Person New Testament
Sceva
Sceva was a Jewish chief priest whose seven sons attempted to exorcise demons in the name of Jesus, as mentioned in the book of Acts. Mentioned once in Scripture, at Acts 19:14.
Why it matters. Jewish chief priest whose seven sons attempted to exorcise demons
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Sceva
Sceva is mentioned in Act.19.14 as a Jewish chief priest whose seven sons were involved in the practice of exorcism. The context of this passage is Paul's ministry in Ephesus, where he performed extraordinary miracles, and many people were delivered from evil spirits (Act.19.11-12). Some itinerant Jewish exorcists, including the seven sons of Sceva, attempted to invoke the name of Jesus over those possessed by evil spirits, saying, "We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches" (Act.19.13). However, when they tried to exorcise a man with an evil spirit, the spirit responded, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" (Act.19.15). The possessed man then overpowered the sons of Sceva, and they fled naked and wounded.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
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Appears in Scripture
Named in 1 verse across 1 book. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.
Acts (1 verse)