Charles Ellicott Commentary Acts 13:14

"But they, passing through from Perga, came to Antioch of Pisidia; and they went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down." — Acts 13:14 (ASV)

They came to Antioch in Pisidia.—The town was one of the many cities built by Seleucus Nicator and named after his father, Antiochus. It lay on the slopes of Mount Taurus, which the travelers must have crossed. Under Augustus, the city had obtained the “Jus Italicum”—a modified form of Roman citizenship. As the subsequent account shows, it had also attracted a considerable Jewish population, who had made many proselytes among the Gentiles (Acts 13:42). Antioch lay on the extreme limit of Pisidia, with Phrygia on the west and Lycaonia on the east.

Went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.—This act implied that they were not listeners only, but teachers. (See Notes on Matthew 5:1; Luke 4:20.) They sat as in the seat of the Rabbi. Their doing so was an indication, as the subsequent account shows, that they asked for permission to address the congregation. It will be remembered that the organisation of the synagogue excluded the sacerdotal element altogether, and that lay-preaching, assuming sufficient training, was an established practice. It need hardly be said that neither elders nor scribes were necessarily of the tribe of Levi.