Acts 19:13

13 And certain of the wandering exorcist Jews, took upon [them] to name over those having the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, `We adjure you by Jesus, whom Paul doth preach;'

Acts 19:13 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 19:13

Then certain of the vagabond Jews
Who strolled about from place to place, pretending to tell fortunes, cure diseases by charms, and dispossess devils by conjuration, and therefore are called as follows,

exorcists;
such there were among the Jews, as Justin Martyr observes {h}, who adjured by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: these

took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits, the name of
the Lord Jesus;
they imitated the Apostle Paul, and attempted to do as he did, using the same: name; hoping to get money or applause, or both, in this way; and it may be observed, that there were some who really did cast out devils in the name of Christ, who did not belong to him, ( Matthew 7:22 ) ( Mark 8:38 )

Saying, we adjure you by Jesus, whom Paul preacheth;
that is, to come out the bodies of those men which they had possessed: and the Jews made use of the name of Jesus for healing diseases; for it is said of one ^F9, that

``he swallowed something which almost choked him, and one came, and muttered to him in the name of Jesus ben Pandira, and he was well''

The Alexandrian copy, Beza's ancient one, and others, the Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions, read, "I adjure you"

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FOOTNOTES:

F8 Dialog. cum Tryphon. p. 311.
F9 T. Hieros. Sabbat, fol. 14. 4. & Avoda Zara, fol. 40. 4.

Acts 19:13 In-Context

11 mighty works also -- not common -- was God working through the hands of Paul,

12 so that even unto the ailing were brought from his body handkerchiefs or aprons, and the sicknesses departed from them; the evil spirits also went forth from them.

13 And certain of the wandering exorcist Jews, took upon [them] to name over those having the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, `We adjure you by Jesus, whom Paul doth preach;'

14 and there were certain -- seven sons of Sceva, a Jew, a chief priest -- who are doing this thing;

15 and the evil spirit, answering, said, `Jesus I know, and Paul I am acquainted with; and ye -- who are ye?'