And for then, A.V.; chief priests for high priest, A.V. and T.R.; principal men for chief, A.V.; and they besought for and besought, A.V. Chief priests; as in Acts 25:15 and Acts 22:30. But the reading of the T.
R., "the high priest," is more in accordance with Acts 24:1, and is approved by Alford. The high priest at this time was no longer Ananias, but Ismael the son of Phabi, who was appointed by King Agrippa towards the close of Felix's government (Josephus, 'Ant.
Jud.,' 20. Acts 8:8). He went to Rome to appeal to Nero about the wall which the Jews had built to screen the temple from being overlooked, and which Agrippa had ordered to be pulled down; and being detained at Rome as a hostage, he was succeeded in the high priesthood by Joseph Cabi the son of Simon.
We may feel sure that on this occasion he was present before Festus, for he had not yet gone to Rome. Informed him ( ἐνεφάνισαν); see Acts 24:1, note. The principal men of the Jews ( οἱ πρῶτοι). In Acts 24:15 Festus speaks of them as οἱ πρεσβύτεροι.
The question arises as to whether the two phrases are identical in their meaning. Meyer thinks that the πρῶτοι includes leading men who were not elders, i.e. not Sanhedrists. Josephus calls the leading Jews of Caesarea οἱ πρωτεύοντες τῶν ἰουδαίων ('Ant.
Jud.,' 20. Acts 8:9).