1 1 formerly erred as to the sense of Asia in XIX 26, 27, Church in R. B., p. 166.
2 We adopt this and some other touches from Cod. Bez., as either original or added from a trustworthy tradition : our reasons have been stated elsewhere.
Sec. 5. Demetrius the Silversmith. 279
vast assembly, like a crowd of devotees or howling der- vishes, shouted their invocation of " Great Artemis". In this scene we cannot mistake the tone of sarcasm and contempt, as Luke tells of this howling mob ; they them- selves thought they were performing their devotions, as they repeated the sacred name ; but to Luke they were merely howling, not praying.
A certain Alexander was put forward by the Jews to address the mob ; but this merely increased the clamour and confusion. There was no clear idea among the rioters what they wanted : an anti-Jewish and an anti- Christian demonstration were mixed up, and probably Alexander's intention was to turn the general feeling away from the Jews. It is possible that he was the worker in bronze, who afterwards did Paul much harm (II Tim. IV 14).
Our conception of the scene assumes that the Bezan reading in 28, 34 (jj,eyd\r) "Apre/xis) is original. The accepted text, " Great is Artemis," gives a different tone to the scene : that is the quiet expression in which a worshipper recognises and accepts a sign of the goddess's power, drawing an inference and expressing his respect and gratitude. " Great Artemis " was a common formula of devotion and prayer, as is attested by several inscriptions ; and it gives a more natural and a far more effective tone to the scene.
Two of Paul's companions in travel, Gaius and Aristar- chus, had been carried into the theatre with the crowd ; and he himself was on the point of going there, but the disciples would not allow him, and his friends among the Asiarchs sent urging him not to risk himself among the mob. It is noteworthy that Luke, as usual, adds no comments or reflections of his own as to the danger in
280 The Church in Asia. Chap. XII.
which Paul was placed. But the slightest consideration suffices to show that he must have been at this period in the most imminent danger, with the mob of a great Ionian coast-city raging against him. In the speech of Demetrius are concentrated most of the feelings and motives that, from the beginning to the end, made the mob so hostile to the Christians in the great oriental cities. Paul himself says, "concerning our affliction which befell in Asia, that we were weighed down exceedingly, beyond our power, insomuch that we despaired even of life" (II Cor. I 8). His immediate withdrawal from Ephesus, in the midst of his promising work, was forced on him.
It is a question whether the reading of some few MSS., " Gaius and Aristarchus a Macedonian," should not be followed. Gaius, in that case, would be the native of Derbe mentioned in XX 4. Luke, himself a Macedonian, does not omit the little touch of national pride in Aristarchus ; but he was not so interested in the nation- ality of Gaius. The peculiar phraseology, with the ethnic in singular (Ma/eeSova) following two names, and preceding <Tvv€K§r)fiov<i, led naturally to the change (Maicehovas;), which appears in most MSS. The epithet, "travelling companions," seems to point forward to XX 4, as we have no reason to think that either Gaius or Aristarchus had hitherto been companions of Paul on a journey. Prof. Blass, recognising the probability that Gaius is the travelling companion of XX 4, accepts Valckenaer's alteration of the text in that place, making Gaius a Thessalonian, and Timothy a man of Derbe ; and that alteration would be very tempting, were it not for the insurmountable statement, XVI I, that Timothy was a Lystran.