Acts 19:33-34

Acts 19:33-34

[33] And  Alexander  out of  the multitude,  the Jews  him  forward.  And  Alexander  beckoned  with the hand,  and would  have made his defence  unto the people.  [34] But  when they knew  that  a Jew,  all  with  voice  about  the space  of two  hours  cried out,  Great  is Diana  of the Ephesians. 

What does Acts 19:33-34 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The crowd"s reaction to Alexander showed distinct hostility toward him. Apparently Alexander was a leading unbelieving Jew who wanted the crowd to understand that even though Paul was a Jew the local Jewish community did not approve of him (cf. Acts 18:12-17). However, like Gallio in Corinth, this crowd did not distinguish between Christianity and Judaism. Both faiths stood against idolatry. Perhaps the crowd assumed Alexander wanted to defend Paul who was also a Jew. This Alexander may be the one Paul warned Timothy about ( 1 Timothy 1:19-20; 2 Timothy 4:14), but he may have been someone different since Alexander was a common name among both Jews and Gentiles. [1]