A.T. Robertson Commentary


A.T. Robertson Commentary
"Ye yourselves know that these hands ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me." — Acts 20:34 (ASV)
Ye yourselves (αυτο). Intensive pronoun. Certainly they knew that the church in Ephesus had not supported Paul while there.
These hands (α χειρες αυτα). Paul was not above manual labour. He pointed to his hands with pride as proof that he toiled at his trade of tent-making as at Thessalonica and Corinth for his own needs (χρειαις) and for those with him (probably Aquila and Priscilla) with whom he lived and probably Timothy because of his often infirmities (1 Timothy 5:23).
Ministered (υπηρετησαν). First aorist active of υπηρετεω, to act as under rower, old verb, but in the N.T. only in Ac 13:36; 20:34; 24:23. While in Ephesus Paul wrote to Corinth: "We toil, working with our own hands" (1 Corinthians 4:12). "As he held them up, they saw a tongue of truth in every seam that marked them" (Furneaux).