Tyrannus Τύραννος
Ephesian teacher who hosted Paul's discussions
Biography
Tyrannus is mentioned briefly in Act.19.9 as a teacher in Ephesus who hosted the Apostle Paul's daily discussions about the gospel. When some Jews in the synagogue became stubborn and spoke evil of the Way, Paul withdrew from the synagogue and began teaching in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This arrangement continued for two years, allowing all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, to hear the word of the Lord. The name Tyrannus means "tyrant" or "sovereign" in Greek, possibly indicating his profession as a teacher or rhetorician. By providing a venue for Paul's teaching, Tyrannus played a role in the spread of the gospel in Ephesus and the surrounding region, even if inadvertently.
In Scripture
1 biblical book ; 1 with study contentActs 1 verse
- Acts 19:9
"But when some were hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus."
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Names & Aliases
| Form | Language | Script | Strong's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Named | Greek | Τύραννος | G5181 |
Encyclopedia Article
ISBE 1915 (Public Domain) Tyrannus
rs" (Ac 19:9,10). D Syriac (Western text) adds after Tyrannus (Ac 19:9), "from the 5th hour unto the 10th." Schole is the lecture-hall or teaching-room of a philosopher or orator, and such were to be found m every Greek city. Tyrannus may have been
(1) a Greek rhetorician or
(2) a Jewish rabbi.
(1) This is the common opinion, and many identify him with a certain Tyrannus, a sophist, mentioned by Suidas. Paul would thus appear to be one of the traveling rhetors of the time, who had hired such a hall to proclaim his own peculiar philosophy (Ramsay, Paul the Traveler, 246, 271).
(2) Meyer thinks that as the apostle had not passed wholly to the Gentiles, and Jews still flocked to hear him, and also that as Tyrannus is not spoken of as a proselyte (sebomenos ton Theon), this schole is the beth Midrash of a Jewish rabbi. "Paul with his Christians withdrew from the public synagogue to the private synagogue of Tyrannus, where he and his doctrine were more secure from public annoyance" (Meyer in the place cited.).
(3) Another view (Overbeck) is that the expression was the standing name of the place after the original owner.
S. F. Hunter
tir (tsowr. tsor, "rock"' Turos, "Tyrus"; modern Sur):
1Physical Features
The most noted of the Phoenician cities situated on the coast, lat. 33ø 17 minutes, about 20 miles South of Sidon and about 35 Nor