a spot (general in space · noun — genitive singular masculine
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
law
νόμου·nomou
G3551
law (through the idea of prescriptive usage) · noun — genitive singular masculine
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 6:11 Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.
Acts 21:28 Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and fur…
Psalms 27:12 Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.
Psalms 35:11 False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not.
Psalms 56:5 Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil.
Matthew 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him…
Acts 7:58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.
Acts 25:8 While he answered for himself, Neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Cæsar, have I offended any t…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Acts 6:8–end
Stephen, no doubt was diligent and faithful in the discharge of his office as distributor of the church's charity, and laid out himself to put that affair in a good method, which he did to universal satisfaction; and though it appears here that he was a man of uncommon gifts, and fitted for a higher station, yet, being called to that office, he did not think it below him to do the duty of it. And, being faithful in a little, he was entrusted with more; and, though we do not find him propagating the gospel by preaching and baptizing, yet we find him here called out to very honourable services, and owned in them.
I. He proved the truth of the gospel, by working miracles in Christ's name, Act 6…
blasphemous words against Moses--doubtless referring to the impending disappearance of the whole Mosaic system.
and against God--This must refer to the supreme dignity and authority which he claimed for Christ, as the head of that new economy which was so speedily to supersede the old (compare Act 7:56, Act 7:59-60).
Adam Clarke on Acts 6:13
Against this holy place - The temple, that it shall be destroyed.
And the law - That it cannot give life, nor save from death. It is very likely that they had heard him speak words to this amount, which were all as true as the spirit from which they proceeded; but they gave them a very false colouring, as we see in the succeeding verse.
John Gill on Acts 6:13
And set up false witnesses,.... Having hired them, they brought them and set them before the sanhedrim, to bear witness against Stephen:
which said, this man; meaning Stephen, who was now before the council, at whom they pointed, and whose name, through contempt, they would not mention:
ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place; either the city of Jerusalem, which is sometimes called the holy city, and which was foretold by the angel to Daniel, and by Christ, that it should be destroyed, and which Stephen might speak of; or rather the temple, so the Ethiopic version; in a part of which, or in a place contiguous to it, the sanhedrim might now be sitting:
and the law; t…
The Church Fathers
"We have heard him," they say, "speaking blasphemous words against Moses and against God": and again, "This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law," and with an addition, "the customs which Moses delivered to us"; Moses, not God. Upon the supposition of a design to overturn their manner of life, they accused him of impiety also.
They say not, "he speaketh," but, "he ceaseth not to speak. And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council, and set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law." "Ceaseth not," say they, as if he made this his business. "For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us." "Jesus," they say, "the Nazarene," as a term of reproach, "shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs." This is also what they said about Christ. "Thou that destroyest this Temple." For great was their veneration for the Temple (as indeed they had chosen to leave their own country in order to be near it) and for the name of Moses. The charge is twofold. If He "shall change the customs," He will also introduce others instead: observe how the charge is a bitter one, and fraught with perils.
They brought men who said that "we have heard him uttering blasphemous words against Moses and God." What were the words? "That this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place." And indeed Stephen said this, though not perhaps in so bare a form. How then are these men persuaded and false witnesses? Because they did not hear it as they now reported, but lied. For since they had heard otherwise and now advanced a different account, it is reasonable that they be recorded as false witnesses. Just as it would be false testimony concerning Christ to say that he declared (Matt. 26:12), "I will destroy" the temple (for he did not say "I will destroy," but "you destroy" [Λύσατε], (Jn. 2:19) assigning the act of destroying to those men, not to himself, therefore false), so now they are false in claiming that to the Nazarene Stephen ascribed the destruction of the law and of the place. And to make that claim about a man from Nazareth clearly shows it was by his own hand and not by God and through Roman armies. But the customs of Moses were clearly changed for the better by the same God, through his own disciples and apostles. But the Nazarene was spoken of reproachfully. Now Stephen nowhere called Christ a Nazarene, except the rulers of the Hebrews. He himself always revered Christ and declared him just as proclaimed by the prophets, and always present with God. This is clear also from the words spoken before him. With these the wretched life of this man ended, being released. "He will destroy this place." For they had great reverence for the temple, when they wished also to emigrate. And there would be a twofold accusation if he changes their customs, and sets up other practices in opposition. Moses, moreover, was put forward everywhere, since the things of God would not be to them as those of Moses. Therefore he lived entirely for the glory of the crowd alone.
Dictionary and topics
Deacon — Anglicized form of the Greek word diaconos, meaning a “runner,” “messenger,” “servant.” For a long period a feeling of mutual jealousy had existed between the “Hebrews,” or Jews proper, who spoke the…
Martyr — One who bears witness of the truth, and suffers death in the cause of Christ (Acts 22:20; Rev. 2:13; 17:6). In this sense Stephen was the first martyr. The Greek word so rendered in all other cases…
Philip The Evangelist — is first mentioned in the account of the dispute between the Hebrew and Hellenistic disciples in Acts 6. He is one of the deacons appointed to superintend the daily distribution of food and alms, and…
Stephen — One of the seven deacons, who became a preacher of the gospel. He was the first Christian martyr. His personal character and history are recorded in Acts 6. “He fell asleep” with a prayer for his…
Accusation, False · .Against Stephen — .Against Stephen
Blasphemy · Charged upon saints — Charged upon saints
Court · 3:11;7:3; — 3:11;7:3;
False Teachers · Against Stephen — Against Stephen
Greece · .Persecute the early Christians — .Persecute the early Christians
Indictments · .Stephen for blasphemy — .Stephen for blasphemy
Intolerance, Religious · .In persecuting Stephen — .In persecuting Stephen
Law Of Moses, The · The Jews: Accused Christians of speaking
Acts 6:11-15
11. Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard this man speak blasphemous words against Moses and God. 12. And they moved the people, and the elders, and the scribes. And invading him, they took him and brought him into the council. 13. And they brought forth false witnesses) which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law. 14. For we have heard him say, That this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the ordinances which Moses hath given us. 15. And when all which sat in the council had beholden him, they saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.
12. Being overcome with the power of the Spir…
The Jewish leaders did to Stephen as they had done to Jesus (cp. Matt 26:3-4, 59-66): They got someone to lie about him, accused him of blasphemy, incited a riot, arrested him, and posted false charges against him.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
— The Jews: Accused Christians of speaking
Perjury · .Stephen — .Stephen
Stephen · False charges against — False charges against
Temple, The Second · The Jews: Considered it blasphemy to speak against — The Jews: Considered it blasphemy to speak against
Witness · Corrupted by money — Corrupted by money
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).
