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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Act_21:37-40
37As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the commander, "May I say something to you?" And he said, "Do you know Greek? 38"Then you are not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out into the wilderness?" 39But Paul said, "I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city; and I beg you, allow me to speak to the people." 40When he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the stairs, motioned to the people with his hand; and when there was a great hush, he spoke to them in the Hebrew dialect, saying,
Act_21:37 "Do you know Greek" The Colonel was surprised that Paul spoke Koine Greek because he apparently thought that Paul was an Egyptian insurrectionist that he had heard about (cf. Act_21:38 and Josephus' Antiq. 2.13.5; 20.8.6). This Egyptian rebellion occurred between a.d. 52-57.
Act_21:38 "men of the Assassins" This is sicarii, a Latin term for assassins or dagger men. They are often called "zealots" in the NT (cf. Luk_6:15; Act_1:13). They were a group of Jews committed to the violent overthrow of the Romans.
A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, vol. 3, p. 382, mentions that this very word was used by Josephus to describe this Egyptian insurrectionist's followers (cf. Josephus, Wars 2.13.5; Antiq. 20.8.6,10).
Act_21:39 "a citizen of no insignificant city" This is an idiom (litotes, see note at Act_12:18), which Paul used to assert his citizenship in a world-class university town. The text does not say if the Roman officer was impressed.
Act_21:40 "he had given him permission" This commander still wanted to know what this was all about!
▣ "motioned to the people with his hand" This was apparently a well known hand gesture for silence so that a person could speak (cf. Act_12:17; Act_13:16; Act_19:33; Act_21:40; Act_26:1). This may have been a rhetorical gesture that Paul learned while studying rhetoric at Tarsus.
▣ "he spoke to them in the Hebrew dialect" Paul spoke to the mob in Aramaic (the Jews had learned to speak Aramaic during their years under Persian rule). This quieted the mob for a period (cf. Act_22:2).
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