Acts 11:28

And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
up	ἀναστὰς anastas	G450	to stand up (literal or figurative · verb — second aorist active participle, nominative singular masculine
one	εἷς heis	G1520	one · adjective — nominative singular masculine
of	ἐξ ex	G1537	literal or figurative · preposition
them	αὐτῶν autōn	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive plural masculine
named	ὀνόματι onomati	G3686	a "name" (literally or figuratively) (authority · noun — dative singular neuter
Agabus	Ἅγαβος Hagabos	G13	Agabus · noun — nominative singular masculine, a proper name
signified	ἐσήμανεν esēmanen	G4591	of uncertain derivation) · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
by	διὰ dia	G1223	through (in very wide applications · preposition
Spirit	πνεύματος pneumatos	G4151	a current of air · noun — genitive singular neuter
should	μέλλειν mellein	G3195	to intend · verb — present active infinitive
be	ἔσομαι ésomai	G2071	will be
great	μεγάλην megalēn	G3173	big (literally or figuratively · adjective — accusative singular feminine
dearth	λιμὸν limon	G3042	a scarcity of food · noun — accusative singular feminine
throughout	ἐφ᾽ eph᾽	G1909	properly · preposition
all	ὅλην holēn	G3650	"whole" or "all" · adjective — accusative singular feminine
world	οἰκουμένην, oikoumenēn	G3625	land · noun — accusative singular feminine
which	ἥτις hētis	G3748	which some · relative pronoun — nominative singular feminine
pass	ἐγένετο egeneto	G1096	to cause to be ("gen"-erate) · verb — second aorist middle deponent indicative, 3rd person singular
in	ἐπὶ epi	G1909	properly · preposition
Claudius	Κλαυδίου Klaudiou	G2804	Claudius · noun — genitive singular masculine, a proper name
Cæsar	Καίσαρος. Kaisaros	G2541	Cæsar · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title

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 21:10 And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judæa a certain prophet, named Agabus.
Acts 18:2 And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded…
1 Kings 17:1-16 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there…
Luke 2:1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
Luke 3:1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judæa, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and h…
Genesis 41:30-31 And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall con…
Genesis 41:38 And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?
2 Kings 8:1-2 Then spake Elisha unto the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thine household, and sojourn wheresoever…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 11:27–end

When our Lord Jesus ascended on high he gave gifts unto men, not only apostles and evangelists, but prophets, who were enabled by the Spirit to foresee and foretel things to come, which not only served for a confirmation of the truth of Christianity (for all that these prophets foretold came to pass, which proved that they were sent of God, Deu 18:22; Jer 28:9), but was also of great use to the church, and served very much for its guidance. Now here we have, I. A visit which some of these prophets made to Antioch (Act 11:27): In these days, during that year that Barnabas and Saul lived at Antioch, there came prophets from Jerusalem to Antioch: we are not told how many, nor is it certain whet…

Read the whole note in the console

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 11:28

that there should be great dearth throughout all the world--the whole Roman empire. which came to pass in the days of Claudius CÃ&brvbrsar--Four famines occurred during his reign. This one in Judea and the adjacent countries took place, A.D. 41 [JOSEPHUS, Antiquities, 20.2,5]. An important date for tracing out the chronology of the Acts. (But this subject is too difficult and extensive to admit of being handled here).

Adam Clarke on Acts 11:28

Agabus - This prophet, of whom we know nothing, is once more mentioned, Act 21:10. He was probably a Jew, but whether converted now to Christianity we cannot tell. Great dearth throughout all the world - The words εφ' ὁλην την οικουμενην probably here mean the land of Judea; though sometimes by this phrase the whole Roman empire is intended. In the former sense the disciples appear to have understood it, as the next verse informs us; for they determined to send relief to their brethren in Judea, which they could not have done had the famine been general. It does not appear that they expected it to extend even to Antioch in Syria, where they then were, else they would have thought of making…

Read the whole note in the console

John Gill on Acts 11:28

The Church Fathers

But it is predicted, that they might be prepared beforehand for almsgiving. "Unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea;" for they were enduring great hardships, but before this, they were not suffering from famine.
— John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 25

And one of them named Agabus, rising up, signified by the Spirit that there would be a great famine. Agabus can be interpreted as a messenger of tribulation, who, according to his name, both predicts the general famine here and later the bonds to the apostle Paul.
— Bede, Commentary on Acts

"And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the spirit that there would be great dearth throughout the world, which also came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar." "By the Spirit," it says: for, that they may not imagine that this was the reason why the famine came, namely, because Christianity was come in, because the demons were departed, the Holy Ghost foretells it: this, however, was nothing wonderful, for in fact Christ predicted it. Not this was the reason, else this must have been the case from the beginning: but it was because of the evils done to the Apostles - and God had borne long with them; but, when they pressed upon them, a great famine ensues, betokening to the Jews the coming woes.
— John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 25

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

Agabus — A “prophet,” probably one of the seventy disciples of Christ. He prophesied at Antioch of an approaching famine (Acts 11:27, 28). Many years afterwards he met Paul at Caesarea, and warned him of the…
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…
Caesar — The title assumed by the Roman emperors after Julius Caesar. In the New Testament this title is given to various emperors as sovereigns of Judaea without their accompanying distinctive proper names…
Claudius — Lame. (1.) The fourth Roman emperor. He succeeded Caligula (A.D. 41). Though in general he treated the Jews, especially those in Asia and Egypt, with great indulgence, yet about the middle of his…
Dearth — A scarcity of provisions (1 Kings 17). There were frequent dearths in Palestine. In the days of Abram there was a “famine in the land” (Gen. 12:10), so also in the days of Jacob (47:4, 13). We read…
Famine — The first mentioned in Scripture was so grievous as to compel Abraham to go down to the land of Egypt (Gen. 26:1). Another is mentioned as having occurred in the days of Isaac, causing him to go to…
Paul — =Saul (q.v.) was born about the same time as our Lord. His circumcision-name was Saul, and probably the name Paul was also given to him in infancy “for use in the Gentile world,” as “Saul” would be…
Agabus · A prophet — A prophet
Antioch · .Disciples first — .Disciples first
Caesar · 3. CLAUDIUS — 3. CLAUDIUS
Claudius · Emperor of Rome — Emperor of Rome

Acts 11:28

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 11:27–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 11:28

Adam Clarke on Acts 11:28

John Gill on Acts 11:28

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Acts 11:28

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 11:27–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 11:28

Adam Clarke on Acts 11:28

John Gill on Acts 11:28

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Acts 11:27–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Acts 11:28