Note 1 at Acts 22:2: The fact that Paul spoke to the crowd in the Hebrew language made them even more attentive to what he had to say. This is because the Hebrew language had come to be a matter of great national pride among the Jews. During the years of captivity, the Hebrew language had nearly been lost. Therefore, Paul was displaying his Jewishness and hoping to show them that he had not forsaken his Jewish roots as the Jews of Asia were accusing him.