Bible chapter guide

Acts 21

Paul sails to Tyre and Caesarea, where the prophet Agabus binds his own hands with Paul's belt in warning. In Jerusalem Paul takes part in a purification rite at the temple, but a crowd accuses him of bringing Greeks inside, and Roman soldiers arrest him to save his life.

Summary written for the Labs; read the chapter itself for the full text.

What happens in this chapter

From Miletus the ship runs to Cos, Rhodes and Patara, where Paul's party changes to a ship crossing to Phoenicia, passes Cyprus on the left and unloads at Tyre. The disciples at Tyre and then the prophet Agabus at Caesarea, in the house of Philip the evangelist, warn Paul about Jerusalem, and he answers that he is ready to die there. In Jerusalem James and the elders ask him to join four men completing a vow and pay their expenses, to show that he keeps the law. Near the end of the seven days, Jews from Asia who have seen him in the city with Trophimus of Ephesus accuse him of taking Greeks into the temple, and Roman soldiers pull him out of the crowd and carry him up the steps of the barracks.

What the lab shows, and where to look

Paul's Roads covers both halves of the chapter. On the third journey route, step through Cos, Rhodes 'the next day' and Patara, then the longest open-water leg of the journey to Tyre, drawn south of Cyprus. 'Caesarea: Philip and Agabus' is where the warning happens. The arrest itself is the first stop of the route to Rome, 'Jerusalem: arrest', whose card carries the strong claim that Gentiles really were barred from the inner courts on pain of death.

Questions people ask

Was bringing a Gentile into the temple really a capital offence?

Yes, for going past the barrier into the inner courts. Two Greek inscriptions from the temple balustrade, one found complete in 1871, warn foreigners not to go beyond it on pain of death, and Josephus describes the same notices (Jewish War 5.193–194; Antiquities 15.417). The charge against Paul was false: the crowd had seen Trophimus with him in the city and assumed the rest (21:29).

Strongly supported

Who was Trophimus?

A believer from Ephesus in the province of Asia, one of the seven who travelled with Paul from Greece (20:4). His being seen with Paul in Jerusalem led directly to the arrest (21:29). Years later 2 Timothy 4:20 says Paul left him sick at Miletus.

Textually stated

Why did Paul take part in a vow in the temple?

Because James and the elders asked him to. Thousands of Jewish believers had heard that Paul taught Jews abroad to abandon Moses, and paying for four men's purification would show the report was untrue (21:20–24). Acts records the plan and its failure, not what Paul thought of it.

Textually stated

See it in the Labs

How sure can we be?

Textually stated
Trophimus' presence in Jerusalem led to Paul's arrest.
Acts 21:28–29: Jews from Asia, having seen Trophimus with Paul in the city, supposed Paul had brought him into the temple.
Textually stated
They ran a straight course to Cos.
Acts 21:1.
Textually stated
The next day they came to Rhodes.
Acts 21:1.
Textually stated
From Rhodes they sailed to Patara.
Acts 21:1.
Textually stated
They crossed the open sea, leaving Cyprus on the left, to Tyre.
Acts 21:3: they sighted Cyprus and left it on the left hand, so they passed south of the island.
Textually stated
They finished the voyage at Ptolemais.
Acts 21:7.

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King James Version (KJV) Chinese Union Version, 1919 (Wikisource)