Acts 16:19-34

Imprisonment of Paul and Silas. The Prison Broken. The rulers (Acts 16:19) are the heads of police; they are afterwards called Strategi, which answers to the Roman Prœ tores. Philippi was a colony, its magistrates were Roman, duoviri, and had the fasces, the Roman rods, showing their power to order a beating. The missionaries are accused of making a disturbance in the city, being Jews (Jews are generally unpopular, and at Philippi they are not strong), and of introducing strange customs, i.e. a religion which was not an allowed one, in the Roman community. The populace takes the side of the accusers; a beating on the bare body is at once inflicted (cf. 2 Corinthians 11:25). The inner prison into which they were put was, to judge by other known cases, a place totally dark and underground. (Cf. Passion of Perpetua, 3; Euseb., Eccl. Hist., V. i. 31.) The opening of the doors by the earthquake is quite possible, but not the loosening of the chains; this happens to Peter also (see Acts 12:7). Acts 12:19 shows what happened to the gaoler whose prisoners escaped. This one is about to commit suicide. The doors being open, there is some light in the inner cell; Paul can assure the gaoler that his prisoners are all safe. The reporter of the scene is not present. The gaoler brings out Paul and Silas (D says he first secured the other prisoners); and in his alarm, having heard no doubt of the nature of their mission in the town (Acts 16:17), he addresses them respectfully and asks them to direct him for his salvation. The rest of the story speaks best for itself.