Aren’t you the EgyptianThis phrase refers to a specific historical figure known as the Egyptian, who is mentioned by the Jewish historian Josephus. This Egyptian was a false prophet who led a large group of followers to the Mount of Olives, promising that the walls of Jerusalem would fall at his command. The Roman authorities were on high alert for any potential insurrections, especially from charismatic leaders claiming divine authority. The mention of an Egyptian highlights the diverse and often tumultuous political landscape of the time, where various leaders attempted to exploit the messianic expectations of the Jewish people.
who incited a rebellion some time ago
The rebellion mentioned here is a reference to the insurrection led by the Egyptian, which was ultimately quashed by the Roman procurator Felix. This event is indicative of the frequent uprisings and unrest in Judea during the Roman occupation. The Roman Empire was known for its strict control over its provinces, and any form of rebellion was met with swift and often brutal suppression. This context underscores the tension between the Jewish population and their Roman rulers, a theme that is prevalent throughout the New Testament.
and led four thousand members of the Assassins
The term "Assassins" refers to the Sicarii, a radical Jewish group known for their violent tactics against both Roman authorities and Jewish collaborators. The Sicarii were named for the small daggers (sicae) they concealed and used to carry out assassinations in crowded places. Their actions were part of a broader resistance movement against Roman rule, and they were considered a significant threat to the peace and stability of the region. This mention of the Sicarii highlights the volatile environment in which the early Christian church was emerging.
into the wilderness?
The wilderness is a significant motif in biblical literature, often symbolizing a place of testing, preparation, or divine encounter. In the context of this passage, the wilderness may refer to the Judean desert, a common refuge for those seeking to escape Roman authority or to gather followers for a cause. The wilderness also evokes memories of Israel's history, such as the Exodus and the prophetic tradition of seeking God in desolate places. This setting underscores the desperation and radical nature of the Egyptian's movement, as well as the broader theme of deliverance and hope for a new beginning.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
The EgyptianA historical figure mentioned by the Roman commander, believed to have led a revolt against Roman authority. This Egyptian was a false prophet who gathered a following and attempted to overthrow the Roman garrison in Jerusalem.
2.
The Assassins (Sicarii)A group of Jewish zealots known for their violent tactics against Roman occupation and Jewish collaborators. The term "Sicarii" comes from the Latin word for "dagger," reflecting their method of assassination.
3.
The Roman CommanderThe official in charge of maintaining order in Jerusalem. He mistakenly identifies Paul as the Egyptian rebel, highlighting the confusion and tension in Jerusalem at the time.
4.
Paul the ApostleA key figure in the early Christian church, who is mistakenly identified as the Egyptian. Paul is in Jerusalem to deliver aid to the church and is caught in a misunderstanding due to the political unrest.
5.
JerusalemThe central city of Jewish worship and a focal point of political and religious tension during the Roman occupation. It is the setting for this encounter and many significant events in the early church.
Teaching Points
Discernment in LeadershipThe Roman commander's mistake highlights the need for discernment and understanding in leadership. Leaders must seek truth and avoid assumptions based on incomplete information.
The Danger of False ProphetsThe Egyptian's influence serves as a reminder of the danger posed by false prophets and the importance of grounding oneself in the truth of Scripture.
Misunderstandings and PersecutionPaul's experience shows how misunderstandings can lead to persecution. Christians should be prepared to face false accusations and respond with grace and truth.
The Role of ZealThe zeal of the Assassins, though misdirected, prompts reflection on the nature of zeal in our faith. True zeal should be aligned with God's purposes and characterized by love and truth.
God's Sovereignty in ChaosDespite the chaos and confusion, God's plan for Paul and the early church continues to unfold. Believers can trust in God's sovereignty even in tumultuous times.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1.What is the meaning of Acts 21:38?
2.How does Acts 21:38 challenge us to discern truth from assumptions today?
3.What can we learn about identity and misunderstanding from Acts 21:38?
4.How does Acts 21:38 connect with Jesus' teachings on judgment in Matthew 7:1?
5.In what ways can Acts 21:38 inspire us to seek truth in conflict?
6.How does Acts 21:38 encourage us to address false accusations in our lives?
7.How does Acts 21:38 challenge the historical accuracy of the Bible's account of events?
8.What does Acts 21:38 reveal about the political climate during Paul's time?
9.How does Acts 21:38 address the theme of misunderstanding and misidentification?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from Acts 21?
11.What are examples of miracles in the Bible?
12.Acts 21:37–40 – How plausible is it that Paul, a “Jew of Tarsus,” was fluent in Greek and immediately recognized as such by a Roman commander?
13.How could the Israelites realistically acquire and transport the vast amounts of gold, silver, and bronze mentioned in Exodus 38:24-31 while wandering in the desert?
14.Numbers 7:1-3: How could the Israelites, while wandering in the wilderness, assemble such large quantities of metals and animals for offerings?What Does Acts 21:38 Mean
Aren’t you the EgyptianThe Roman commander mistakes Paul for an infamous rebel.
•Acts 21:39 shows Paul correcting him: “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia…”
• Earlier, God had told Ananias that Paul would “carry My name before Gentiles and kings” (Acts 9:15). Even in wrongful arrest, the Lord opens doors for witness.
• Misidentification underscores how the world can confuse faithful believers with troublemakers (John 15:18-19).
who incited a rebellion some time agoA real uprising had occurred not long before.
• Scripture records similar movements: Theudas and Judas the Galilean drew followers and perished (Acts 5:36-37).
• Barabbas had been imprisoned “for an insurrection” (Luke 23:19).
• Civil unrest contrasts with the gospel’s call to peace and submission to legitimate authority (Romans 13:1-2).
and led four thousandThe commander’s figure stresses the size of the threat.
• Jesus once fed “about five thousand men” (Luke 9:14), a crowd gathered for truth, not violence. Numbers alone never validate a cause; only alignment with God’s Word does.
•Acts 4:4 notes “about five thousand” believers—another peaceful multitude. Luke sets up a deliberate contrast between godly and ungodly crowds.
members of the AssassinsThe Sicarii were dagger-wielding zealots who murdered Romans and collaborators.
• Barabbas, called “a robber” (John 18:40), was likely of similar bent.
• Jesus forbade Peter’s sword in Gethsemane (John 18:11), proving that His kingdom advances by truth, not blades.
• Believers wage spiritual warfare with the “sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:17), not literal weapons.
into the wilderness?The Egyptian had promised deliverance in the desert, echoing false-messiah expectations.
• Jesus warned, “If they say, ‘He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out” (Matthew 24:26).
• True deliverance happened when the Lord led Israel through the Red Sea (Acts 7:36); counterfeit leaders mimic that story to mislead.
• Paul, arrested on the Temple steps, stands in stark contrast: he brings the gospel from city to city, not drawing people away to hidden camps (Acts 26:17-18).
summaryActs 21:38 captures a moment of confusion revealing two stark paths. The world brands Paul as a violent revolutionary, yet he is Christ’s peaceful ambassador. Rebellions, crowds, and secretive movements cannot substitute for the Savior’s finished work. God vindicates His servants and uses every circumstance—even a mistaken identity—to propel the gospel forward.
(38)
Art not thou that Egyptian?--The Greek has an illative particle which is wanting in the English:
Art not thou then that Egyptian? This was the inference drawn by the chief captain from the fact that his prisoner spoke in Greek. The Egyptian was a false prophet, who a short time before this, under the procuratorship of Felix, had led 30, 000 men (?) to the Mount of Olives, promising them that they should see Jerusalem destroyed (Jos.
Ant. xx. 8, ? 6;
Wars, ii. 13, ? 5). His followers were routed by Felix, but he himself escaped; and the chief captain infers from the tumult raised by a Greek-speaking Jew, that the Egyptian must have reappeared. Probably this was one of the vague reports in the confused clamour of the multitude. The words of the question have, however, been taken, on grammatical grounds, in a different sense:
Thou art not, then, that Egyptian? as though his speaking Greek had changed the chiliarch's previous impression. Against this, however, there is the fact that an Egyptian Jew, coming from the very land of the Septuagint, would naturally speak Greek, and the inference that St. Paul was not the Egyptian because he knew that language would hardly be intelligible.
Four thousand men that were murderers.--Josephus, as has been said, gives a much larger number, but his statistics, in such cases, are never to be relied on. The word for murderer (sicarii,literally,dagger-bearers) was applied to the cut-throat bands who about this period infested well-nigh every part of Palestine, and who differed from the older robbers in being, like the Thugs in India, more systematically murderous (Jos.Wars, ii. 13, ? 3). In the siege of Jerusalem, their presence, sometimes in alliance with the more fanatic of the zealots, tended to aggravate all its horrors.
Verse 38.- Art thou not then the for
art not thou that, A.V.;
stirred up to sedition for
madest an uproar, A.V.;
led for
leddest, A.V.;
the four thousand men of the Assassins for
four thousand men that were murderers, A.V.
Art thou not then, etc.? or as Meyer, "Thou art not then;" either way implying that Lysias had concluded that he was the Egyptian, but had now discovered his mistake.
The Egyptian, etc. He whom Josephus calls (' Bell. Jud.,' it. 13:5) "the Egyptian false prophet," and relates that, having collected above thirty thousand followers, he advanced from the desert to the Mount of Olives, intending to overpower the Roman garrison and make himself tyrant of Jerusalem, with the help of his
δορυφόροι, or body-guard, who might very probably be composed of the
Assassins or
Sicarii, mentioned in the text.
Stirred up to sedition (
ἀναστατώσας) The difference between the A.V. and the R.V. is that the former takes the verb in an intransitive sense, "to make an Uproar," the latter in a transitive sense, governing the "four thousand men." In the only two other places were it occurs in the New Testament (
Acts 17:6;
Galatians 5:12) it is transitive. It is not a classical word.
The four thousand men. Josephus, in the above-cited passage, reckons the followers of the Egyptian impostor at above thirty thousand. But such discrepancies are of no account, partly because of the known looseness with which numbers are stated, and Josephus's disposition to exaggerate; partly because of the real fluctuation in the numbers of insurgents at different periods of an insurrection; and partly because it is very possible that a soldier like Lysias would take no count of the mere rabble, but only of the disciplined and armed soldiers such as these Sicarii were. It may be added that Josephus himself seems to distinguish between the rabble and the fighting men, because, though in the 'Bell. Jud.,' it. 13:5 he says that Felix attacked or took prisoners "most of his followers," in the 'Ant. Jud.,' 20. 8:6 he makes the number of slain "four hundred," and of prisoners "two hundred" - a very small proportion of thirty thousand. The Egyptian had premised his deluded followers that the walls of Jerusalem would fall down like those of Jericho. It is not known exactly in what year the insurrection took place, but it was, as Renan says, "pen de temps auparavant" ('St. Paul,' p. 525). The Egyptian himself contrived to run away and disappear; hence the thought that he was the author of this new tumult at Jerusalem. The Sicarii were a band of fanatical murderers, who, in the disturbed times preceding the destruction of Jerusalem, went about armed with daggers, and in broad daylight and in the public thoroughfares murdered whoever was obnoxious to them. Among others they murdered the high priest Jonathan at the instigation of Felix (Josephus, 'Ant. Jud.,' 20. 6:7; 'Bell. Jud.,' 2, 13:3).
Parallel Commentaries ...
Greek
“Aren’tεἶ(ei)Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 1510:I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.youσὺ(sy)Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Nominative 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 4771:You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.theὁ(ho)Article - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588:The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.EgyptianΑἰγύπτιος(Aigyptios)Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 124:Egyptian. From Aiguptos; an Eyyptian or inhabitant of Egyptus.whoὁ(ho)Article - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588:The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.incited a rebellionἀναστατώσας(anastatōsas)Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 387:From a derivative of anistemi; properly, to drive out of home, i.e. to disturb.some time agoπρὸ(pro)Preposition
Strong's 4253:A primary preposition; 'fore', i.e. In front of, prior to.andκαὶ(kai)Conjunction
Strong's 2532:And, even, also, namely.ledἐξαγαγὼν(exagagōn)Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 1806:To lead out, sometimes to death, execution. From ek and ago; to lead forth.four thousandτετρακισχιλίους(tetrakischilious)Adjective - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 5070:Four thousand. From the multiplicative adverb of tessares and chilioi; four times a thousand.membersἄνδρας(andras)Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 435:A male human being; a man, husband. A primary word; a man.of theτῶν(tōn)Article - Genitive Masculine Plural
Strong's 3588:The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.‘Assassins’Σικαρίων(Sikariōn)Noun - Genitive Masculine Plural
Strong's 4607:An assassin, murderer, bandit; one of the Sicarii. Of Latin origin; a dagger-man or assassin; a freebooter.intoεἰς(eis)Preposition
Strong's 1519:A primary preposition; to or into, of place, time, or purpose; also in adverbial phrases.theτὴν(tēn)Article - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3588:The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.wilderness?”ἔρημον(erēmon)Adjective - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 2048:Lonesome, i.e. waste.
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NT Apostles: Acts 21:38 Aren't you then the Egyptian who before (Acts of the Apostles Ac) 
