Acts 21:27-28

The Jews from Asia, possibly from Ephesus, were obviously unbelievers. They charged Paul with the same kind of crimes the unbelieving Jews had accused Stephen of committing (Acts 6:11; Acts 6:13-14). The Jews permitted Gentiles in the outer court of the temple, the court of the Gentiles. They could not go beyond the sacred enclosure into the women’s court, or into the court of Israel, much less into the court of the priests.

Jewish men like Paul who were not priests or Levites could go no farther than the court of Israel. The priests had posted notices prohibiting Gentiles from entering the sacred enclosure, the area that included the courts of the women, Israel, and the priests. These were in Latin and Greek and were on the barrier, the Soreg, at the foot of the steps leading to this area of the temple. Archaeologists have discovered two of these notices. [Note: See Riesner, p. 194.] One reads as follows.

"No man of another nation to enter within the fence and enclosure round the temple. And whoever is caught will have himself to blame that his death ensues." [Note: C. K. Barrett, The New Testament Background: Selected Documents, p. 50. See Adolf Deissmann, Light From the Ancient East, p. 81, or Kent, p. 163, for a photograph of this limestone block.]

The Romans allowed the Jews to execute any Gentile, even a Roman citizen, for proceeding beyond this low, stone barrier. [Note: Josephus, The Wars . . ., 6:2:4.]