Acts 21:35

35 When Paul came to the stairs of the barracks, the crowd was so violent that the soldiers had to carry him.

Acts 21:35 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 21:35

And when he came upon the stairs
Or steps, which led up to the castle; for it was built upon a very high place, as appears from the account of it in the preceding verse; to which agrees what Aristaeas ^F7 says of it in the following words;

``in order to have knowledge of all things, we went up to a castle adjoining to the city, which is situated in a very high place, fortified with very high towers, built with large stones, as we supposed for the preservation of the places about the temple, if there should be any lying in wait, or tumult, or enemies should enter; so that none might be able to make way in at the walls about the temple; for in the towers of the castle lay very sharp darts and various instruments, and the place was upon a very great eminence.''

So it was that he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of the
people:
the sense is, either that the crowd of the people was so great, and they so pressed upon Paul and the soldiers that conducted him, that he was even thrown upon them, and bore up by them; or else such was the rage of the people against him, that the soldiers were obliged to take him up in their arms, and carry him, in order to secure him from being tore in pieces by them.

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FOOTNOTES:

F7 Hist. de 70 Interpret. p. 36. Ed. Oxon.

Acts 21:35 In-Context

33 Then the officer went to Paul, grabbed him, and ordered him to be tied up with two chains. The officer asked who Paul was and what he had done.

34 Some of the crowd shouted one thing, while others shouted something else. The officer couldn't get any facts because of the noise and confusion, so he ordered Paul to be taken into the barracks.

35 When Paul came to the stairs of the barracks, the crowd was so violent that the soldiers had to carry him.

36 The mob was behind them shouting, "Kill him!"

37 As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks, he asked the officer, "May I say something to you?" The officer replied to Paul, "Can you speak Greek?