Acts 18:19

“And he came to Ephesus, etc.] The metropolis of Asia; according to Pliny f940, it had been called by many names; at the time of the Trojan war, Alopes, then Ortygia and Morges, also Smyrna Trachea, Samornion and Prelea, and which he calls the work of the Amazons: some say f941 it was called Ephesus, because Hercules permitted the Amazons to dwell in it, Ephesus in the Greek language signifying “permission”; Pausanias f942 denies, that the famous temple in it was built by them, but by Ephesus the son of Caystrus, and says that from him the city had its name; though others say it was built by Androclus, the son of Codrus, king of Athens, in the time of David king of Israel; and that having…”

“he came to Ephesus--the capital of the Roman province of Asia. (See Introduction to Ephesians). It was a sail, right across from the west to the east side of the Ægean Sea, of some eight or ten days, with a fair wind. left them there--Aquila and Priscilla. but he himself entered into the synagogue--merely taking advantage of the vessel putting in there. and reasoned with the Jews--the tense here not being the usual one denoting continuous action (as in Act 17:2; Act 18:4), but that expressing a transient act. He had been forbidden to preach the word in Asia (Act 16:6), but he would not consider that as precluding this passing exercise of his ministry when Providence brought him to its…”

“And he came to Ephesus - See the notes on Revelation 2:1-5. This was a celebrated city in Ionia, in Asia Minor, about 40 miles south of Smyrna. It was chiefly famous for the Temple of Diana, usually reckoned one of the seven wonders of the world. Pliny styles this city the ornament of Asia. In the times of the Romans it was the metropolis of the province of Asia. This city is now under the dominion of the Turks, and is almost in a state of ruin. Dr. Chandler, in his Travels in Asia Mirror, says: “The inhabitants are a few Greek peasants, living in extreme wretchedness, dependence, and insensibility; the representatives of an illustrious people, and inhabiting the wreck of their greatness;…”

“18:19-23 Paul made a quick stop at Ephesus, the most important city in the Roman province of Asia. There he left the others behind, including Priscilla and Aquila (18:26). He sailed to Judea, landing at Caesarea, the headquarters of the Roman forces of occupation. After a visit to the church at Jerusalem, Paul returned to Antioch, the church that had originally commissioned him. This marked the end of his second missionary journey. In Antioch, he spent a rewarding time of reporting what God had done through him and his colleagues, sharing the excitement and challenges of their work with the home church. Then after . . . some time, Paul began his third missionary journey. He went by land…”

“Ephesus: Act 18:24, Act 19:1, Act 19:17, Act 19:26, Act 20:16; Co1 16:8; Eph 1:1; Ti1 1:3; Ti2 1:18, Ti2 4:12; Rev 1:11, Rev 2:1 but: Act 18:4, Act 17:2, Act 17:3 Acts 18:20”