Acts 21:40

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Summary

And when he had given him licence, Paul stood on the stairs, and beckoned with the hand unto the people. And when there was made a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue, saying,

On

Acts 21:35

And beckoned

Acts 12:17

Acts 13:16

Acts 19:33

A great

Acts 22:2

Hebrew

Revelation 16:16

Bible References

On

When they got to the stairway [of the headquarters building] the soldiers had to carry Paul because of the [unrestrained] violence of the mob,

And beckoned

[Upon entering the house] he held up his hand to quiet them, then went on to explain how the Lord had rescued him from jail. He said to them, "[Go] tell all this to James [the Lord's half-brother] and to [the rest of] the brothers." Then he left [them] and went elsewhere.

So, Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand [to get their attention], he said, "You Israelites and those who have great respect for God, listen [to me].

[It appears that] Alexander was appointed out of the crowd by the Jews [i.e., to be their spokesman in defending them from the charges being made against Paul]. He motioned with his hand [to get attention] and attempted to speak to the assembly in defense [of the Jewish viewpoint].

A great

And when they heard him speaking in the Hebrew language, they listened all the more quietly. So, he continued,

Hebrew

Now during the days when the disciples were multiplying in number [in Jerusalem. See verse 7], some Greek-[speaking] Jews began to complain to the Hebrews that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution [of food].

When we all fell to the ground I heard a voice speaking in the Hebrew [i.e., Aramaic] language. [It said], 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? You are only hurting yourself by kicking against the spurs [i.e., opposing the work of God].'

There was an inscription above Him [i.e., on the upright portion of the cross], stating, "This is the king of the Jews."

Now in Jerusalem there was a pool of water near the Sheep Gate [Note: This was a city gate in the north wall]. It had five porticos [i.e., covered open areas along the outside of the Temple]. In the Hebrew language it was called Bethesda.

Then when Pilate heard [them say] this, he brought Jesus outside [again] and sat down on the judge's bench at a place called 'The Stone Pavement,' but in the Hebrew language is called 'Gabbatha.'

They had a king over them who was the angel of the deep pit [See verses 1-2]. His name in Hebrew was "Abaddon," and in Greek it was "Apollyon" [Note: These words both mean "Destroyer"].

So, the [demonic] spirits assembled the kings together at the place which is called "Armageddon" in Hebrew. [Note: "Armageddon" means "mountain of Megiddo" and was a site in northwestern Palestine where several decisive battles had been fought centuries earlier. See Judges 4,5,7].