Acts 21:31

To kill him. The men who had seized Paul intended to take his life, even as they had taken the life of Stephen (ch. 7:54-60). In the meantime they beat him (ch. 21:32).

Tidings. Gr. phasis, “a disclosure [of secret crime],” “information by report.”

Chief captain. Gr. chiliarchos, “leader of a thousand men,” the term for the Roman military tribune, commander of a cohort.

Band. Gr. speira, “a cohort” (see on ch. 10:1). This Roman garrison, then considered sufficient, with its armament and strict discipline, to restrain even the turbulent Jews, was lodged in the tower built on a rock at the northwest side of the Temple area. This tower had been built by Herod the Great and named Antonia in honor of the triumvir Mark Antony, notorious for his infatuation with Cleopatra and his defeat at the Battle of Actium. The Tower of Antonia had a turret at each corner and two flights of stairs leading to arcades on the northern and western sides of the Temple. The garrison would be kept on the alert especially at a time like Pentecost, when thousands of strangers were in the city. See Jerusalem in Time of Christ.