Acts 16:4 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Acts 16:4
And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.
the (sometimes to be supplied · article — accusative plural feminine
at
ἐνen
G1722
"in · preposition
Jerusalem
ἹερουσαλήμHierousalḗm
G2419
Hierusalem (i.e. Jerushalem)
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 15:28-29 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
Acts 15:2 When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain othe…
Acts 11:30 Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.
Acts 15:6 And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Acts 16:1-5
Paul was a spiritual father, and as such a one we have him here adopting Timothy, and taking care of the education of many others who had been begotten to Christ by his ministry: and in all he appears to have been a wise and tender father. Here is,
I. His taking Timothy into his acquaintance and under his tuition. One thing designed in the book of the Acts is to help us to understand Paul's epistles, two of which are directed to Timothy; it was therefore necessary that in the history of Paul we should have some account concerning him. And we are here accordingly told, 1. That he was a disciple, one that belonged to Christ, and was baptized, probably in his infancy, when his mother became a b…
And as they went through the cities, they delivered . . . the decrees . . . And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily--not the churches, but the number of their members, by this visit and the written evidence laid before them of the triumph of Christian liberty at Jerusalem, and the wise measures there taken to preserve the unity of the Jewish and Gentile converts.
Adam Clarke on Acts 16:4
They delivered them the decrees for to keep - Τα δογματα, τα κεκριμενα ὑπο των ΑποϚολων. Bishop Pearce contends that τα δογματα, the decrees, is a gloss which was not in the text originally; and that the τα κεκριμενα, the judgments or determinations of the apostles, was all that was originally written here. He supports his opinion by a reference to the word κρινω, I judge, used by James, Act 15:19, whence the whole decision, as it referred -
1. to the inexpediency of circumcising the Gentiles; and,
2. to the necessity of observing the four precepts laid down, was called τα κεκριμενα, the things that were judged, or decided on; the judgments of the apostolic council.
Instead of κεκριμενα, t…
He called the abstaining of the sacrifices "doctrines," from sexual immorality and from blood, and from what is strangled; which he sees as a condition for canonical life. For these order a temperate life and are fitting for rational people.
"And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the Apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem. And so were the Churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily." Dost thou mark fighting, and by fighting, edification? Not warred upon by others, but themselves doing contrary things, so they edified the Church! They introduced a decree not to circumcise, and he circumcises! "And so were the Churches," it says, "established in the faith," and in multitude: "increased," it says, "in number daily." Then he does not continue to tarry with these, as having come to visit them: but how? he goes further.
"And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep." For until then, there was no need for the Gentiles to keep any such. The beginning of the abrogation was the Gentiles' not keeping these things, and being none the worse for it: nor having any inferiority in respect of faith: anon, of their own will they abandoned the Law. "And so were the Churches established in the faith." Do you mark here also how from going counter (to his own object) a great good results? "And increased in number daily." Do you observe, that the circumcising not only did no harm, but was even of the greatest service?
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
Lycaonia — An inland province of Asia Minor, on the west of Cappadocia and the south of Galatia. It was a Roman province, and its chief towns were Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. The “speech of Lycaonia” (Acts…
Decrees · From the congregation in — From the congregation in
Elder · IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH — IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Lystra · Timothy a resi — Timothy a resi
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).
And as they went through the cities,.... Of Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium, and others in Lycaonia, and in Phrygia and Galatia; the Arabic version reads, "they both"; that is, Paul and Barnabas:
they delivered them the decrees for to keep; they gave the churches, in these cities, the sentiments, and determinations to be observed and followed by them:
that were ordained of the apostles which were at Jerusalem; concerning the abstinence of the Gentiles from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication, Acts 15:20.
John Calvin on Acts 16:1-5
Acts 16:1-5
1. And he came to Derbe and Lystra; and, behold, there was there a certain disciple named Timotheus, the son of a certain faithful woman, a Jewess, and his father was a Grecian. 2. He was well reported of by the brethren which were at Lystra and Iconium. 3. Paul would have him to go with him; and when he had taken him he circumcised him, because of those Jews which were in those places. For they all knew that his father was a Grecian. 4. And as they passed through the cities, they delivered to them to be kept the decrees which were decreed by the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem. 5. And so the churches were confirmed in the faith, and abounded in number daily.
1. Lu…
Paul and Silas faithfully communicated the decisions of the Jerusalem council. The wisdom of the decision was indicated as the churches were strengthened in their faith and grew larger every day (cp. 2:41; 4:4; 5:14; 6:1; 9:31; 21:20).
