Riot at Ephesus

Biblical Text and Content

The account appears in Acts 19:23–41. The passage opens, "And the same time there arose no small stir about that way." Here "that way" refers to the Christian faith. During his third missionary journey, Paul taught in Ephesus for more than two years (Acts 19:8–10).

Demetrius, a silversmith, made silver models of the image of Artemis, a trade that brought no small gain to the craftsmen. He gathered the workers of the same trade and stirred them up, claiming that Paul's teaching that "they be no gods, which are made with hands" endangered both their livelihood and the majesty of the temple of Artemis. Crying out, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians" (KJV; Greek "Artemis"), the crowd seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were traveling with Paul, and rushed into the theater. Paul wanted to go in before the crowd, but the disciples and certain officials of the province of Asia who were his friends held him back. The Jews put Alexander forward to make a defense, but when the crowd recognized that he was a Jew, they kept shouting the same cry for about two hours. In the end, the town clerk quieted the crowd. He declared that the men who had been seized were neither robbers of the temple nor blasphemers of the goddess. He told them that any charges should be brought before the courts and the proconsuls or settled in a lawful assembly, and he warned that they were in danger of being called to account for the uproar before he dismissed the gathering. After the uproar had ceased, Paul called the disciples together, bade them farewell, and departed for Macedonia (Acts 20:1).

Background

Ephesus was one of the foremost cities of the Roman province of Asia. Its temple of Artemis (called Diana in the KJV) is known as one of the renowned buildings of the ancient world, and the pilgrims who visited the temple contributed substantially to the city's economy. Many scholars hold that the Ephesian cult of Artemis was a local religion that differed in form and character from the Greek Artemis known as the goddess of the hunt. The theater where the riot took place is known to have been a large structure seating tens of thousands, although sources differ on its exact capacity. Earlier in the same chapter, those who had practiced magic gathered their books and burned them (Acts 19:19), an episode showing that the gospel was already affecting the region's religion and livelihoods.

Significance in the Whole of Scripture

In this event, Paul's teaching that idols are not true gods (cf. 1 Corinthians 8:4–6) collided with the actual economic and religious order of a city. In this respect it continues the critique of idolatry found from the Old Testament onward. Acts repeatedly depicts Roman officials or city magistrates judging Christians to be innocent, as in Corinth under Gallio, and this event is read as one such scene. The Greek word ekklesia is used both for the "assembly" the town clerk mentioned and for the crowd's "gathering" (Acts 19:32, 39, 41). This is the same word the New Testament uses for the church. The church at Ephesus later reappears in Revelation as one of the seven churches of Asia Minor.

Interpretation and Issues

• Some interpreters connect this riot with Paul's statement that he had "fought with beasts at Ephesus" (1 Corinthians 15:30–32) or with the mention that Priscilla and Aquila risked their lives for Paul (Romans 16:4). Because the text does not state this directly, however, scholars differ on the question.
• Some identify the Alexander of Acts 19:33 with "Alexander the coppersmith" of 2 Timothy 4:14, but this identification remains unconfirmed conjecture.
• Interpretive emphases vary: some read the event as a clash between faith and economic interests, others as a scene illustrating the dangers of mob psychology, and still others as a case in which law and public procedure protected the church.

In the Korean Church

In preaching, this passage is cited when addressing the power of the gospel to transform livelihoods and ways of life, or the danger of a faith swept along by the crowd. The Korean name for the "school of Tyrannus" (Acts 19:9), where Paul taught according to the same chapter, has been adopted as the name of the Korean Christian publisher Duranno.