Word Pictures in the New Testament - David Cox

Word Pictures in the NT [Acts: Chapter 19]
lecturing on medicine in Ephesus and so as a friend of Luke, the
physician, would be glad to help Paul about a place to preach. It
was probably a public building or lecture hall with this name
whether hired by Paul or loaned to him. The pagan sophists often
spoke in such halls. The Codex Bezae adds "from the fifth hour to
the tenth" as the time allotted Paul for his work in this hall,
which is quite possible, from just before midday till the close
of the afternoon (from before the noon meal till two hours before
sunset) each day. Here Paul had great freedom and a great
hearing. As the church grows there will be other places of
meeting as the church in the house of Aquila and Priscilla (1Co
16:19).
19:10 {For two years} (\epi et• duo\). Note \epi\ with accusative
for extent of time as in verse 8, \epi m•nas treis\ and often.
But in 20:31 Paul said to the Ephesian elders at Miletus that
he laboured with them for the space of "three years." That may be
a general expression and there was probably a longer period after
the "two years" in the school of Tyrannus besides the six months
in the synagogue. Paul may have preached thereafter in the house
of Aquila and Priscilla for some months, the "for a while" of
verse 22. {So that all they which dwelt in Asia heard} (\h•ste
pantas tous katoikountas t•n Asian akousai\). Actual result with
\h•ste\ and the infinitive with accusative of general reference
as is common (also verse 11) in the _Koin•_ (Robertson,
_Grammar_, pp. 999f.). Paul apparently remained in Ephesus, but
the gospel spread all over the province even to the Lycus Valley
including the rest of the seven churches of Re 1:11; 2; 3.
Demetrius in verse 26 will confirm the tremendous influence of
Paul's ministry in Ephesus on Asia. Forty years after this Pliny
in his famous letter to Trajan from Bithynia will say of
Christianity: "For the contagion of this superstition has not
only spread through cities, but also through villages and country
places." It was during these years in Ephesus that Paul was
greatly disturbed over the troubles in the Corinthian Church. He
apparently wrote a letter to them now lost to us (1Co 5:9),
received messages from the household of Chloe, a letter from the
church, special messengers, sent Timothy, then Titus, may have
made a hurried trip himself, wrote our First Corinthians, was
planning to go after the return of Titus to Troas where he was to
meet him after Pentecost, when all of a sudden the uproar raised
by Demetrius hurried Paul away sooner than he had planned.
Meanwhile Apollos had returned from Corinth to Ephesus and
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