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Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

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ASIARCH*

Title of an official of unknown function in the Roman province of Asia. Several such officials were concerned for the safety of Paul during a silversmiths’ riot in Ephesus (Acts 19:31). Nothing else is known about their qualifications, periods of tenure, or duties. Why there were a number of such officers in Ephesus at the time of the riot, or why the Asiarchs showed such concern for Paul, is not clear. Perhaps they were deputies of the “Commune of Asia,” responsible to promote and protect the imperial cult (the worship practices of Rome and the emperor). The Asiarchs mentioned were evidently not adverse to a religious movement like Christianity, which embarrassed the prevailing pagan cult of Artemis. The long account in Acts 19 repeats one of Luke’s themes, that Christianity was not subversive, nor was Paul a political menace. Otherwise the Asiarchs would not have favored him in such a manner.