Commentaries:
Robertson's Word Pictures (NT)
I am (Egw men eimi). In contrast with the wild guess of Lysias Paul uses men and de. He tells briefly who he is:
a Jew (Ioudaiov) by race,
of Tarsus in Cilicia (Tarseuv thv Kilikiav) by country, belonging to Tarsus (this adjective Tarseuv only here and Acts 9:11), and proud of it, one of the great cities of the empire with a great university.
A citizen of no mean city (ouk ashmou polewv polithv). Litotes again, "no mean" (ashmov, old adjective, unmarked, a privative and shma, mark, insignificant, here only in the N.T.). This same litotes used by Euripides of Athens (Ion 8). But Paul calls himself a citizen (polithv) of Tarsus. Note the "effective assonance" (Page) in polewv polithv. Paul now (de) makes his request (deomai) of Lysias.
Give me leave (epitreyon moi). First aorist active imperative of epitrepw, old and common verb to turn to, to permit, to allow. It was a strange request and a daring one, to wish to speak to this mob howling for Paul's blood.
Other Robertson's Word Pictures (NT) entries containing Acts 21:39:
Luke 15:15
Acts 1:5
Acts 22:3
Acts 22:28
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