Sceva Σκευᾶς
Jewish chief priest whose seven sons attempted to exorcise demons
Biography
Sceva is mentioned in Act.19.14 as a Jewish chief priest whose seven sons were involved in the practice of exorcism. The context of this passage is Paul's ministry in Ephesus, where he performed extraordinary miracles, and many people were delivered from evil spirits (Act.19.11-12). Some itinerant Jewish exorcists, including the seven sons of Sceva, attempted to invoke the name of Jesus over those possessed by evil spirits, saying, "We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches" (Act.19.13). However, when they tried to exorcise a man with an evil spirit, the spirit responded, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" (Act.19.15). The possessed man then overpowered the sons of Sceva, and they fled naked and wounded.
In Scripture
1 biblical book ; 1 with study contentActs 1 verse
- Acts 19:14
"There were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did this."
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Names & Aliases
| Form | Language | Script | Strong's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Named | Greek | Σκευᾶς | G4630 |
Sceva
priest, as there were only synagogues in Asia Minor. He may have belonged to a high-priestly family, or perhaps at one time he had been at the head of one of the 24 courses in the temple.
In the narrative the construction is loose. There were seven sons (Ac 19:14), and it would appear (Ac 19:16) that in this particular case all were present. But (Ac 19:16) the demon-possessed man over-powered "both of them." Textus Receptus of the New Testament gets over the difficulty by omitting "both," but Codices Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Bezae, so Tischendorf, Westcott and Hort, von Soden, and the best critics, retain the difficult reading. The explanation is that Ac 19:14 states the custom: "who did this" being hoi touto poiountes, "who used to do this." Ac 19:15 and 16 state a particular case in which two took part, but the incident is introduced in a careless manner.
Ewald would translate amphoteron as "in both sides," but this is impossible. Baur understood "disciples" for "sons." Codex Bezae and Syriac have an interesting expansion which Blass considers original (Ac 19:14): "Among whom also the sons (Syriac `seven') of a certain Sceva, a priest, wished to do the same, (who) were in the custom of exorcising such. And entering into the demon-possessed man they began to call upon the Name, saying, `We charge you by Jesus whom Paul preaches to come out.' "
S. F. Hunter
siz'-m (schisma): Only in 1Co 12:25. The same Greek word, literally, "a split," is translated "rent" in Mt 9:16; <ref osisRef="Bible:Mark.2.21"