(little · noun — nominative singular masculine, a proper name
was
μέλλωνmellōn
G3195
to intend · verb — present active participle, nominative singular masculine
led
εἰσάγεσθαιeisagesthai
G1521
to introduce (literally or figuratively) · verb — present passive infinitive
into
εἰςeis
G1519
to or into (indicating the point reached or entered) · preposition
castle
παρεμβολὴνparembolēn
G3925
a throwing in beside (juxtaposition) · noun — accusative singular feminine
said
λέγειlegei
G3004
properly · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person singular
captain
χιλιάρχῳ·chiliarchō
G5506
the commander of a thousand soldiers ("chiliarch" · noun — dative singular masculine
May
ἔξεστίνexestin
G1832
so also neuter present participle of the same (with or… · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person singular
I
μοίmoí
G3427
to me
speak
εἰπεῖνeipein
G2036
to speak or say (by word or writing) · verb — second aorist active infinitive
unto
πρὸςpros
G4314
a preposition of direction · preposition
thee
σέsé
G4571
thee
Who
τιti
G5100
some or any person or object · indefinite pronoun — accusative singular neuter
said
ἔφη·ephē
G5346
to show or make known one's thoughts · verb — imperfect active indicative, 3rd person singular
speak
γινώσκεις;ginōskeis
G1097
to "know" (absolutely) in a great variety of applicatio… · verb — present active indicative, 2nd person singular
Greek
ἑλληνιστὶhellēnisti
G1676
Hellenistically · adverb — a title
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
Matthew 10:18-20 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
Luke 21:15 For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.
Acts 19:30 And when Paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not.
Acts 21:19 And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.
Acts 21:34 And some cried one thing, some another, among the multitude: and when he could not know the certainty for the tumult, he commanded him to be…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Acts 21:27–end
We have here Paul brought into a captivity which we are not likely to see the end of; for after this he is either hurried from one bar to another, or lies neglected, first in one prison and then in another, and can neither be tried nor bailed. When we see the beginning of a trouble, we know not either how long it will last or how it will issue.
I. We have here Paul seized, and laid hold on.
1. He was seized in the temple, when he was there attending the days of his purifying, and the solemn services of those days, Act 21:27. Formerly he had been well known in the temple, but now he had been so long in his travels abroad that he had become a stranger there; so that it was not till the seven d…
Art not thou that Egyptian, &c.--The form of the question implies that the answer is to be in the negative, and is matter of some surprise: "Thou art not then?" &c.
Adam Clarke on Acts 21:37
Canst thou speak Greek? - Claudius Lysias was not a Roman; he had, as himself informs us, purchased his citizenship of Rome with a great sum of money; (see Act 22:28); and it is very likely that he was but imperfectly acquainted with the Latin tongue; and the tumult that was now made, and the discordant noise, prevented him from clearly apprehending what was said; and, as he wished to know the merit of the cause, he accosted Paul with, ἙλληνιϚι γινωσκεις, Dost thou understand Greek? And when he found that he did understand it, he proceeded to question him as below.
John Gill on Acts 21:37
And as Paul was to be led into the castle,.... Just as he was got up to the top of the steps, or stairs, that led up to the castle, and was about to go into the door of it:
he said unto the chief captain, may I speak unto thee? the apostle was one that had had a good education, and was a man of address, and this his modest and respectful way of speaking to the chief captain shows; and the question he put to him, was in the Greek language: hence it follows,
who said to him, canst thou speak Greek? or "dost thou know the Hellenistic language?" which the Jews who were born and lived in Greece spoke; hence such were called Hellenists; see Acts 6:1 of this language we read in the Talmud (h);
"…
The Church Fathers
He said: Do you know Greek? Are you not the Egyptian, etc.? For an Egyptian had come to Judea, who by magical art claimed prophecy for himself, gathered about thirty thousand Jews; and leading them through the desert, he came to the Mount of Olives, ready to rush from there into Jerusalem and subjugate the city for himself. But Felix anticipated his attempt, quickly meeting him with armed men. The Egyptian, having fled with a few, and others being killed, easily restrained the rash attempt.
"And as Paul was to be led into the castle, he said unto the tribune, May I speak unto thee?" In the act of being borne along up the stairs, he requests to say something to the tribune: and observe how quietly he does it. "May I speak unto thee?" he says. "Who said, Canst thou speak Greek? Art thou not then that Egyptian, which before these days madest an uproar, and leddest out into the wilderness four thousand men that were murderers?" For this Egyptian was a revolutionary and seditious person. With regard to this then Paul clears himself. Observe how submissively Paul speaks to the tribune. "May I speak unto thee? Then art not thou that Egyptian?" This Egyptian, namely, was a cheat and impostor, and the devil expected to cast a cloud over the Gospel through him, and implicate both Christ and His Apostles in the charges pertaining to those impostors: but he prevailed nothing, nay the truth became even more brilliant, being nothing defeated by the machinations of the devil, nay rather shining forth all the more. Since if there had not been impostors, and then these Christ and His Apostles had prevailed, perhaps some one might have laid hold upon this: but when those impostors did actually appear, this is the wonder. "In order," says the Apostle, "that they which are approved may be made manifest." And Gamaliel says, "Before these days stood up Theudas." Then let us not grieve that heresies exist, seeing that false Christs wished to attack even Christ both before this and after; with a view to throw Him into the shade, but on every occasion we find the truth shining out transparent.
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
Antonia — A fortress in Jerusalem, at the north-west corner of the temple area. It is called “the castle” (Acts 21:34, 37). From the stairs of this castle Paul delivered his famous speech to the multitude in…
Claudius — Lame. (1.) The fourth Roman emperor. He succeeded Caligula (A.D. 41). Though in general he treated the Jews, especially those in Asia and Egypt, with great indulgence, yet about the middle of his…
John — (1.) One who, with Annas and Caiaphas, sat in judgment on the apostles Peter and John (Acts 4:6). He was of the kindred of the high priest; otherwise unknown. (2.) The Hebrew name of Mark (q.v.). He…
Lysias, Claudius — The chief captain (chiliarch) who commanded the Roman troops in Jerusalem, and sent Paul under guard to the procurator Felix at Caesarea (Acts 21:31-38; 22:24-30). His letter to his superior officer…
Paul — =Saul (q.v.) was born about the same time as our Lord. His circumcision-name was Saul, and probably the name Paul was also given to him in infancy “for use in the Gentile world,” as “Saul” would be…
Castle · A tower — A tower
Claudius Lysius · A Roman military officer — A Roman military officer
Language · .Greek — .Greek
Prisoners · Paul — Paul
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).
Acts 21:31-40
31. And as they sought to kill him, it was told the captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. 32. Who took with him straightway soldiers and under captains, and ran down unto them: but they, when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, left smiting of Paul. 33. Then the chief captain drew near, and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains, and he asked what he was, and what he had done. 34. And some cried one thing, and some another, among the people: and when he could not know the truth, by reason of the tumult, he commanded him to be carried into the camp. 35. And when he came to the stairs, it happened that he was carried of [by] the sold…
The commander had mistaken Paul for an Egyptian false messiah who had planned to seize power from the Romans around AD 54 (roughly three years earlier; see Josephus, War 2.13.5). Paul corrected the mistake, gained permission to speak to the people, and addressed the crowd in Aramaic, the common language of Judea. He gave a strong statement of his faith in Jesus as the Messiah (Acts 22:1-21).
