“Aren’t you the Egyptian who incited a rebellion some time ago and led four thousand members of the Assassins into the wilderness?”
Paul seized in the very temple where he ought to have been safe, where his blood nearly mingles with the sacrifices themselves. The informers were Jews of Asia, men who lived abroad in pursuit of gain, yet now they appear zealous for a sanctuary they habitually neglected, profaning with their own hands the place they pretend to guard.
AI summary
Commenting on Acts 21:27-40
Josephus tells us this Egyptian was no small troublemaker: he gathered thirty thousand, not four thousand, and promised to topple Jerusalem's walls by command. Felix crushed him, but the man slipped away alive, so the captain reasonably wondered if Paul might be him, come back to the city with fresh designs.
AI summary
This Egyptian claimed to be a prophet and promised the people that Jerusalem's walls would fall before them. Felix routed him with Roman soldiers, killing four hundred and taking two hundred, but the Egyptian himself escaped and vanished. The tribune naturally suspected Paul might be that same man, returned to stir up trouble again.
AI summary