8:9–11 Among the crowds that “paid close attention to what Philip said” (v. 6) was one Simon, a Magus (see notes). He practiced the charms and incantations of the East and by these means had held the Samaritans in his thrall for a long time (v. 11). They called him the Great Power (v. 10), apparently at his own suggestion (v. 9). From the New Testament, as indeed from later sources relating to the Samaritans in particular, we learn that “power” was a name given to any angelic or divine being (cf., e.g., Rom. 8:38; Eph. 1:21; 3:10) and sometimes even to God himself (Mark 14:62). In the light of this, it would appear that the Samaritans believed Simon to be the incarnation of some such being. Little wonder then that they gave him their attention (v. 10), though with gentle irony Luke uses t…