Acts 5:37

Act 5:37. Μετὰ, after) It must therefore be a different Theudas whom Josephus places after this Judas [not before him, as here].—ταῖς ἡμέραις, in the days) A time then well known and suited for attempts to effect a revolution.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act_5:37. Ἰούδας ὁ Γαλιλαῖος] Joseph. Antt. xviii. 1. 1, calls him a Gaulanite; for he was from Gamala in Lower Gaulanitis. But in Antt. xviii. 1. 6, xx. 5. 2, Bell. ii. 8. 1, xvii. 8, he mentions him likewise as Γαλιλαῖος. Apparently the designation the Galilean was the inaccurate one used in ordinary life, from the locality in which the man was at work. Gaulanitis lay on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee.

He excited an insurrection against the census which Augustus in the year 7 aer. Dion. (thirty-seven years after the battle of Actium, Joseph. Antt. xviii. 2. 1) caused to be made by Quirinius the governor of Syria (see on Luk_2:2), representing it as a work of subjugation, and calling the people to liberty with all the fanatical boldness kindled by the old theocratic spirit. Joseph. Antt. xviii. 1. 1. See Gerlach, d. Röm. Statthalter, p. 45 f.; Paret in Herzogs Encykl. VII. p. 126 f.

ἀπέστησε … ὀπίσω αὑτοῦ] he withdrew them (from the government), and made them his own adherents. Attraction: Hermann, ad Vig. p. 893.

ἀπώλετο] a notice which supplements Josephus. According to Joseph. Antt. xx. 5. 2, two sons of Judas perished at a later period, whom Tiberius Alexander, the governor of Judaea, caused to be crucified. Comp. Bell. ii. 8. 1. Still later a third son was executed (Bell. ii. 17. 8 f.; Vit. v. 11).

διεσκορπίσθησαν] they were scattered,which does not exclude the continuance of the faction, whose members were afterwards very active as zealots, and again even in the Jewish war (Joseph. Bell. ii. 17. 7); therefore it is not an incorrect statement (in opposition to de Wette).

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act 5:37 . Ἰούδας ὁ Γαλ .: here too an inaccuracy might have been charged against St. Luke, but it is to be noted that while Josephus speaks of Judas as a Gaulonite in one passage, Jos., Ant. , xviii., 1, 1, he frequently, as both Belser and Wendt point out, speaks of him as a Galilean, cf. Ant. , xviii., 1, 6; xx., 5, 2; B. J. , ii., 8, 1, and 17, 8. But the name Galilean might easily be given to him because Galilee was the scene of his exploits, or because Gamala, his home, belonged to Lower Gaulonitis, which was reckoned as part of Galilee. The accuracy of St. Luke in the account of Judas is remarkable, for Gamaliel speaks of his insurrection as coming to nothing. He could so speak, say in 34 or 35 A.D., but not some ten years later, when the followers of Judas had again gathered together, and formed a kind of school or party, to say nothing of the rebellion of his three sons, James, Simon, and later, Menahem; see Belser, u. s. , p. 61, so Lightfoot, u. s. , Nösgen, and Alford’s note.

As we consider the characteristics of such men as Theudas and Judas, it is difficult to suppose that the age which produced them could have produced the Messiah of the Gospels. He is, in truth, the Anti-Christ of Judaism. Instead of giving Himself out to be somebody, Jesus is meek and lowly of heart; instead of stirring revolt in Galilee, a burning furnace of sedition, His blessing is upon the peace-makers; instead of seeking a kingly crown, like Judas the Gaulonite, He withdraws from those who would take Him by force, and make Him a king; instead of preaching revolt and licence in the name of liberty for merely selfish ends, He bade men render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; instead of defiantly bidding His followers to be in subjection to no man, and inaugurating a policy of bloodshed and murder, He bade them remember that whilst One was their Master and Teacher, they all were brethren. Schürer, Jewish People , div. ii., vol. iii., p. 80, E.T., well points out that we have a literary memorial of the views and hopes of the Zealots in the Assumption of Moses , which goes so far as to prophesy that Israel will tread on the neck of the eagle, i.e. , the Romans, x. 8; but see also edition of Assumption of Moses by Prof. Charles, p. 42.

Act 5:37 . ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις τῆς ἀπογ ., see Blass, in loco , on St. Luke’s accuracy. We must be careful to distinguish this from Luk 2:1 . The tribal method of numbering which forms an essential part of St. Luke’s story in the Gospel may explain why no such serious disturbance followed as resulted from the Roman numbering and valuation which marked Quirinius’ second Roman administration, “the great census,” ἡ ἀπογ . (in 6 8 A.D.), taken when Judæa had just become a part of the Roman province of Syria. This “great census,” taken after the Roman method, involved the imposition of a tax, Jos., Ant. , xviii., 1, 1, and it was this impost which roused the indignation of Judas. To pay tribute to a foreign power was to violate an Israelite’s allegiance to Jehovah: “We have no Lord and Master but God,” was the watchword of Judas and his followers. For the whole subject see Ramsay, Expositor , April and June, 1897, and Was Christ born at Bethlehem? (1898), e.g. , pp. 107, 108, 127, 139. καὶ ἀπέστησε λαὸν : used here transitively, and here only in the N.T., cf. Deu 7:4 , and in classical writers, Herod., i., 76. The verb ἀφίστημι is not found in any of the Gospels except St. Luke’s, where it occurs four times, and in the Acts six times. It is not only one of the words characteristic of the two books, but also of St. Luke and St. Paul (so also μεθίστημι , see on Act 19:26 ), as it is only found once outside St. Paul’s Epistles (in which it is employed four times), viz. , Heb 3:12 ; “drew away some of the people ,” R.V. There is no word which actually expresses this as in T.R., where we have ἱκανόν = “much,” A.V. ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ : this prepositional use of ὀπ . is not found in classical writers, where the word is always an adverb. In the N.T. and LXX the prepositional use is derived from Hebrew אַחֲרֵי , cf. Act 20:30 , Luk 9:23 ; Luk 21:8 . Blass, Grammatik des N. G. , p. 126. διεσκορπίσθησαν : it is true that the sect revived under the name of Zealots, and played an active part in the Jewish wars, but there is no reason for charging St. Luke’s account with inaccuracy (so Overbeck following De Wette). The fate of the leader and the dispersion of his followers was quite sufficient to point the moral which Gamaliel wished to draw.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Judas of Galilee--(See on Luk 2:2, and Luk 13:1-3) [JOSEPHUS, Antiquities, 13.1.1].

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 37. Judas of Galilee] Concerning Judas of Galilee, Rabbi Abraham, in Jucasin, fol. 139, writes thus: "In this time there were three sects: for, besides the Pharisees and Sadducees, Judas of Galilee began another sect, which was called Essenes. They caused the Jews to rebel against the Romans, by asserting that they should not obey strangers; nor call any one Lord (or Governor) but the holy blessed God above." Rabbi Abraham makes a mistake here: the Essenes existed long before the days of Judas of Galilee; but it is very possible that he might have been one of that sect. Josephus mentions the insurrection made by Judas of Galilee, Ant. lib. xviii. cap. 1, and says it was when Cyrenius was governor of Syria: See Clarke on Lu 2:2. Bp. Pearce supposes that there were two απογραφαι, taxations or enrolments; and that the one mentioned here took place ten years after that mentioned in Lu 2:1-5. He observes also, in conformity with the note on the preceding verse, that the Judas mentioned here, was not only different from that Judas or Theudas spoken of before, but that his pretence for rebellion was different; the former wished to have the empire of Judea; the latter only maintained that it was base and sinful to obey a heathen governor.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(37) Judas of Galilee.—In one passage Josephus (Ant. xviii. 1) calls him a Gaulonite—i.e., of the country east of Galilee. Had this stood alone, St. Luke might have been charged here also with inaccuracy; but in other passages (Ant. xx. 5, § 2; Wars, ii. 8, § 1) he is described as a Galilean. On the taxing, in the modern sense of the term, which followed on the census that synchronised with our Lord’s nativity, both being conducted under the supervision of Quirinus, see Notes on Luk_2:1-2. The insurrection of Judas was by far the most important of the attempts to throw off the yoke of Rome. He was assisted by a Pharisee, named Sadduk, and the absolute independence of Israel was the watchword of his followers. It was unlawful, in any form, to pay tribute to Cæsar. It was lawful to use any weapons in defence of freedom. The war they waged was a religious war; and Josephus, writing long after the movement had collapsed, but giving, obviously, the impressions of his own early manhood, enumerates them as being with the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes, with the first of whom they were very closely allied—one of the four great religious sects of Judaism. Roman procurators and princes, like Archelaus and Antipas, were naturally united against him, and he and his followers came to the end of which Gamaliel speaks. His influence over the excitable population of Galilee was, however, at the time great, and in part survived. One of the Apostles probably derived his name of Zelotes, or Cananite (see Notes on Mat_10:4), from having been among the followers of Judas, who were known by that name. His sons, Jacob and Simon, continued to be looked on as leaders after his death, and were crucified under Tiberius Alexander, the successor of Fadus in the procuratorship (Jos. Ant. xx. 5, §2).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

37. Judas of Galilee] With this account agrees the history of Josephus (Antiq. xviii. 1. 1), except that, as has been already noticed, he calls Judas a Gaulonite, but as when speaking of the same man again (xx. 5. 2) he calls him Judas of Galilee, and in the same sentence alludes to the history before narrated “as we have shewn in a foregoing book,” we can have no hesitation in accepting Gamaliel’s story as the correct one, while at the same time we may learn from this example what value we ought to place on the accuracy of Josephus when we have to weigh his statements against those of the New Testament.

in the days of the taxing] Not the same which is mentioned Luk_2:2. That was rather an enrolment or census-taking preliminary to taxation. The revolt of Judas, about seven years later, was caused by the actual imposition of a tax. Josephus says of it (xviii. 1. 1): “Cyrenius came into Judæa to take an account of their substance,” and afterwards “Judas said that this taxation was no better than an introduction to slavery, and exhorted the nation to assert their liberty.”

drew away much people after him] The Greek word rendered much is wanting in the best MSS. Read, drew away [some of the] people after him.

he also perished] Josephus gives no notice of the fate of Judas and his party, though he mentions the revolt several times and says (B. J. ii. 8. 1) that this “Judas was a teacher of a peculiar sect of his own.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And now I say unto you,.... This is the sum of my advice upon the observation of these and other instances:

refrain from these men, and let them alone; keep your hands off of them, do not attempt to take away their lives, but dismiss them quietly, nor go about to hinder them, in what they are concerned:

for if this counsel, or this work be of men; if the doctrine these men preach is an human device; or this business they are engaged in is only an human affair, projected by men, and carried on upon selfish principles, and worldly views, seeking only themselves, and their secular interests, and not the glory of God:

it will come to nought; as did the designs of Theudas and Judas.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

37 After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed.

Ver. 37. Rose up Judas of Galilee] Or Judas Gaulonites. It was the blood of his followers that Pilate mingled with their sacrifices, Luk 13:1. To his faction belonged those cut throats or murderers, Act 21:38, who might very well be of the sect of the Essenes, called by some Hashom, that is, rebels; because, under pretence of asserting the pubhc liberty, they taught the Jews not to acknowledge the Roman Empire; choosing rather to endure the most exquisite torments than to call any man living Lord. (Joseph. xviii. 2.)

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Judas of Galilee - Josephus has given an account of this man (Antiq., xvii. 10, section 5), and calls him a “Galilean.” He afterward calls him a “Gaulonite,” and says he was of the city of “Gamala” (Antiq., 18:1:1). He says that the revolt took place under “Cyrenius,” a Roman senator, who came into “Syria to be judge of that nation, and to take account of their substance.” “Moreover,” says he, “Cyrenius came himself into Judea, which was now added to the province of Syria, to take an account of their substance, and to dispose of Archelaus’ money.” “Yet Judas, taking with him Saddouk, a Pharisee, became zealous to draw them to a revolt, who both said that this taxation was no better than an introduction to slavery, and exhorted the nation to assert their liberty, etc.” “This” revolt, he says, was the commencement of the series of revolts and calamities that terminated in the destruction of the city, temple, and nation.

In the days of the taxing - Or, rather, the “enrolling,” or “the census.” Josephus says it was designed to take an account of their substance. Compare Luk 2:1-2.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Judas of Galilee; whether this was the same Judas who was called Gaulonite, from the place of his birth, a town in or near Galilee, and Galileus, from the province itself in which he was born, it is not so material to discuss, Josephus makes mention of two of this name.

The taxing; setting down all their names at the command of the Roman emperor, whereby,

1. They professed themselves to be his subjects.

2. They paid him a certain rate, in token of subjection, for every head, as poll money.

3. By this means he knew the number of his subjects, and the strength or weakness of every province. This was another tax than that mentioned Luk 2:2, which is there called the first.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

37. Judas of Galilee—This statement by Gamaliel is either confirmed or left undenied by Josephus’ account of him. He is called Gaulonite from his having been born in Gaulonitis; but Galilean, probably because he afterward lived in Galilee.

Taxing—The taxing consequent to the census of Luk_2:1, (where see our note,) and about seven years subsequent to it.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Enrolment for taxing, A.V.; some of the for much, A.V.; as many for even as many, A.V.; scattered abroad for dispersed, A.V. Judas of Galilee, otherwise called the Gaulonite, as a native of Gamala, in Gaulonitis. He was probably called a Galilaean because Galilee was the seat of his insurrection (Josephus, "Ant.," 18, 1:1 and 6; also "Bell. Jud:," 2:8:1 17:8). He was the great leader of the Jews in opposing the census ordered by Augustus, after the deposition of Archelaus, and carried out by Cyrenius, or rather P. Sulpicius Quirinus, the Propraetor of Syria, with the assistance of Cumanus, the subordinate Governor of Judaea. Judas, with Zadoc his coadjutor, was the founder of a fourth Jewish sect, nearly allied to the Pharisees, and his sedition was founded on his philosophic tenets. Josephus speaks of him as the author of all the seditions, tumults, slaughters, sieges, devastations, plunder, famines, ending with the burning of the temple, which afflicted his unhappy country. He gives no account of his death. But his two sons, James and Simon, were crucified by Tiberius Alexander, the successor of Cuspius Fadus. Another son, Menahem, having collected and armed a large band of robbers and other insurgents, after a partially successful attack on the Roman camp at Jerusalem, was miserably slain. The enrolment. (hJ ajpografh, as Luk_2:1) The purpose of Augustus, which had been delayed some years from causes not accurately known, perhaps in deference to some remonstrance from Herod the Great, was now carried into effect. Quirinus was sent, apparently the second time, as Proprsetor of Syria, to which Judaea was now attached, with Cumanus under him as Procurator of Judaea, to make a valuation of all their property. The Jews had been first persuaded by the high priest Joazar, i.e. apparently in the end of Herod"s reign, or the beginning of Archelaus"s, to submit to what they greatly disliked, but were now roused to insurrection by Judas of Galilee ("Ant.," 18, 1:1). He also perished. Nothing is known of his death beyond this notice of it. Scattered abroad. Not crushed, for the insurrection broke out again and again, having the character of a religious war given to it by Judas of Galilee.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

See notes on verse 34

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

37. ἱκανὸν omitted with אAB. Vulg. has only ‘populum.’

37. Ἰούδας ὁ Γαλιλαῖος. With this account agrees the history of Josephus (Ant. XVIII. 1. 1), except, as has been already noticed, he calls Judas Γαυλανίτης, but as when speaking of the same man again (xx. 5. 2) he calls him Γαλιλαῖος, and in the same sentence alludes to the history before narrated, ‘as we have shewn in a foregoing book,’ we can have no hesitation in accepting Gamaliel’s story as the correct one, while at the same time we may learn from this example what value we ought to place on the accuracy of Josephus when we have to weigh his statements against those of the New Testament.

τῆς ἀπογραφῆς, of the taxing. Not the same which is mentioned Luk 2:2. That was rather an enrolment or census-taking preliminary to taxation. The revolt of Judas, about seven years later, was caused by the actual imposition of a tax. Josephus says of it (XVIII. 1. 1): ‘Cyrenius came into Judæa to take an account of their substance,’ and afterwards: ‘Judas said that this taxation was no better than an introduction to slavery, and exhorted the nation to assert their liberty.’

ἀπέστησεν λαὸν ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ, drew away people (i.e. some of the people) after him.

ἀπώλετο, he perished. Josephus gives no notice of the fate of Judas and his party, though he mentions the revolt several times and says (B. J. II. 8. 1) that this ‘Judas was a teacher of a peculiar sect of his own.’

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

37.] The decided μετὰ τοῦτον fixes beyond doubt the place here assigned to Theudas. This Judas, and the occasion of his revolt, are related by Josephus, Antt. xviii. 1. 1, Κυρήνιος δὲ … ἐπὶ Συρίας παρῆν, ὑπὸ Καίσαρος δικαιοδότης τοῦ ἔθνους ἀπεσταλμένος, κ. τιμητὴς τῶν οὐσιῶν γενησόμενος … παρῆν δὲ καὶ Κυρ. εἰς τὴν Ἰουδαίων προσθήκην τῆς Συρίας γενομένην ἀποτιμησόμενός τε αὐτῶν τὰς οὐσίας, κ. ἀποδωσόμενος τὰ Ἀρχελάου χρήματα. Οἱ δέ, καίπερ τὸ κατʼ ἀρχὰς ἐν δεινῷ φέροντες τὴν ἐπὶ ταῖς ἀπογραφαῖς ἀκρόασιν, ὑποκατέβησαν τοῦ εἰς πλέον ἐναντιοῦσθαι … Ἰούδας δὲ Γαυλανίτης ἀνὴρ ἐκ πόλεως ὄνομα Γάμαλα … ἠπείγετο ἐπὶ ἀποστάσει. And, in returning to the mention of him as the founder of the fourth sect among the Jews (xviii:1. 6), he calls him ὁ Γαλιλαῖος Ἰούδας. From the above citation it is plain that this ἀπογραφή was that so called κατʼ ἐξοχήν, under Quirinus: see Luk 2:2 and note. His revolt took a theocratic character, his followers maintaining μόνον ἡγεμόνα καὶ δεσπότην τὸν θεόν (Jos. as above).

ἀπώλετο] Not related by Josephus.

διεσκορπίσθησαν] Strictly accurate—for they still existed, and at last became active and notorious again, under Menahem, son of Judas τοῦ καλουμένου Γαλιλαίου, ὃς ἦν σοφιστὴς δεινότατος, καὶ ἐπὶ Κυρηνίου ποτὲ Ἰουδαίους ὀνειδίσας. (B. Jud. ii. 17. 7; see also Antt. xx. 5. 2.)

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Obeyed. Note the word for obeyed [επειθοντο] , implying the persuasive power of Theudas' boasting. See on ver. 29.

Taxing [απογραφης] . See on Luk 2:1, 2.

Much people. The best texts omit much.

Were dispersed [διεσκορπισθησαν] . See on Mt 25:24.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.