SEV Biblia, Chapter 21:34
Y unos daban voces de una manera, y otros de otra manera en la multitud; y como no podía entender nada de cierto a causa del alboroto, mand llevarle a la fortaleza.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 34. And some cried one thing, and some another, among the multitude , etc.] For though they agreed to beat him, and even to kill him, yet some of them knew not for what; being led by a blind zeal for Moses, the law and temple, or rather by fury and madness: and when he could not know the certainty for the tumult ; could not come at the truth of the matter, or any certain knowledge of it, not anything that could be depended upon, because of the noise of the people, and the different notes they were in: he commanded him to be carried into the castle ; of Antonio, formerly called Baris, of which Josephus gives this account; on the north side (of the wall) was built a four square tower, well fortified and strong; this the kings and priests of the Asmonaean race, who were before Herod, built, and called it Baris; that there the priestly robe might be laid up by them, which the high priest only wore, when he was concerned in divine service: this tower King Herod made more strong, for the security and preservation of the temple; and called it Antonia, for the sake of Antony his friend, and the general of the Romans: the description of it, as given by Dr. Lightfoot f1110 , which is collected by him out of Josephus and other writers, is this; upon the north side, and joining up to the western angle (but on the outside of the wall), stood the tower of Antonia, once the place where the high priests used to lay up their holy garments; but in after times a garrison of Roman soldiers, for the a wing of the temple: when it served for the former use, it was called Baris (it may be from rb , ad extra, because it was an outer building), but when for the latter, it bare the name of Antonia; Herod the great having sumptuously repaired and called it after the name of the Roman prince Antony: it stood upon the north west point of Moriah, and was a very strong and a very large pile; so spacious a building with all its appurtenances, that it took up to two furlongs compass; the rock it stood upon was fifty cubits high, and steep, and the building itself was forty cubits above it; it was four square, encompassed with a wall of three cubits high, which enclosed its courts, and had a turret at every corner, like the white tower at London; but that it was more spacious, and that the turrets were not all of an height; for those at the north east and north west corners were fifty cubits high, but those on the south east and south west were seventy cubits high, that they might fully overlook the temple: it had cloisters or walks about it, and baths and lodgings, and large rooms in it; so that it was at once like a castle, and like a palace. There was a passage out of it, into the north and west cloisters of the mountain of the house, and by that the Roman garrison soldiers went down at every festival of the Jews, to take care against tumults and seditions, in those great concourses of the people. And it was by this passage that the chief captain, with the centurions and soldiers, came down so quickly and suddenly upon the Jews, while they were beating Paul in the temple; and this castle being on such an eminence as described, hence he with the soldiers is said to run down, ( Acts 21:32) And it was in this way that the apostle was led up to the castle.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 27-40 - In the temple, where Paul should have been protected as in a place of safety, he was violently set upon. They falsely charged him with il doctrine and ill practice against the Mosaic ceremonies. It is no ne thing for those who mean honestly and act regularly, to have thing laid to their charge which they know not and never thought of. It is common for the wise and good to have that charged against them by malicious people, with which they thought to have obliged them. God often makes those a protection to his people, who have no affection to them, but only have compassion for sufferers, and regard to the publi peace. And here see what false, mistaken notions of good people an good ministers, many run away with. But God seasonably interposes for the safety of his servants, from wicked and unreasonable men; and give them opportunities to speak for themselves, to plead for the Redeemer and to spread abroad his glorious gospel __________________________________________________________________
Greek Textus Receptus
αλλοι 243 A-NPM δε 1161 CONJ αλλο 243 A-ASN τι 5100 X-ASN εβοων 994 5707 V-IAI-3P εν 1722 PREP τω 3588 T-DSM οχλω 3793 N-DSM μη 3361 PRT-N δυναμενος 1410 5740 V-PNP-NSM δε 1161 CONJ γνωναι 1097 5629 V-2AAN το 3588 T-ASN ασφαλες 804 A-ASN δια 1223 PREP τον 3588 T-ASM θορυβον 2351 N-ASM εκελευσεν 2753 5656 V-AAI-3S αγεσθαι 71 5745 V-PPN αυτον 846 P-ASM εις 1519 PREP την 3588 T-ASF παρεμβολην 3925 N-ASF
Vincent's NT Word Studies
34. Castle (parembolhn). Better, barracks. The main tower had a smaller tower at each corner, the one at the southeastern corner being the largest and overlooking the temple. In this tower were the quarters of the soldiers. The word is derived from the verb paremballw, to put in beside, used in military language of distributing auxiliaries among regular troops and, generally, of drawing up in battle-order. Hence the noun means, a body drawn up in battle-array, and passes thence into the meaning of an encampment, soldiers' quarters, barracks. In Heb. xi. 34, it occurs in the earlier sense of an army; and in Heb. xiii. 11, 13; Apoc. xx. 9, in the sense of an encampment. In grammatical phraseology it signifies a parenthesis, according to its original sense of insertion or interpolation.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
21:34 {Some shouting one thing, some another} (alloi allo ti epefwnoun). Same idiom of alloi allo as in #19:32 which see. The imperfect of epifwnew, to call out to, suits well the idiom. this old verb occurs in the N.T. only in Luke and Acts (already in #12:22). {When he could not know} (me dunamenou autou gnwnai). Genitive absolute of present middle participle of dunamai with negative me and second aorist active infinitive of ginwskw. {The certainty} (to asfales). Neuter articular adjective from a privative and sfallw, to make totter or fall. Old word, in the N.T. only in #Ac 21:34; 22:30; 25:26; Php 3:1; Heb 6:19. {Into the castle} (eis ten parembolen). _Koin_ word from paremballw, to cast in by the side of, to assign soldiers a place, to encamp (see on Lu 19:43). So parembole comes to mean an interpolation, qen an army drawn up (#Heb 11:34), but mainly an encampment (#Heb 13:11,13), frequent in Polybius and LXX. So here barracks of the Roman soldiers in the tower of Antonia as in verse #37; 22:24; 23:10,16,32.
