Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 26:1

"And Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth his hand, and made his defence:" — Acts 26:1 (ASV)

At Agrippa’s invitation to speak for himself, Paul, though manacled by chains (v.29), motioned with his hand for attention (cf. 21:40) and began speaking. While we have only a summary of his speech, it is the longest of Paul’s five defenses, undoubtedly reflecting the relative length of the address. Since Agrippa was considered an authority on the Jewish religion, he might have been expected to listen closely to Paul’s lengthy explanation of the relation of his message and ministry to the hope of Israel.