Acts 8 is the eighth chapter of the

Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles (, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; ) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of The gospel, its message to the Roman Empire. Acts and the Gospel of Luke make u ...

in the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

of the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

. It records the burial of

Stephen Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...

, the beginnings of Christian persecution, the spread of the Gospel of

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

to the people of

Samaria Samaria (), the Hellenized form of the Hebrew name Shomron (), is used as a historical and Hebrew Bible, biblical name for the central region of the Land of Israel. It is bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The region is ...

and the conversion of an

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

n official. The book containing this chapter is

anonymous Anonymous may refer to: * Anonymity, the state of an individual's identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown ** Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an unnamed or unknown creator or author * Anonym ...

, but early

Christian tradition Christian tradition is a collection of traditions consisting of practices or beliefs associated with Christianity. Many churches have traditional practices, such as particular patterns of worship or rites, that developed over time. Deviations from ...

uniformly affirmed that Luke composed this book as well as the

Gospel of Luke The Gospel of Luke is the third of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It tells of the origins, Nativity of Jesus, birth, Ministry of Jesus, ministry, Crucifixion of Jesus, death, Resurrection of Jesus, resurrection, and Ascension of ...

.Holman Illustrated Bible Handbook. Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. 2012. Parts of this chapter (verses 5-13 and 26-40) may have been drawn from an earlier "Philip cycle of stories" used by Luke in assembling his material.

Text

The original text was written in

Koine Greek Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the koiné language, common supra-regional form of Greek language, Greek spoken and ...

. This chapter is divided into 40 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are: ;In Greek * Papyrus 50 (3rd century; extant verses 26–32) *

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), is a manuscript of the Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Old Testament and the majority of the New Testament. It is designated by siglum B or 03 in the Gregory-Aland numb ...

(325–350) *

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus (; Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), also called the Sinai Bible, is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old Testament, including the deuterocanonica ...

(330–360) * Codex Bezae (c. 400) *

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII) is a manuscript of the Greek Bible,The Greek Bible in this context refers to the Bible used by Greek-speaking Christians who lived in Egypt and elsewhere during the early ...

(400–440) *

Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus The Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (Paris, National Library of France, Greek 9) is a manuscript of the Greek Bible, written on parchment. It is designated by the siglum C or 04 in the Biblical manuscript#Gregory-Aland, Gregory-Aland numbering of New ...

(c. 450) * Codex Laudianus (c. 550) ;In Latin * León palimpsest (7th century; complete)Bruce M. Metzger, ''The Early Versions of the New Testament'', Oxford University Press, 1977, p. 316.

Old Testament references

* :

New Testament references

* : (Stephen's Death)

Locations

This chapter mentions the following places: * Azotus * Caesarea *

Aethiopia Ancient Aethiopia, () first appears as a geographical term in classical documents in reference to the skin color of the inhabitants of the upper Nile in northern Sudan, of areas south of the Sahara, and of certain areas in Asia. Its earliest men ...

* Gaza *

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

Judea Judea or Judaea (; ; , ; ) is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the pres ...

Saul's approval of Stephen's death (8:1a)

The writer of Acts introduces Saul, later the

Apostle Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...

, as an active witness of Stephen's death in Acts 7:58, and confirmed his approval in Acts 8:1a. Reuben Torrey, in his ''Treasury of Scripture Knowledge'', suggests that this clause .e. verse 8:1a"evidently belongs to the conclusion of the previous chapter".

Verse 1

: ''And Saul was consenting to his death.'' : ''On that day a great

persecution Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...

broke out against the church in Jerusalem. And they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.'' *"Death": from Greek: (''anairesis'') which can refer to "murder". The

English Standard Version The English Standard Version (ESV) is a translation of the Bible in contemporary English. Published in 2001 by Crossway, the ESV was "created by a team of more than 100 leading evangelical scholars and pastors." The ESV relies on recently pu ...

refers to Stephen's "execution".

The church scattered (8:1b–4)

The narrative here is focused around two geographical poles: Jerusalem, where the apostles stay ( verses 1b, 14) and the "countryside of Judea and Samaria", where the rest of the church is "scattered" (verse 1b), with unnamed disciples continuing the apostles' task of preaching the gospel ( verse 4), as the church history moves on to the middle stage of the apostolic commission in Acts 1:8 The story of church's expansion is interwoven with the record of Stephen's burial (verse 2) and the hint of Saul (later "Paul the apostle") future as a zealous instigator of the persecution, indicating that the community most affected by the wave of persecution to follow was the one to which both Stephen and Saul belonged, the 'synagogues of diaspora origin' (), because by the time of a group of 'disciples' is still in Jerusalem alongside the apostles.

Verse 2

:''And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.'' Heinrich Meyer observes a "double contrast": firstly, that "in spite of the outbreak of persecution which took place on that day, the dead body of the martyr was nevertheless honoured by pious Jews"; and secondly, in verse 3, Saul's persecuting zeal is contrasted with this piety.Meyer, H. A. W.
Meyer's NT Commentary
on Acts 8, translated from the German sixth edition, accessed 22 April 2024 In the Greek word συγκομίζειν (''synekomisan'', they carried together), the prefix syn- generally means "with", or "together", suggesting that the men carried Stephen's body away together, but Meyer also emphasises that his body was placed with other dead bodies at a burial-place.

Verse 4

:''Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.'' While the apostles remain in Jerusalem, "unnamed disciples exploit their scattered condition to spread the gospel".

Philip's mission in Samaria (8:4-13)

The story of Philip's preaching serves as an example of 'a highly successful work of evangelism, accompanied by miraculous healings which impress the population' (verses 6, 8). The work brings about wonders, 'belief and baptism, i.e. intellectual conviction and entry into a new community', which even impresses a competitor, Simon (Magus) (verse 13), who used to 'bewitch' the Samaritans with sorceries (verses 9,10).

Verse 5

:''Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.'' *"

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...

": is one of the " Seven" ( Acts 6:5), not an apostle, and in Acts 21:8, he is characterized as 'the evangelist', settled in Caesarea with four daughters. The connection with a 'we-passage' in Acts 21 suggests the interaction with Philip as a source (directly or indirectly) of this story. *"

": could refer to the region (as in RSV) or the name of its capital city (as in

NRSV The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) is a translation of the Bible in American English. It was first published in 1989 by the National Council of Churches, the NRSV was created by an ecumenical committee of scholars "comprising about thirty ...

), which was rebuilt under

Herod the Great Herod I or Herod the Great () was a History of the Jews in the Roman Empire, Roman Jewish client king of the Herodian kingdom of Judea. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea. Among these works are the rebuilding of the ...

The coming of the Spirit in Samaria (8:14–25)

This section highlights 'two related issues of church order': # The role of the apostles: in a supervisory role to keep an eye on new developments and to perform 'apostolic visitation' (verse 14). # Baptism and the Spirit: The sequence of events seems to imply that 'baptism in the name of Jesus' (verse 12, 16) and the reception of the Spirit (verse 15) were 'two distinct events for the Samaritans' and that the Spirit could only come with the laying on of hands by the apostles (verse 17), but this should not be treated as a universal formula, because elsewhere in the book, the Spirit comes before baptism (e.g. 10:44–48), or is not recorded at all (e.g. 8:38).

Verse 16

:''For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.'' *"Fallen": from Greek: , ', a verb characteristic of Luke, used both in

and in Acts of 'the occurrence of extraordinary conditions, e.g., the sudden influence of the Spirit', cf. , ; ; , cf. , with similar usage in

Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...

, , , , Judith 2:28; Judith 11:11, etc.Nicoll, W. R.
Expositor's Greek Testament. Acts 8
Accessed 24 April 2019.

Philip and the Ethiopian (8:26–40)

Philip's other significant evangelistic task is to meet an Ethiopian on the way to Gaza (to go back to Ethiopia), following the divine guidance, both angel (verse 26) and Spirit (verse 29, 39). In this part, Luke shows the exact geography of Philip's route: due south from Samaria intersects at Eleutheropolis with the Jerusalem–Gaza road (verse 26: ''epi'' means "down to" or "to meet"), and the miraculous timing of the journey: just at that moment ''kai idou'', "and behold", verse 27), Philip's path crosses the route of the Ethiopian pilgrim, heading west to strike the coast road towards Egypt.

Verse 26

:''Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." This is a desert place.'' The Greek κατὰ μεσημβρίαν (''kata mesēmbrian'') may mean "towards the south" or "at noon". A marginal note in the

Revised Version The Revised Version (RV) or English Revised Version (ERV) of the Bible is a late-19th-century British revision of the King James Version. It was the first (and remains the only) officially authorised and recognised revision of the King James Vers ...

, the text of the

Jerusalem Bible ''The Jerusalem Bible'' (JB or TJB) is an English translation of the Bible published in 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd. As a Catholic Bible, it includes 73 books: the 39 books shared with the Hebrew Bible, along with the seven deuterocanonical ...

, and the Ethiopic text all state "at noon". The paraphrase in the Living Bible suggests that the directive given to Philip was to arrive "about noon".

Verse 37

: ''Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”'' :: ''And he answered and said, “I believe that

is the

Son of God Historically, many rulers have assumed titles such as the son of God, the son of a god or the son of heaven. The term "Son of God" is used in the Hebrew Bible as another way to refer to humans who have a special relationship with God. In Exo ...

.”'' This verse is absent from the majority of the Greek manuscripts, but it is present in some, including E (6th or 7th century). It is cited by

Irenaeus Irenaeus ( or ; ; ) was a Greeks, Greek bishop noted for his role in guiding and expanding Christianity, Christian communities in the southern regions of present-day France and, more widely, for the development of Christian theology by oppos ...

(c. 180) and by

Cyprian Cyprian (; ; to 14 September 258 AD''The Liturgy of the Hours according to the Roman Rite: Vol. IV.'' New York: Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1975. p. 1406.) was a bishop of Carthage and an early Christian writer of Berbers, Berber descent, ...

(c. 250), and is found in the Old Latin (2nd/3rd century) and the

Vulgate The Vulgate () is a late-4th-century Bible translations into Latin, Latin translation of the Bible. It is largely the work of Saint Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels used by the Diocese of ...

(380–400) translations. In his notes

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...

says that he took this reading from the margin of 4ap and incorporated it into the

Textus Receptus The (Latin for 'received text') is the succession of printed Greek New Testament texts starting with Erasmus' ''Novum Instrumentum omne'' (1516) and including the editions of Robert Estienne, Stephanus, Theodore Beza, Beza, the House of Elzevir ...

. J. A. Alexander (1857) suggested that this verse, though genuine, was omitted by many scribes, "as unfriendly to the practice of delaying baptism, which had become common, if not prevalent, before the end of the 3rd century."

Verse 40

: ''But Philip was found at Azotus.'' : ''And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.'' NKJV * "Philip was found" — that is, "found himself," "made his appearance": an expression confirming the miraculous manner of his transportation. * "Azotus": the ancient

Ashdod Ashdod (, ; , , or ; Philistine language, Philistine: , romanized: *''ʾašdūd'') is the List of Israeli cities, sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District (Israel), Southern District, it lies on the Mediterranean ...

. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary * "till he came to Cæsarea" — fifty-five miles northwest of

, on the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

, just south of

Mount Carmel Mount Carmel (; ), also known in Arabic as Mount Mar Elias (; ), is a coastal mountain range in northern Israel stretching from the Mediterranean Sea towards the southeast. The range is a UNESCO biosphere reserve. A number of towns are situat ...

; and so named by Herod, who rebuilt it, in honor of Cæsar Augustus.

Notes

References

Sources

External links

* King James Bible - Wikisource
English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
Multiple bible versions at ''Bible Gateway''
(NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.) {{Acts of the Apostles 08