Acts 26:5

Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
knew	προγινώσκοντές proginōskontes	G4267	to know beforehand · verb — present active participle, nominative plural masculine
me	με me	G3165	me · personal pronoun — 1st person accusative singular
beginning	ἄνωθεν, anōthen	G509	from above · adverb
if	ἐὰν ean	G1437	a conditional particle · conditional particle
would	θέλωσιν thelōsin	G2309	to determine (as an active option from subjective impul… · verb — present active subjunctive, 3rd person plural
testify	μαρτυρεῖν marturein	G3140	to be a witness · verb — present active infinitive
that	ὅτι hoti	G3754	demonstrative · conjunction
after	κατὰ kata	G2596	(prepositionally) down (in place or time) · preposition
straitest	ἀκριβεστάτην akribestatēn	G196	most exact · adjective — accusative singular feminine
sect	αἵρεσιν airesin	G139	properly · noun — accusative singular feminine
our	ἡμέτερος hēméteros	G2251	our
religion	θρησκείας thrēskeias	G2356	ceremonial observance · noun — genitive singular feminine
lived	ἔζησα ezēsa	G2198	to live (literally or figuratively) · verb — aorist active indicative, 1st person singular
Pharisee	Φαρισαῖος· Pharisaios	G5330	a separatist · noun — nominative 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 23:6 But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pha…
Acts 22:3 I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught accordi…
Acts 22:5 As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and wen…
Acts 24:5 For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect…
Acts 24:14 But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are…
Philippians 3:5-6 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 26:1-11

Agrippa was the most honourable person in the assembly, having the title of king bestowed upon him, though otherwise having only the power of other governors under the emperor, and, though not here superior, yet senior, to Festus; and therefore, Festus having opened the cause, Agrippa, as the mouth of the court, intimates to Paul a licence given him to speak for himself, Act 26:1. Paul was silent till he had this liberty allowed him; for those are not the most forward to speak that are best prepared to speak and speak best. This was a favour which the Jews would not allow him, or not without difficulty; but Agrippa freely gives it to him. And Paul's cause was so good that he desired no more…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 26:5

if they would--"were willing to" testify--but this, of course, they were not, it being a strong point in his favor. after the most straitest--"the strictest." sect--as the Pharisees confessedly were. This was said to meet the charge, that as a Hellenistic Jew he had contracted among the heathen lax ideas of Jewish peculiarities.

Adam Clarke on Acts 26:5

After the most straitest sect - That is, the Pharisees; who were reputed the strictest in their doctrines, and in their moral practices, of all the sects then among the Jews. The sects were the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes.

John Gill on Acts 26:5

Which knew me from the beginning,.... From his youth, from his first coming to Jerusalem: if they would testify; what they know, and speak out the truth of things, they must say, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee; there were three sects of religion among the Jews, the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes; the first of these was the most exact, and came nearest to the truth of doctrine, and was the strictest as to outward holiness of life and conversation, and of this sect the apostle was; and according to it he lived, and that in such a manner, as not to be charged with any notorious crime; and indeed in his own, and very likely in the opinion of others, he…

The Church Fathers

For according to the most accurate sect of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee. For "sect," in Greek it has "heresy." Whence it is proved that at that time even a good sect was called by this term among the Greeks, which now among us is accustomed to have only a bad sense.
— Bede, Retractions on Acts

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

Agrippa II. — Son of the foregoing, was born at Rome, A.D. 27. He was the brother of Bernice and Drusilla. The Emperor Claudius (A.D. 48) invested him with the office of superintendent of the Temple of Jerusalem,…
Call — (1.) To cry for help, hence to pray (Gen. 4:26). Thus men are said to “call upon the name of the Lord” (Acts 2:21; 7:59; 9:14; Rom. 10:12; 1 Cor. 1:2). (2.) God calls with respect to men when he…
Pharisees — Separatists (Heb. persahin, from parash, “to separate”). They were probably the successors of the Assideans (i.e., the “pious”), a party that originated in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes in revolt…
Defense · Of PaulAc 22; — Of PaulAc 22;
Jews, The · Distinction of castes among, noticed — Distinction of castes among, noticed
Paul · A zealous Pharisee — A zealous Pharisee
Pharisees · Paul, a Pharisee — Paul, a Pharisee
Pharisees, The · The strictest observers of the Mosaic ritual — The strictest observers of the Mosaic ritual

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 26:5

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 26:1-11

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 26:5

Adam Clarke on Acts 26:5

John Gill on Acts 26:5

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Acts 26:5

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 26:1-11

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 26:5

Adam Clarke on Acts 26:5

John Gill on Acts 26:5

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Acts 26:1-8

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Acts 26:1-23