to keep silent (transitively or intransitively) · verb — aorist active infinitive
their
αὐτοὺςautous
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative plural masculine
peace
σιγάωsigáō
G4601
to keep silent (transitively or intransitively)
James
ἸάκωβοςIakōbos
G2385
Jacobus · noun — nominative singular masculine, a proper name
answered
ἀπεκρίθηapekrithē
G611
to conclude for oneself · verb — aorist middle deponent indicative, 3rd person singular
saying
λέγων·legōn
G3004
properly · verb — present active participle, nominative singular masculine
Men
ἄνδρεςandres
G435
a man (properly as an individual male) · noun — vocative plural masculine
brethren
ἀδελφοί,adelphoi
G80
a brother (literally or figuratively) near or remote (m… · noun — vocative plural masculine
hearken
ἀκούσατέakousate
G191
to hear (in various senses) · verb — aorist active imperative, 2nd person plural
me
μοῦmoû
G3450
of me
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 12:17 But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he sai…
Galatians 2:9 And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the rig…
Galatians 2:12 For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing t…
James 1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
Mark 15:40 There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;
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…
Acts 2:22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by h…
Acts 2:29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto th…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Acts 15:6-21
We have here a council called, not by writ, but by consent, on this occasion (Act 15:6): The apostles and presbyters came together, to consider this matter. They did not give their judgment separately, but came together to do it, that they might hear one another's sense in this matter; for in the multitude of counsellors there is safety and satisfaction. They did not give their judgment rashly, but considered of this matter. Though they were clear concerning it in their own minds, yet they would take time to consider of it, and to hear what might be said by the adverse party. Nor did the apostles give their judgment concerning it without the elders, the inferior ministers, to whom they thus…
James answered, saying, &c.--Whoever this James was (see on Gal 1:19), he was the acknowledged head of the church at Jerusalem, and here, as president of the assembly, speaks last, winding up the debate. His decision, though given as his own judgment only, could not be of great weight with the opposing party, from his conservative reverence for all Jewish usages within the circle of Israelitish Christianity.
Adam Clarke on Acts 15:13
James answered - He was evidently president of the council, and is generally called bishop of Jerusalem. The rest either argued on the subject, or gave their opinion; James alone pronounced the definitive sentence. Had Peter been prince and head of the apostles, and of the Church, he would have appeared here in the character of judge, not of mere counsellor or disputant. Thy popish writers say that "James presided because the council was held in his own church." These men forget that there was not then what they term a Church on the face of the earth. The Church, or assembly of believers, then met in private houses; for there was no building for the exclusive purpose of Christian worship the…
Cyprian of Carthage said: The letter which was written to our colleague Jubaianus very fully expresses my opinion, that, according to evangelical and apostolic testimony, heretics, who are called adversaries of Christ and Antichrists, when they come to the Church, must be baptized with the one baptism of the Church, that they may be made of adversaries, friends, and of Antichrists, Christians.
This James, appointed by the Lord as bishop of the Jerusalem church, was the son of Joseph the carpenter, and a brother according to the flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ. From youth he was wise, and the message of the prophets is confirmed by both ancient and recent events. For he had no need to display any work, as Peter and, indeed, Paul did. It is well managed through those things that events not destined to delay for the people of Jerusalem come to pass. But this one who taught them was not to be held responsible, nor indeed to be torn away from his conviction.
But James the Lord's brother answered and said: "Men and brethren, hearken unto me; Simeon hath declared how God at first visited to take out a people from the Gentiles for His name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written: 'Afterwards I will return, and will raise again and rebuild the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will rebuild its ruins, and will again set it up, that the residue of men may seek after the Lord, and all the nations upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doth these things.' Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world. Wherefore my sentence is, that we do not trouble those who from among the Gentiles turn unto God: but to charge them that they abstain from the pollutions of the Gentiles, and from what is sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication; which laws were given to the ancients who lived before the law, under the law of nature, Enos, Enoch, Noah, Melchizedek, Job, and if there be any other of the same sort."
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
Council — Spoken of counsellors who sat in public trials with the governor of a province (Acts 25:12). The Jewish councils were the Sanhedrim, or supreme council of the nation, which had subordinate to it…
Galatians, Epistle to — The genuineness of this epistle is not called in question. Its Pauline origin is universally acknowledged. Occasion of. The churches of Galatia were founded by Paul himself (Acts 16:6; Gal. 1:8;…
James — (1.) The son of Zebedee and Salome; an elder brother of John the apostle. He was one of the twelve. He was by trade a fisherman, in partnership with Peter (Matt. 20:20; 27:56). With John and Peter he…
James The Less — called the Less because younger or smaller in stature than James the son of Zebedee. He was the son of Alpheus or Clopas and brother of our Lord (see above); was called to the apostolate, together…
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…
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…
Titus — Honourable, was with Paul and Barnabas at Antioch, and accompanied them to the council at Jerusalem (Gal. 2:1-3; Acts 15:2), although his name nowhere occurs in the Acts of the Apostles. He appears…
Antioch · General references — General references
Catholicity · INCUL — INCUL
Circumcision · Abrogated — Abrogated
Council · Apostoli — Apostoli
And after they had held their peace,.... Meaning not the multitude, but Paul and Barnabas; when they had finished their account, and had done speaking:
James answered; or rose up, as the Syriac version reads, he stood up and began to speak. This was James the son of Alphaeus, one of the twelve apostles, sometimes called the brother of the Lord; for the other James, the son of Zebedee and brother of John, was dead, being killed by Herod, Acts 12:2 but this was the brother of Jude, and the same that wrote the epistle that bears his name: whether he was now bishop or pastor of the church at Jerusalem, is not certain; nor whether he was president in this council; the speeches made in it do not…
Acts 15:12-18
12. And all the multitude kept silence, and heard Barnabas and Paul declare what signs and wonders God had wrought by them among the Gentiles. 13. And after they had done speaking, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hear me: 14. Simeon hath showed how at the first God hath visited, that he might take of the Gentiles a people in his name. 15. And hereunto agree the words of the prophets, as it is written, 16. After these things will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is decayed; and will restore the ruins thereof, and will set it up; 17. That the, men which remain may seek the Lord, and all nations which call upon my name, saith the Lord, which d…
James, the brother of Jesus, declared that the conversion of the Gentiles was clearly in accord with Scripture. He argued forcefully that it was contrary to the divine will to put unnecessary requirements on the admission of the Gentiles.
Elder · IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH — IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Gentiles · CONVERSION OF — CONVERSION OF
Justification Before God · Under the gospel: Is not of faith and works united — Under the gospel: Is not of faith and works united
Titus · Compare — Compare
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).
