to give (used in a very wide application · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person plural
their
αὐτοῖςautois
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative plural masculine
lots
κλήρουςklērous
G2819
a die (for drawing chances) · noun — accusative plural masculine
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
lot
κλῆροςklēros
G2819
a die (for drawing chances) · noun — nominative singular masculine
fell
ἔπεσενepesen
G4098
to fall (literally or figuratively) · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
upon
ἐπὶepi
G1909
properly · preposition
Matthias
ΜαθθίανMaththian
G3159
Matthias (i.e. Mattithjah) · noun — accusative singular masculine, a proper name
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
numbered
συγκατεψηφίσθηsugkatepsēphisthē
G4785
to count down in company with · verb — aorist passive indicative, 3rd person singular
with
μετὰmeta
G3326
properly · preposition
eleven
ἕνδεκαhendeka
G1733
one and ten · adjective — numeral, indeclinable
apostles
ἀποστόλων.¶apostolōn
G652
a delegate · noun — genitive plural masculine
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Leviticus 16:8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.
Joshua 18:10 And Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the LORD: and there Joshua divided the land unto the children of Israel according to their di…
1 Samuel 14:41-42 Therefore Saul said unto the LORD God of Israel, Give a perfect lot. And Saul and Jonathan were taken: but the people escaped.
Jonah 1:7 And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots,…
1 Chronicles 24:5 Thus were they divided by lot, one sort with another; for the governors of the sanctuary, and governors of the house of God, were of the son…
Acts 2:14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judæa, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be thi…
Proverbs 16:22 Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly.
Acts 13:19 And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land to them by lot.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Acts 1:15–end
The sin of Judas was not only his shame and ruin, but it made a vacancy in the college of the apostles. They were ordained twelve, with an eye to the twelve tribes of Israel, descended from the twelve patriarchs; they were the twelve stars that make up the church's crown (Rev 12:1), and for them twelve thrones were designated, Mat 19:28. Now being twelve when they were learners, if they were but eleven when they were to be teachers, it would occasion every one to enquire what had become of the twelfth, and so revive the remembrance of the scandal of their society; and therefore care was taken, before the descent of the Spirit, to fill up the vacancy, of the doing of which we now have an acco…
was numbered--"voted in" by general suffrage.
with the eleven apostles--completing the broken Twelve.
Next: Acts Chapter 2
Adam Clarke on Acts 1:26
They gave forth their lots - In what manner this or any other question was decided by lot, we cannot precisely say. The most simple form was to put two stones, pieces of board, metal, or slips of parchment, with the names of the persons inscribed on them, into an urn; and after prayer, sacrifice, etc., to put in the hand and draw out one of the lots, and then the case was decided. I have considered this subject at large on Lev 16:8, Lev 16:9; and Jos 14:2.
He was numbered with the eleven apostles - The word συγκατεψηφισθη, comes from συν, together with, κατα, according to, and ψηφος, a pebble or small stone, used for lots, and as a means of enumeration among the Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians…
And they gave forth their lots,.... Or "gave forth lots for them", as the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions; for Joseph and Matthias; some for one, and some for another; and which were cast into a man's lap, or into a vessel, and was no other than balloting for them; and so he that had the majority upon casting them up, when taken out, was declared the person chosen; or "they cast their lots"; that is, into an urn, or vessel; which lots had the names of the two persons on them; and into another vessel, as is thought, were put two other lots; the one had the name of "apostle" upon it, and the other nothing; and these being taken out by persons appointed for that purpose, the lot with Matthi…
The Church Fathers
Since they are not yet perfected, they learn who is worthy by lot and not by miracle. Yet it should not be faulted that it is done by lot. For if the lot had power concerning Jonah when rejected and profane men cast lots, (Jonah 1:7) what then must be thought when they permit the saints to prayer? Indeed, if only the right mind of those men rightly directed the matter, much more so that of divine men.
This saying, "I have chosen you twelve," may be understood in this way, that twelve is a sacred number. For the honor of that number was not taken away because one was lost, for another was chosen into the place of the one that perished. The number remained a sacred number, a number containing twelve. These twelve were to make known the Three [the Trinity] throughout the whole world, that is, throughout the four quarters of the world. That is the reason of the three times four. Judas, then, only cut himself off; he did not profane the number twelve. He abandoned his Teacher, but God appointed a successor to take his place.
What lesson then, my brothers, did our Lord Jesus Christ wish to impress on his church, when it pleased him to have one castaway among the twelve, but this, that we should bear with the wicked and refrain from dividing the body of Christ?… Such was this man Judas, and yet he went in and out with the eleven holy disciples. With them he came even to the table of the Lord: he was permitted to converse with them, but he could not contaminate them. Both Peter and Judas partook of one bread, and yet what communion had the believer with the infidel? Peter's partaking was to life, but that of Judas to death. For that good bread was just like the sweet savor. For as the sweet savor, so also does the good bread give life to the good and bring death to the wicked. "For whoever eats unworthily eats and drinks judgment against himself": "judgment against himself," not against you. If, then, it is judgment against him, not against you, bear as one that is good with him that is evil, that you may attain the rewards of the good and not be hurled into the punishment of the wicked.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Divination — Of false prophets (Deut. 18:10, 14; Micah 3:6, 7, 11), of necromancers (1 Sam. 28:8), of the Philistine priests and diviners (1 Sam. 6:2), of Balaam (Josh. 13:22). Three kinds of divination are…
Lot — (Heb. goral, a “pebble”), a small stone used in casting lots (Num. 33:54; Jonah 1:7). The lot was always resorted to by the Hebrews with strictest reference to the interposition of God, and as a…
Matthias — Gift of God. Acts 1:23.
Peter — Originally called Simon (=Simeon, i.e., “hearing”), a very common Jewish name in the New Testament. He was the son of Jona (Matt. 16:17). His mother is nowhere named in Scripture. He had a younger…
Apostles · Names of — Names of
Lot, The · An apostle chosen by — An apostle chosen by
Matthias · Chosen as an apostle in the place of — Chosen as an apostle in the place of
Providence Of God, The · Is exercised in: Directing all events — Is exercised in: Directing all events
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Acts 1:23-26
23. Then they presented two, Joseph, whose sirname was Barsabas, which was called Justus, and Matthias. 24. And when they had prayed, they said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of men, show whether of these two thou hast chosen, 25. That he may take the room of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas is fallen, that he might go unto his place. 26. And they gave in their lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was by common consent counted with the eleven apostles.
23. They were to choose one only into the room of Judas; they present two. Here may a question be asked, Why they were not contented with one only? Was it because they were so like, that they could…
With prayer (1:14, 24) and humble dependence on God to reveal his will, the apostles cast lots, using an established method of finding God’s will (see Lev 16:8; Num 27:21; Deut 33:8; Josh 14:2; 18:3-10; Prov 16:33). Matthias was selected to replace Judas. After Pentecost, the Holy Spirit guided Jesus’ followers through dreams, visions, and prophecies instead of through lots (cp. Acts 2:17-18; 13:2; 16:7-10). • you know every heart: See also 1 Sam 16:6-7; 1 Kgs 8:39; 1 Chr 28:9; 2 Chr 6:30; Pss 7:9; 44:21; Jer 11:20; John 2:24-25; Rev 2:23.
