Dictionaries :: Townclerk

Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words

Townclerk:

"a writer, scribe," is used in Act 19:35 of a state "clerk," an important official, variously designated, according to inscriptions found in Graeco-Asiatic cities. He was responsible for the form of decrees first approved by the Senate, then sent for approval in the popular assembly, in which he often presided. The decrees having been passed, he sealed them with the public seal in the presence of witnesses. Such an assembly frequently met in the theater. The Roman administration viewed any irregular or unruly assembly as a grave and even capital offense, as tending to strengthen among the people the consciousness of their power and the desire to exercise it. In the circumstances at Ephesus the townclerk feared that he might himself be held responsible for the irregular gathering.
See SCRIBE.