Acts 11:19 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Acts 11:19
Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.
the (sometimes to be supplied · article — nominative plural masculine
abroad
διασπαρέντεςdiasparentes
G1289
to sow throughout · verb — second aorist passive participle, nominative plural masculine
upon
ἀπὸapo
G575
"off · preposition
persecution
θλίψεωςthlipseōs
G2347
pressure (literally or figuratively) · noun — genitive singular feminine
arose
γενομένηςgenomenēs
G1096
to cause to be ("gen"-erate) · verb — second aorist middle deponent participle, genitive singular feminine
about
ἐπὶepi
G1909
properly · preposition
Stephen
ΣτεφάνῳStephanō
G4736
Stephanus · noun — dative singular masculine, a proper name
travelled
διῆλθονdiēlthon
G1330
to traverse (literally) · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person plural
as
ἕωςhe'ōs
G2193
a conjunction · preposition
Phenice
ΦοινίκηςPhoinikēs
G5403
palm-country · noun — genitive singular feminine, a place
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
Cyprus
ΚύπρουKuprou
G2954
Cyprus · noun — genitive singular feminine, a place
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
Antioch
ἈντιοχείαςAntiocheias
G490
Antiochia · noun — genitive singular feminine, a place
preaching
λαλοῦντεςlalountes
G2980
to talk · verb — present active participle, nominative plural masculine
word
λόγονlogon
G3056
something said (including the thought) · noun — accusative singular masculine
none
μηδενὶmēdeni
G3367
not even one (man · adjective — dative singular masculine
but
εἰei
G1487
if · conditional particle
Jews
Ἰουδαίοις.¶Ioudaiois
G2453
Judæan · noun — dative plural masculine, a people name
only
μόνονmónon
G3440
merely
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
Acts 4:36 And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of…
Acts 15:3 And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they ca…
Acts 15:22 Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; n…
Acts 15:35 Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.
Acts 21:2 And finding a ship sailing over unto Phenicia, we went aboard, and set forth.
Matthew 10:6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
John 7:35 Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will he go, that we shall not find him? will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and t…
Acts 3:26 Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Acts 11:19-26
We have here an account of the planting and watering of a church at Antioch, the chief city of Syria, reckoned afterwards the third most considerable city of the empire, only Rome and Alexandria being preferred before it, next to whose patriarch that of Antioch took place. It stood where Hamath or Riblah did, which we read of in the Old Testament. It is suggested that Luke, the penman of this history, as well as Theophilus, to whom he dedicates it, was of Antioch, which may be the reason why he takes more particular notice of the success of the gospel at Antioch, as also because there it was that Paul began to be famous, towards the story of whom he is hastening. Now concerning the church at…
THE GOSPEL BEING PREACHED TO GENTILES AT ANTIOCH ALSO BARNABAS IS SENT THITHER FROM JERUSALEM, WHO HAILS THEIR ACCESSION AND LABORS AMONG THEM. (Act 11:19-24)
they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen--and who "went everywhere preaching the word" (Act 8:4).
travelled as far as Phenice--that part of the Mediterranean coast which, commencing a little north of CÃ&brvbrsarea, stretches northwards for upwards of one hundred miles, halfway to Antioch.
and Cyprus--(See on Act 4:36). An active commercial intercourse subsisted between Phenice and Cyprus.
and Antioch--near the head of the northeast coast of the Mediterranean, on the river Orontes, and contai…
The persecution that arose about Stephen - That is, those who were obliged to flee from Jerusalem at the time of that persecution in which Stephen lost his life. See Act 8:1.
Phoenice - Phoenicia, a country between Galilee and Syria, along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, including Tyre, Sidon, etc. It is often mentioned as a part of Syria. See Act 21:2, Act 21:3.
Cyprus - An island of the Mediterranean Sea, over against Syria. See on Act 4:30 (note).
Antioch - A city of Syria, built by Antiochus Seleucus, near the river Orontes; at that time one of the most celebrated cities of the east. For the situation of all these, see the map accompanying this book.
Unto the Jews only - For they kne…
The Church Fathers
They traveled as far as Phoenicia, and Cyprus, and Antioch, etc. Here already, after the revelation of the Gospel sheet, in which the holy animals rested softly in hope from above, the affairs of the Church began to increase, with the Gospel being preached through foreign provinces, islands, and cities, not only to the Jews but also to the Gentiles.
"Now they which were scattered abroad," etc. and not as we who pass our time in lamentations and tears, in our calamities; but with more fearlessness they passed their time, as having got to a distance from those hindering them, and as being among men not afraid of the Jews: which also helped. And they came to Cyprus, where they had the sea between them, and greater freedom from anxiety: so they made no account of the fear of men, but still they gave the precedence to the regard of the Law: "they spake to Jews only."
The persecution turned out to be no slight benefit as "to them that love God all things work together for good." If they had made it their express study how best to establish the Church, they would have done no other thing than this - they dispersed the teachers. Mark in what quarters the preaching was extended. "They travelled," it says, "as far as Phenice and Cyprus and Antioch; to none however did they preach the word but to Jews only." Dost thou mark with what wise purposes of Providence so much was done in the case of Cornelius? This serves both to justify Christ, and to impeach the Jews. When Stephen was slain, when Paul was twice in danger, when the Apostles were scourged, then the Gentiles received the word, then the Samaritans. Which Paul also declares: "To you it was necessary that the Word of God should first be spoken; but since ye thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy, lo, we turn unto the Gentiles." Accordingly they went about, preaching to Gentiles also.
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
Antioch — (1.) In Syria, on the river Orontes, about 16 miles from the Mediterranean, and some 300 miles north of Jerusalem. It was the metropolis of Syria, and afterwards became the capital of the Roman…
Barnabas — Son of consolation, the surname of Joses, a Levite (Acts 4:36). His name stands first on the list of prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch (13:1). Luke speaks of him as a “good man” (11:24).…
Lucius — Of Cyrene, a Christian teacher at Antioch (Acts 13:1), and Paul’s kinsman (Rom. 16:21). His name is Latin, but his birthplace seems to indicate that he was one of the Jews of Cyrene, in North Africa.
Palm tree — (Heb. tamar), the date-palm characteristic of Palestine. It is described as “flourishing” (Ps. 92:12), tall (Cant. 7:7), “upright” (Jer. 10:5). Its branches are a symbol of victory (Rev. 7:9).…
Syria — (Heb. Aram), the name in the Old Testament given to the whole country which lay to the north-east of Phoenicia, extending to beyond the Euphrates and the Tigris. Mesopotamia is called (Gen. 24:10;…
Afflictions Made Beneficial · In furthering the gospel — In furthering the gospel
Antioch · .Disciples first — .Disciples first
Cyprus · Preaching the gospel at — Preaching the gospel at
Missionaries, All Christians Should Be As · Exemplified: Persecuted Saints — Exemplified: Persecuted Saints
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).
Now they which were scattered abroad,.... These were not the apostles, but the other ministers of the word; see Acts 8:1 who were dispersed
upon the persecution that arose about Stephen; his preaching and miracles, his oration in defence of himself, and his death: these
travelled as far as Phenice; a country near to Syria and Galilee; its chief towns and cities were Tripolis, Botrys, Biblus, Berytus, Tyre, Sidon, Ecdippa, Ptolemais, and Dora. It was famous, as Pliny says (x), for the invention of letters, and of the constellations, and of naval and warlike arts. It was a maritime country, reaching from Orthosia (now called Tortosa) to Pelusium, or from Sidon to the borders of Egypt: it is…
Acts 11:19-24
19. Those, therefore, which were dispersed by reason of the tribulation which happened about Stephen, went into Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to none save only to the Jews. 20. And there were certain of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who, entering into Antioch, spake with the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21. And the hand of the Lord was with them: Therefore a great number, when they believed, were turned unto the Lord. 22. And the tidings of them came unto the ears of the Church which was at Jerusalem: and they sent Barnabas, that he might go to Antioch. 23. Who, when he was come, and [had] seen the grace of God, he rejoiced, and did exhort all, t…
The persecution that followed Stephen’s death forced believers into other areas (8:1-3), and they traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. • Antioch of Syria was a thriving cosmopolitan city, the third-largest in the Roman Empire after Rome and Alexandria. Antioch was of central importance in the spread of the Christian message to the Gentile world.
