. Religious indifference, under the influence of an easy an…
Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes - As this man is termed the chief ruler of the synagogue, it is probable that he had lately succeeded Crispus in that office; see Act 18:8; and that he was known either to have embraced Christianity, or to have favored the cause of St. Paul. He is supposed to be the same person whom St. Paul associates with himself in the first epistle to the Corinthians, Co1 1:1. Crispus might have been removed from his presidency in the synagogue as soon as the Jews found he had embraced Christianity, and Sosthenes appointed in his place.
And, as he seems to have speedily embraced the same doctrine, the Jews would be the more enraged, and their malice be directed strongly…
The Church Fathers
And all of them seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the tribunal. In Greek it is better written: And all the Greeks seized Sosthenes. For after the Jews were disgracefully expelled from the tribunal, the Gentiles also afflicted their leader with greater humiliation by beating him.
Either for this reason they struck Sosthenes, since he too was more attached to Paul, as also Crispus the chief ruler of the synagogue; or they had been driven to such a degree of madness that, having failed in their purpose, instead of striking Paul they struck Sosthenes the chief ruler of the synagogue. Or: for this reason they struck him, because they were more eager to kill Paul, and Sosthenes prevented them. [AMMONIUS]
He taught them that such matters do not demand a judicial sentence, but they were doing everything out of order. And he does not say, "It is not my duty," but "I do not choose," so that they may not trouble him again. Thus Pilate said in the case of Christ, "Take him, and judge him according to your law." But they were just like drunkards and madmen. "And he drove them from the judgment seat"—he effectively closed the tribunal against them. "Then all seized Sosthenes the ruler of the synagogue and beat him before the judgment seat. And Gallio cared for none of these things." This thing, of all others, set them on to this violence: their persuasion that the governor would not even let himself become aware of it. It was a splendid victory. O the shame they were put to! For it is one thing to have come off victorious from a controversy and another for those to learn that he cared nothing for the affair.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Greek — Found only in the New Testament, where a distinction is observed between “Greek” and “Grecian” (q.v.). The former is (1) a Greek by race (Acts 16:1-3; 18:17; Rom. 1:14), or (2) a Gentile as opposed…
Sosthenes — Safe in strength, the chief ruler of the synagogue at Corinth, who was seized and beaten by the mob in the presence of Gallio, the Roman governor, when he refused to proceed against Paul at the…
Synagogue — (Gr. sunagoge, i.e., “an assembly”), found only once in the Authorized Version of Ps. 74:8, where the margin of Revised Version has “places of assembly,” which is probably correct; for while the…
Gallio · Dismisses complaint of Jews against Paul — Dismisses complaint of Jews against Paul
Greece · .Persecute the early Christians — .Persecute the early Christians
Nolle Prosequi · Of the complaint against Paul — Of the complaint against Paul
Scourging · .Of — .Of
Sosthenes · 1. Chief ruler of the synagogue in Corinth — 1. Chief ruler of the synagogue in Corinth
Synagogues · Governed by: A president or chief ruler — Governed by: A president or chief ruler
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes,.... These were not the Greeks or Gentiles that were devout persons, or converted to Christianity, and were on the side of Paul, and fell foul on Sosthenes, as being his chief accuser; for this is not agreeably to the spirit and character of such persons, but the profane and unconverted Greeks, who observing that Gallio sent the Jews away, with some resentment and contempt, were encouraged to fall upon the principal of them, and use him in a very ill manner; it is very likely that this person was afterwards converted, and is the same that is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 1:1. The name is Greek, and there is one of this name mentioned among the executors of Pla…
Acts 18:12-17
12. Now when Gallio was deputy of Achaia, the Jews rose with one accord against Paul, and brought him before the judgment-seat, 13. Saying, This man persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law. 14. And when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto them, If it were any injury or wicked fact, O Jews, I would according to reason maintain you: 15. But if it be a question of words and names, and your law, look ye to it yourselves; for I will be no judge in these matters. 16. And he drove them from the judgment-seat. 17. And when all the Greeks had caught Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, they smote him before the judgment-seat. Neither did Gallio care for any o…
It is most likely that the Greeks beat Sosthenes to express their hostility to the Jews; it is possible that the Jews attacked their own synagogue leader because he was unsuccessful in pleading their case. Sosthenes may be the same man Paul later mentions as “our brother” (1 Cor 1:1), but it is uncertain, as the name was fairly common.
