Acts 2:9

“Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, etc.] These are the words of the men continued, and not of the historian, as appears from (<440210>Acts 2:10) and so the Arabic version reads, “of us Persians, Parthians, and Medes”; that is, we hear them speak in the language of everyone of us: the order in this version is inverted, otherwise the same persons are intended; for the Elamites and Persians are the same: by the Parthians are meant, Jews that were born in Parthia, and had dwelt there, and who spoke the language of that country; and that there were Jews, in those parts, is clear from Josephus f72, who speaks of them together with the Jews of other nations. Many of the Parthian Jews were…”

“Parthians, &c.--Beginning with the farthest east, the Parthians, the enumeration proceeds farther and farther westward till it comes to Judea; next come the western countries, from Cappadocia to Pamphylia; then the southern, from Egypt to Cyrene; finally, apart from all geographical consideration, Cretes and Arabians are placed together. This enumeration is evidently designed to convey an impression of universality [BAUMGARTEN].”

“Parthians ... - To show the surprising extent and power of this miracle, Luke enumerates the different nations that were represented then at Jerusalem. In this way the number of languages which the apostles spoke, and the extent of the miracle, can be ascertained. The enumeration of these nations begins at the east and proceeds to the west. Parthians mean those Jews or proselytes who dwelt in Parthia. This country was a part of Persia, and was situated between the Persian Gulf and the Tigris on the west, and the Indus River on the east. The term “Parthia” originally referred to a small mountainous district lying to the northeast of Media. Afterward it came to be applied to the great Parthian…”

“Judea - The dialect of which greatly differed from that of Galilee. Asia - The country strictly so called. Acts 2:10”

“2:9-11 Parthians came from the region stretching from the Tigris River eastward to India. Medes (now called Kurds) were from Media, east of Mesopotamia and north of the Persian Gulf. Elamites were from Elam (now in Iran), north of the Persian Gulf and just east of the Tigris River. Mesopotamia lay between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Judea was well known as the Jewish homeland. Cappadocia, Pontus, and Asia were Roman provinces in Asia Minor (now in Turkey; see 1 Pet 1:1); Paul later taught and preached in some of these areas (see Acts 16:6; 19:10, 26). Phrygia and Pamphylia were districts of Asia Minor later visited by Paul (13:13; 18:23). Egypt had a large Jewish population,…”

“Medes: Kg2 17:6; Ezr 6:2; Dan 8:20 Elamites: Gen 10:22, Gen 14:1; Isa 11:11, Isa 21:2; Dan 8:2 Mesopotamia: Act 7:2; Gen 24:10; Deu 23:4; Jdg 3:8; Ch1 19:6 Cappadocia: Pe1 1:1 Pontus: Act 18:2; Pe1 1:1 Asia: Act 6:9, Act 16:6, Act 19:10, Act 19:27, Act 19:31, Act 20:16, Act 20:18; Ti2 1:15; Rev 1:4, Rev 1:11 Acts 2:10”