Acts 23:2 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

The high priest Ananias— He was the son of Nebedoeus, and by his station head of the sanhedrim. He had before this been sent in chains to Rome, to give an account to Claudius Caesar of his behaviour in the quarrel which had happened between the Jews and Samaritans, during the government of Cumanus in Judea; but, being acquitted, he returned to Jerusalem, and still enjoyed the dignity of the high-priesthood,probablyattheintercessionof Agrippa the younger. Full of prejudice against St. Paul and the gospel doctrine, he condemned the apostle's speech, as too boasting and arrogant; and ordered some of the apparitors who stood by St. Paul to smite him on the mouth, for taking upon him to glory so much, though he had in reality used only a well grounded and just defence. But St. Paul could not wonder at such cruel and unrighteous treatment, when he considered that so had the false prophet Zedekiah dealt with the true prophet Micaiah; so had the high-priest Pashur smitten the prophetJeremiah; and, what is more, in like manner had the wicked Jews struck our Lord, when he had behaved with the greatest modesty and innocenc