Albert Barnes Commentary Acts 21:39

"But Paul said, I am a Jew, of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and I beseech thee, give me leave to speak unto the people." — Acts 21:39 (ASV)

A Jew of Tarsus. A Jew by birth. (See Barnes on Acts 9:11).

Of no mean city. Not obscure or undistinguished. He could claim an honourable birth, so far as the place of his nativity was concerned. (See Barnes on Acts 9:11).

Tarsus was much celebrated for its learning, and was at one time the rival of Alexandria and Athens. Xenophon calls it a great and flourishing city (Anabasis). Josephus (Antiq. Book 1, Chapter 6, Section 6) says that it was the metropolis and most renowned city among them [the Cilicians].