Acts 6:5 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Acts 6:5
And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:
fond of horses · noun — accusative singular masculine, a proper name
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
Prochorus
ΠρόχορονProchoron
G4402
before the dance · noun — accusative singular masculine, a proper name
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
Nicanor
ΝικάνοραNikanora
G3527
victorious · noun — accusative singular masculine, a proper name
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
Timon
ΤίμωναTimōna
G5096
valuable · noun — accusative singular masculine, a proper name
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
Parmenas
ΠαρμενᾶνParmenan
G3937
constant · noun — accusative singular masculine, a proper name
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
Nicolas
ΝικόλαονNikolaon
G3532
victorious over the people · noun — accusative singular masculine, a proper name
proselyte
προσήλυτονprosēluton
G4339
an arriver from a foreign region · noun — accusative singular masculine
Antioch
Ἀντιοχέα,Antiochea
G491
an Antiochian or inhabitant of Antiochia · noun — accusative singular masculine, a people or place name
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 11:24 For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.
Acts 21:8 And the next day we that were of Paul’s company departed, and came unto Cæsarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, whi…
Acts 8:5-40 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
Acts 6:3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this busi…
Acts 6:8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
Acts 7:1-8:2 Then said the high priest, Are these things so?
Proverbs 15:23 A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!
Acts 6:10 And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Acts 6:1-7
Having seen the church's struggles with her enemies, and triumphed with her in her victories, we now come to take a view of the administration of her affairs at home; and here we have,
I. An unhappy disagreement among some of the church-members, which might have been of ill consequence, but was prudently accommodated and taken up in time (Act 6:1): When the number of the disciples (for so Christians were at first called, learners of Christ) was multiplied to many thousands in Jerusalem, there arose a murmuring.
1. It does our hearts good to find that the number of the disciples is multiplied, as, no doubt, it vexed the priests and Sadducees to the heart to see it. The opposition that the pre…
Stephen, &c.--As this and the following names are all Greek, it is likely they were all of the "Grecian" class, which would effectually restore mutual confidence.
Adam Clarke on Acts 6:5
Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost - A person every way properly fitted for his work; and thus qualified to be the first martyr of the Christian Church.
Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch - A heathen Greek, who had not only believed in the God of Israel, but had also received circumcision, and consequently was a proselyte of the covenant; for, had he been only a proselyte of the gate, the Jews could not have associated with him. On the word proselyte, see the note on Exo 12:43. As this is the only proselyte mentioned here, we may presume that all the rest were native Jews. From this Nicolas, it is supposed that the sect called Nicolaitans, mentioned Rev 2:6, Rev 2:15, derived th…
And the saying pleased the whole multitude,.... The speech the apostles made took with them; all things they proposed were universally approved of; the whole body of the church came into it at once unanimously; they all judged it highly reasonable, that the apostles should be eased of the burden in taking care of the poor, and that it should be transferred to some other persons, and they fixed on the following:
and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith, and of the Holy Ghost; he was a man eminent for his faith in Christ, and his faithfulness to him, and in everything he was concerned, and for his courage and boldness in the cause of Christ and for other gifts and graces of the Spirit, wit…
The Church Fathers
Of those who have a share in virtue, some possess it perfectly and others imperfectly. Hence it is said of Stephen that he was selected because he was full of faith and the Spirit, as every believer is not full of faith. Someone upon whom Peter looked is said to "have faith" but not to be full of faith.
Such also are those who say that they follow Nicolaus, quoting an adage of the man, which they pervert, "that the flesh must be abused." But the worthy man showed that it was necessary to check pleasures and lusts, and by such training to waste away the impulses and propensities of the flesh. But they, abandoning themselves to pleasure like goats, as if insulting the body, lead a life of self-indulgence; not knowing that the body is wasted, being by nature subject to dissolution; while their soul is buried in the mire of vice; following as they do the teaching of pleasure itself, not of the apostolic man.
"And the saying," we are told, "pleased the whole multitude." This too was worthy of their wisdom. All approved of what was said so sensible was it. "And they chose," it says (again it is the people that choose,) "Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch." And in this regard Philip also was admirable: for it is of him that the writer says: "And we entered into the house of Philip the Evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him." Dost thou mark how matters are ordered quite otherwise than after the matter of men?
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
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…
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…
Nicanor — Conqueror, one of the seven deacons appointed in the apostolic Church (Acts 6:1-6). Nothing further is known of him.
Nicolas — The victory of the people, a proselyte of Antioch, one of the seven deacons (Acts 6:5).
Parmenas — Constant, one of the seven “deacons” (Acts 6:5).
Philip — Lover of horses. (1.) One of the twelve apostles; a native of Bethsaida, “the city of Andrew and Peter” (John 1:44). He readily responded to the call of Jesus when first addressed to him (43), and…
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…
Prochorus — (leader of the chorus), one of the seven deacons, being the third of the list, and named next after Stephen and Philip. (Acts 6:5)
Proselyte — Is used in the LXX. for “stranger” (1 Chr. 22:2), i.e., a comer to Palestine; a sojourner in the land (Ex. 12:48; 20:10; 22:21), and in the New Testament for a convert to Judaism. There were such…
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…
Timon — Honouring, one of the seven deacons at Jerusalem (Acts 6:5). Nothing further is known of him.
Acts 6:1-6
1. And in those days, when the number of the disciples grew, there arose a murmuring of the Greeks against the Hebrews, because their widows were despised in the daily ministry. 2. Therefore, when the twelve had called unto them the multitude of the disciples, they said, It doth not please [or it is not good] that we should serve tables, having left the word of God. 3. Therefore, brethren, look out seven men of you, of known honesty, full of the Holy Ghost, and of wisdom, whom we will appoint over this business, 4. And we will give ourselves unto prayer, and to the ministration of the word. 5. The speech pleased the whole multitude; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith an…
Wisely, the apostles called a meeting of all the believers to address the dispute. They recognized the seriousness of the problem, as well as their own priority of teaching the word of God. The solution was to select wise and Spirit-filled men to oversee the food distribution. The community accepted the apostles’ solution and chose good leaders from the ranks of the Greek-speaking believers (all of their names are Greek). These seven devoted themselves to this special ministry, allowing the apostles to spend their time in prayer and teaching the word. • These seven men are sometimes called the first deacons because of the similarity of their role to the office of deacon (see 1 Tim 3:8-13). A…
Widow — Under the Mosaic dispensation no legal provision was made for the maintenance of widows. They were left dependent partly on the affection of relations, more especially of the eldest son, whose…
Widows — To be treated with kindness (Ex. 22:22; Deut. 14:29; 16:11, 14; 24:17, 19-21; 26:12; 27:19, etc.). In the New Testament the same tender regard for them is inculcated (Acts 6:1-6; 1 Tim. 5:3-16) and…
Deacon · Selected by the people — Selected by the people
Faith · Exemplified: Stephen — Exemplified: Stephen
Indwelling Of The Holy Spirit, The · Saints full of — Saints full of
Nicanor · A servant (Greek: diakonos) of the congregation at — A servant (Greek: diakonos) of the congregation at
Nicolas · congregation at — congregation at
Parmenas · One of the disciples — One of the disciples
Philip · 3. One of the seven servants (Greek: diakonos) — 3. One of the seven servants (Greek: diakonos)
Power Of The Holy Spirit, The · Saints: Enable to speak the truth boldly by — Saints: Enable to speak the truth boldly by
Prochorus · An early Christian servant (Greek: diakonos) — An early Christian servant (Greek: diakonos)
Proselytes · Many, embraced the gospel — Many, embraced the gospel
Stephen · ministration — ministration
Timon · supervise the daily ministration — supervise the daily ministration
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).
