Acts 11:28

Signified (eshmainen). Imperfect active in Westcott and Hort, but aorist active eshmanen in the margin. The verb is an old one from shma (shmeion) a sign (cf. the symbolic sign in Luke 21:11 ). Here Agabus (also in Luke 21:10 ) does predict a famine through the Holy Spirit. Should be (mellein esesqai). Mellw occurs either with the present infinitive ( Luke 16:27 ), the aorist infinitive ( Luke 12:6 ), or the future as here and Luke 24:15 ; Luke 27:10 . Over all the world (ep olhn thn oikoumenhn). Over all the inhabited earth (ghn, understood). Probably a common hyperbole for the Roman empire as in Luke 2:1 . Josephus (Ant. VIII. 13, 4) appears to restrict it to Palestine. In the days of Claudius (epi Klaudiou). He was Roman Emperor A.D. 41-44. The Roman writers (Suetonius, Dio Cassius, Tacitus) all tell of dearths (assiduae sterilitates) during the brief reign of Claudius who was preceded by Caligula and followed by Nero.