2:5-6 The Jews living in Jerusalem were probably people from the Diaspora (dispersion, residing outside the land of Palestine) who had returned to settle down in the Jewish homeland.107
"It was . . . customary for many pious Jews who had spent their lives abroad to return to end their days as close to the Temple as possible."108
A list of nations from which they had come follows in verses 9 and 10. The sound that attracted attention may have been the wind (v. 2) or the sound of the tongues speakers (v. 4).109The context seems to favor the sound of the tongues speakers.110The text does not clearly identify when what was happening in the upper room became public knowledge or when the disciples moved out of the upper room to a larger venue. Evidently upon hearing the sound these residents of Jerusalem assembled to investigate what was happening. When they found the source of the sound, they were amazed to discover Galileans speaking in the native languages of the remote regions from which these Diaspora Jews had come. The Jews in Jerusalem who could not speak Aramaic would have known Greek, so there was no need for other languages. Yet what they heard were the languages that were common in the remote places in which they had lived. Perhaps the sound came from the upper room initially, and then when the disciples moved out into the streets the people followed them into the Temple area. Since about 3,000 people became Christians this day (v. 41) the multitude (v. 6) must have numbered many thousands. About 200,000 people could assemble in the temple area. This fact has led some interpreters to assume that that may have been where this multitude congregated.
2:7-11 The majority of the disciples was Galileans at this time. They were identifiable by their rural appearance and their accent (cf. Matt. 26:73).
"Galileans had difficulty pronouncing gutturals and had the habit of swallowing syllables when speaking; so they were looked down upon by the people of Jerusalem as being provincial (cf. Mark 14:70). Therefore, since the disciples who were speaking were Galileans, it bewildered those who heard because the disciples could not by themselves have learned so many different languages."111
Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and Mesopotamians lived to the east and north of Palestine. Some of them were probably descendants of the Jews who did not return from the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities. Many texts do not include "Judea,"but if authentic it probably refers to the Roman province of Judea that included Syria. Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia were all provinces in Asia Minor to the northwest. Egypt, Libya, and Cyrene lay to the south and west.112Rome, of course, lay farther northwest in Europe. Luke had a special interest in the gospel reaching Rome, so that may be the reason he singled it out for special mention here. It may be that some of these Roman expatriates returned to Rome and planted the church there.113A proselyte was a Gentile who had adopted Judaism and had become a part of the nation of Israel by submitting to three rites.114These rites were circumcision (if a male), self-baptism before witnesses, and ideally the offering of a sacrifice.115Cretans lived on the island of Crete, and "Arabs"refers to the Arabians who lived east of Palestine between the Red Sea and the Euphrates River. All these heard the mighty deeds of God (i.e., the gospel) in their own languages. This was a reversal of what took place at Babel (Gen. 11) and illustrated the human unity that God's unhindered working produces.
"Although every Jew could not be present for Peter's speech, the narrator does not hesitate to depict representatives of the Jews of every land as Peter's listeners. This feature shows a concern not just with Gentiles but with a gospel for all Jews, which can bring the restoration of Israel as a united people under its Messiah."116
2:12-13 Unable or unwilling to accept the miraculous working of God in their midst some observers charged that the believers were under the control of wine rather than the Holy Spirit (cf. Eph. 5:18; 1 Cor. 14:23). The Greek word for wine here (gleukous) means sweet wine, which had a higher alcoholic content than regular wine.117
