Vincent's NT Word Studies
20. He closed (ptuxav). See on verse 17.Minister (uphreth). See on Matt. v. 25. Lit., as Rev., attendant.
Minister is likely to be misunderstood as referring to the president of the congregation, who, as the teaching elder, would have addressed the people if Jesus had not done so. It means the attendant who had charge of the sacred rolls. He was a salaried officer, a kind of chapel-clerk.
Sat down. As about to teach; that being the habitual position of a Jewish teacher.
Were fastened (hsan atenizontev). The participle and finite verb denoting continuous, steadfast attention. The verb, from teinw, to stretch, denotes fixed attention. Indeed, the word attention itself, etymologically considered, conveys the same idea.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
4:20 {He closed the book} (ptuxas to biblion). Aorist active participle of ptussw. Rolled up the roll and gave it back to the attendant who had given it to him and who put it away again in its case. {Sat down} (ekaqisen). Took his seat there as a sign that he was going to speak instead of going back to his former seat. this was the usual Jewish attitude for public speaking and teaching (#Lu 5:3; Mt 5:1; Mr 4:1; Ac 16:13). {Were fastened on him} (esan atenizontes autwi). Periphrastic imperfect active and so a vivid description. Literally, the eyes of all in the synagogue were gazing fixedly upon him. The verb atenizw occurs in Aristotle and the Septuagint. It is from the adjective atenes and that from teinw, to stretch, and copulative or intensive a, not a privative. The word occurs in the N.T. here and in #22:56, ten times in Acts, and in #2Co 3:7,13. Paul uses it of the steady eager gaze of the people at Moses when he came down from the mountain when he had been communing with God. There was something in the look of Jesus here that held the people spellbound for the moment, apart from the great reputation with which he came to them. In small measure every effective speaker knows what it is to meet the eager expectations of an audience.
