John Gill Commentary Acts 21:32

"And forthwith he took soldiers and centurions, and ran down upon them: and they, when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, left off beating Paul." — Acts 21:32 (ASV)

Who immediately took soldiers and centurions
A very large number of soldiers, for they are called an army, in (Acts 23:27) with a sufficient number of officers called centurions, who were each of them over an hundred men, to command them, and put them in order.

and ran down to them :
from the tower to the temple, the outer part of it; perhaps the mountain of the house, where they had dragged Paul, and were beating him; here the captain, with his officers and soldiers, came in great haste; all of which shows his vigilance, prudence, and quick dispatch; and in which there was a remarkable appearance of divine providence in favour of the apostle, who otherwise would in all likelihood have quickly lost his life.

and when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers ;
coming down on them in great haste, with sword in hand:
they left beating Paul ;
this beating was what the Jews call (tydrm twkm) , "the rebels' beating"; or beating, because of rebellion and obstinacy; and differed from whipping or scourging, which was done by order of the sanhedrim, and in measure with forty stripes save one; but this beating was without order from a court of judicature, and was without measure and mercy: this was inflicted on various offenders, particularly on such who did not receive admonitions given them, or transgressed by doing what was forbidden by the words of the wise men ^F3 ; or if any defiled person entered the court of the women; the people would fall on such at once, and beat them unmercifully with their fists, or with clubs and staves, which often resulted in death; so, for instance, when a priest ministered in his uncleanness, his brethren the priests did not bring him to the sanhedrim, but the young priests brought him outside the court, and dashed his brains out with clubs ^F4

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FOOTNOTES:

• F3: Maimon. Hilchot Sanhedrin, c, 18. sect. 5.
• F4: Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 9. sect. 6.