Acts 6:6-10

6:6 They stood these men before the apostles, who prayed ¹  and placed ²  their hands on them. 6:7 The word of God continued to spread, ³  the number of disciples in Jerusalem ⁴  increased greatly, and a large group ⁵  of priests became obedient to the faith.

Stephen is Arrested

6:8 Now Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and miraculous signs ⁶  among the people. 6:9 But some men from the Synagogue ⁷  of the Freedmen (as it was called), ⁸  both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, as well as some from Cilicia and the province of Asia, ⁹  stood up and argued with Stephen. 6:10 Yet ¹⁰  they were not able to resist ¹¹  the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.

[6:6]  ¹ tn Literally this is a participle in the Greek text (προσευξάμενοι, proseuxamenoi). It could be translated as a finite verb (“and they prayed and placed their hands on them”) but much smoother English results if the entire coordinate clause is converted to a relative clause that refers back to the apostles.

[6:6]  ² tn Or “laid.”

[6:7]  ³ tn Grk “kept on spreading”; the verb has been translated as a progressive imperfect.

[6:7]  ⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[6:7]  ⁵ tn Grk “a great multitude.”

[6:8]  ⁶ tn The miraculous nature of these signs is implied in the context. Here the work of miracles extends beyond the Twelve for the first time.

[6:9]  ⁷ sn A synagogue was a place for Jewish prayer and worship, with recognized leadership (cf. Luke 8:41). Though the origin of the synagogue is not entirely clear, it seems to have arisen in the postexilic community during the intertestamental period. A town could establish a synagogue if there were at least ten men. In normative Judaism of the NT period, the OT scripture was read and discussed in the synagogue by the men who were present (see the Mishnah, m. Megillah 3-4; m. Berakhot 2).

[6:9]  ⁸ tn Grk “the so-called Synagogue of the Freedmen.” The translation of the participle λεγομένης (legomenh") by the phrase “as it was called” is given by L&N 87.86. “Freedmen” would be slaves who had gained their freedom, or the descendants of such people (BDAG 594-95 s.v. Λιβερτῖνος).

[6:9]  ⁹ tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[6:10]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “and.” The context, however, indicates that the conjunction carries an adversative force.

[6:10]  ¹¹ sn They were not able to resist. This represents another fulfillment of Luke 12:11-12; 21:15.