Gevurot 8:11

11 And they were giving heed to him, because he for a long time had astonished them by magic tricks.

Gevurot 8:11 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 8:11

To him they had regard
Which is repeated from the foregoing verse, for the sake of what follows:

because that of a long time he had bewitched them with sorceries;
or because he had, it may be for many years, astonished them with his magic arts, and the pranks he played in the use of them.

Gevurot 8:11 In-Context

9 Now a certain ish by name Shimon was previously in the city practicing magic and astonishing the people of Shomron, saying that he himself was an ish of gadlus (with remarkable superiority) and gadol.

10 And to this certain Shimon everyone from katon to gadol was paying attention, saying, "Hinei! This man is the ko’ach (power) of Hashem, the ko’ach hagadol."

11 And they were giving heed to him, because he for a long time had astonished them by magic tricks.

12 But when they had emunah (faith) in what Philippos preached about the Malchut Hashem and the Shem of Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach Yehoshua, they, both anashim and nashim, were submitting to Moshiach’s tevilah of teshuva.

13 And Shimon himself also had emunah, and, having submitted to Moshiach’s tevilah of teshuva, was following Philippos, and, seeing otot and nifla’ot and moftim hagedolim taking place, he was constantly mishpoyel (standing in awe).