Tag Archives: Acts 24:5

Εὑρόντες γὰρ τὸν ἄνδρα τοῦτον λοιμὸν καὶ κινοῦντα στάσιν πᾶσι τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις τοῖς κατὰ τὴν οἰκουμένην, πρωτοστάτην τε τῆς τῶν Ναζωραίων αἱρέσεως, (Acts 24:5)

For we found this man to be a plague and one who stirs up rebellion among all the Jews throughout the inhabited world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.

Grammar in the Courtroom

In Acts 24:5, the orator Tertullus accuses Paul before Governor Felix, and his legal rhetoric is structured with precision. Through an artful string of participles and appositional phrases, he attempts to portray Paul as:

– A public menace (λοιμός) – A political agitator – A ringleader of a sect

The grammar does not merely report facts — it delivers charged legal slander, carefully constructed to evoke Roman concern over social unrest and unauthorized religions.… Learn Koine Greek