Note 7 at Ac 19:33: There is much disagreement about who this Alexander was. Some scholars believe he was a Christian who was thrust into the mob as a scapegoat to appease the crowd. Others believe that since the Jews were the ones responsible for "putting him forward," Alexander was not a Christian but a Jew who was trying to make clear to the Ephesians that the Jewish community had nothing to do with these Christians whom Demetrius and his companions were persecuting.

Some have also thought this might be Alexander the coppersmith that Paul spoke of in 2Ti 4:14 as having done Paul much evil. If so, it would raise many questions as to why the Jews used him as their spokesman and why a member of the craftsmen who incited the riot would be making a defense before them.

There is also an Alexander, who was an apostate Christian, mentioned by Paul in 1Ti 1:20. Paul turned this man over to Satan (see note 6 at Mt 18:18) that he might learn not to blaspheme.