Acts 19:14

14 Seven brothers, who were the sons of a Jewish High Priest named Sceva, were doing this.

Acts 19:14 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 19:14

And there were seven sons of one Sceva a Jew
Who strolled about the country, and used exorcisms: and

chief of the priests;
that were at Ephesus; not the high priest of the Jews, for he would have been at Jerusalem, and not at Ephesus; though indeed it does not necessarily follow from the words, that Sceva himself was there, only his seven sons: however, no such name appears in the catalogue of the Jewish high priests, nor is it reasonable to think, that seven sons of an high priest should follow such a vagabond course of life: Beza's ancient copy only calls him "a priest"; and the Alexandrian copy reads his name, Sceuta, and the Ethiopic version omits it; it is the same with (hawko) , and signifies a spectator, or observer; see the Targum on ( 2 Samuel 13:34 ) ( Isaiah 21:6 ) .

which did so;
adjured the devils in the name of Jesus, to come out; at least they did so in one case, as follows.

Acts 19:14 In-Context

12 Even handkerchiefs and aprons he had used were taken to the sick, and their diseases were driven away, and the evil spirits would go out of them.

13 Some Jews who traveled around and drove out evil spirits also tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus to do this. They said to the evil spirits, "I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches."

14 Seven brothers, who were the sons of a Jewish High Priest named Sceva, were doing this.

15 But the evil spirit said to them, "I know Jesus, and I know about Paul; but you - who are you?"

16 The man who had the evil spirit in him attacked them with such violence that he overpowered them all. They ran away from his house, wounded and with their clothes torn off.