Acts 21:37-40·~1 min

Paul Addresses the Crowd

As Paul is being led into the barracks, he asks the commander for permission to speak and is mistaken for an Egyptian rebel before identifying himself as a Jew from Tarsus. When permission is granted, Paul stands on the steps, motions to the people, and a great hush falls as he begins addressing them in Hebrew.

A³⁷s they were about to take Paul into the barracks, he asked the commander, “May I say something to you?” ³⁸“Do you speak Greek?” he replied. “Aren’t you the Egyptian who incited a rebellion some time ago and led four thousand members of the Assassins into the wilderness?” ³⁹But Paul answered, “I am a Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city. Now I beg you to allow me to speak to the people.” ⁴⁰Having received permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the crowd. A great hush came over the crowd, and he addressed them in Hebrew:

Section summaryAs Paul is about to be taken into the barracks, he surprises the commander by speaking Greek and clarifies that he is not the Egyptian rebel the commander had in mind. Identifying himself instead as a Jew from Tarsus, Paul asks permission to address the crowd, receives it, and stands on the steps as silence falls before he begins to speak in Hebrew.

Role in the chapterThis brief closing movement pauses the violence at the edge of Paul's defense. It shifts the scene from blind uproar to attentive silence and opens the way for Paul's own account in the next chapter.