Acts 19:18

πολλοί τε : the τε shows another immediate result in the fact that those who were already believers were now fully convinced of the pre-eminence of the name of Jesus, and were all the more filled with a reverential fear of His holy name: “many also of those who had believed,” R.V. So Wendt in latest edition. ἤρχοντο ultro, Bengel. ἐξομολ.: Rendall renders “giving thanks” to God for this manifestation of His power. But it is usually taken, not absolutely, but as governing πράξεις, cf. Matthew 3:6; Mark 1:5; James 5:16; Jos., Ant., viii., 4, 6; B. J., v., 10, 5, so in Plutarch several times, “confessing,” cf. also Clem. Rom., Cor [329], Leviticus 3; Barn., Epist., xix., 12; Kennedy, Sources of N. T. Greek, p. 118, and Mayor on James 5:16; Felten, Apostelgeschichte, p. 361. πράξεις, cf. Luke 23:51; also in a bad sense. So too in Romans 8:13; Colossians 3:9, so often in Polyb. (3Ma 1:27). Deissmann Bibelstudien, p. 5, maintains that the passage before us shows acquaintance with the technical terminology of magic, and instances πράξεις as a terminus technicus for a magic prescription; see also Knabenbauer's note in loco. ἀναγγέλλοντες : instead of continuing secretly practising or approving of the deeds of magic, they declared their wrongdoings. Rendall takes it as meaning that they reported the deeds of those men, i.e., the magicians; but can the Greek bear this?

[329] Corinth, Corinthian or Corinthians.