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Acts 16:16-24

King James Version (KJV)

“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”
— D.L. Moody

Scripture focus

16. And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: 17. The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. 18. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. 19. And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew [them] into the marketplace unto the rulers, 20. And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, 21. And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. 22. And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat [them]. 23. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast [them] into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: 24. Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.

Acts 16:16-24 — KJV

Commentary

Commentary on Acts 16:16

Theological / Devotional

To prayer. Textual evidence attests (cf. p. 10) the reading “to the prayer.” This then may be interpreted, “to the place of prayer” (see on v. 13). Even without the article, the expression may be compared to our modern phrase, “go to church.” The incident subsequently related probably took place on a Sabbath some time after the Sabbath mentioned in v. 13, after the baptism of the first converts (v. 15), and after the missionaries’ work had become known in the city.

Damsel. Gr. paidiske, a young female slave.

Spirit of divination. Textual evidence favors (cf. p. 10) the reading “a Python spirit.” In Greek mythology Python was a dragon or serpent who was thought to have guarded the oracle at Delphi and to have been killed by Apollo, who was subsequently known as the Pythian Apollo. Python was worshipped at Delphi as the symbol of wisdom. Plutarch (d. c. A.D. 120), himself a priest of the Pythian Apollo, says that the name “Python” was given to those who, by practicing ventriloquism, were credited with extraordinary powers (On the Cessation of Oracles 9). That Luke here uses this unusual adjective implies either that this was the way in which the people of Philippi spoke of the girl or that Luke himself recognized in her wild contortions and shrill cries a similarity to the techniques of the priestesses at Delphi. It is clear that the local population believed that the slave possessed supernatural abilities, and doubtless her wild cries were noted and received as oracles. Her masters took advantage of her supposed inspiration, and made the girl give answers to those who made inquiries of her.

Her masters. Her joint owners, men who had discovered the girl’s strange power and were exploiting it for their own gain.

Much gain. See on v. 19.

Soothsaying. Gr. manteuomai, “to divine,” “to prophesy,” used only here in the NT. In the LXX the term is always used for the words of lying prophets (Deut. 18:10; 1 Sam. 28:8; Eze. 13:6; etc.). Here it may be taken in the same sense: “to pretend to foretell the future.”

By SdaBc