Acts 21:38

That Egyptian. As phrased in Greek, this question anticipates “yes” as an answer. The man here mentioned, notorious with the Roman authorities, was an Egyptian Jew, a professed prophet who, shortly after Felix became procurator, had led a crowd of 30,000 men (if the traditional figure is true) to the Mount of Olives to see the walls of Jerusalem fall down, that they might enter triumphantly (Josephus Antiquities xx. 8. 6; War ii. 13.5 [261-263]). Felix’ soldiers had routed them with great loss, but the leader had escaped.

Four thousand. Either this number should be substituted for Josephus’ 30,000, or understood to indicate the number of those who, having escaped, rallied again to their leader.

Murderers. Gr. sikarioi, literally “dagger men,” that is, cutthroats, assassins. Compare the Latin sicarii. These were members of an extremist organization of Jews, the assassins among the Zealots (see Vol. V, pp. 54, 55), who decimated small Roman garrisons where they could do so in sneak attacks at night, and assassinated Jews who refused to lend them support (Josephus War ii. 13. 3 [254-258]). Among festival crowds they committed many murders in broad daylight. In the later siege of Jerusalem they greatly aggravated, by their atrocious and bloody deeds, the horrors of that bitter time.