Acts 6:9 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Acts 6:9
Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.
a Roman freedman · noun — genitive plural masculine, a title
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
Cyrenians
ΚυρηναίωνKurēnaiōn
G2956
i.e. Cyrenæan · noun — genitive plural masculine, a people or place name
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
Alexandrians
ἈλεξανδρέωνAlexandreōn
G221
an Alexandreian or inhabitant of Alexandria · noun — genitive plural masculine, a people or place name
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
of
ἀπὸapo
G575
"off · preposition
them
τῆςtēs
G3588
the (sometimes to be supplied · article — genitive singular feminine
Cilicia
ΚιλικίαςKilikias
G2791
Cilicia · noun — genitive singular feminine, a place
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
Asia
Ἀσίας,Asias
G773
Asia · noun — genitive singular feminine, a place
disputing
συζητοῦντεςsuzētountes
G4802
to investigate jointly · verb — present active participle, nominative plural masculine
Stephen
Στεφάνῳ·Stephanō
G4736
Stephanus · noun — dative singular masculine, a proper 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
Matthew 27:32 And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.
Acts 15:23 And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gent…
Acts 15:41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches.
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 23:34 And when the governor had read the letter, he asked of what province he was. And when he understood that he was of Cilicia;
Matthew 10:17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
Mark 13:9 But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought be…
Luke 21:12 But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being bro…
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…
synagogue of the Libertines--Jewish freedmen; manumitted Roman captives, or the children of such, expelled from Rome (as appears from JOSEPHUS and TACITUS), and now residing at Jerusalem.
Cyrenians--Jews of Cyrene, in Libya, on the coast of Africa.
them of Cilicia--amongst whom may have been Saul of Tarsus (Act 7:58; Act 21:39).
and of Asia--(See on Act 16:6).
Adam Clarke on Acts 6:9
The synagogue - of the Libertines, etc. - That Jews and proselytes from various countries had now come up to Jerusalem to bring offerings, and to attend the feast of pentecost, we have already seen, Act 2:9-11. The persons mentioned here were foreign Jews, who appear to have had a synagogue peculiar to themselves at Jerusalem, in which they were accustomed to worship when they came to the public festivals.
Various opinions have been entertained concerning the Libertines mentioned here: Bp. Pearce's view of the subject appears to me to be the most correct.
"It is commonly thought that by this name is meant the sons of such Jews as had been slaves, and obtained their freedom by the favor of th…
Then there arose certain of the synagogue,.... Being filled with indignation at the doctrine of Stephen, and with envy at his miracles, they rose up in great wrath, and warmly opposed him: and they be longed to that synagogue
which is called the synagogue of the libertines; or free men: it is a Roman name, and signifies the sons of free men; and these were either the sons of such Jews, who of servants, or slaves, had been made "free men"; or rather such Jews whose parents were born free, or had obtained their freedom at Rome, or in some free city under the Roman government, as Paul at Tarsus; since it is not so easy to account for it, that there should be a peculiar synagogue for the forme…
The Church Fathers
Again he uses the phrase of "rising up" to denote their exasperation and wrath. Here we have a great multitude. And observe the difference in the form of accusation: for since Gamaliel had stopped them from finding fault on the former plea, they bring in another charge. The synagogues were diverse: to wit, "Of the Libertines": "of the Cyrenians, i.e. those in the parts beyond Alexandria, of the Alexandrians," etc. There also they seem to have had synagogues according to their different nations; for many stayed behind there, that they might not be obliged to be continually travelling. The Libertines perhaps were freedmen of the Romans. As there were many foreigners dwelling there, so they had their synagogues, where the Law was to be read.
He says that their frenzy and momentum rose again and that they were not only roused against themselves but also would soon debate and sophisticate with another crowd, perhaps Libertines, and Alexandrians, and Cyrenaicans, and Cilicians, and Asians. And just as the discussion proceeds through another crowd, so likewise the accusation through others, and the plot of tricksters and desperate men. For, being prevented by Gamaliel from attempting anything against the apostles, and having nothing to charge against them, they now attack Stephen with slander, having missed the debate held in the clubs of talkers, and he says they perhaps call the Romans Libertines, having styled themselves after Livia the wife of Augustus, since the woman was also visible and especially loved for her virtue by Augustus. Indeed she herself lived on in return, persistently attending upon the tomb of Augustus.
However, there arose some from the synagogue called the Libertines and Cyrenians, etc. And in the Greek text, the name Libertines is written. Now, libertini are called the sons of freedmen, that is, those who, after servitude, were freed and granted liberty. It is therefore evident that those who first rebelled against the faith of Christ were born of a servile stock; who, although they were emancipated from human masters, nonetheless did not cease to be slaves of sin. In their person, the most wicked persecutors of faith and all holiness, namely heretics, are fittingly portrayed, about whom Peter says: "For speaking proud words of vanity, they lure in the lusts of the flesh those who have barely escaped, those who walk in error, promising them liberty, while they themselves are slaves of corruption" (2 Peter 2). This servitude is, of course, opposed to the liberty of the Spirit, which the Bereans had, about whom it is said in praise while Paul and Silas preached: "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, who received the word with all eagerness, daily examining the Scriptures."
Dictionary and topics
Alexandria — The ancient metropolis of Lower Egypt, so called from its founder, Alexander the Great (about B.C. 333). It was for a long period the greatest of existing cities, for both Nineveh and Babylon had…
Alexandria, Or Alexandria — (from Alexander), 3 Ma 3:1; (Acts 18:24; 6:9) the Hellenic, Roman and Christian capital of Egypt. Situation .— (Alexandria was situated on the Mediterranean Sea directly opposite the island of…
Alexandrians — the Jewish colonists of Alexandria, who were admitted to the privileges of citizenship and had a synagogue at Jerusalem. (Acts 6:9)
Asia — Is used to denote Proconsular Asia, a Roman province which embraced the western parts of Asia Minor, and of which Ephesus was the capital, in Acts 2:9; 6:9; 16:6; 19:10, 22; 20:4, 16, 18, etc., and…
Cilicia — A maritime province in the south-east of Asia Minor. Tarsus, the birth-place of Paul, was one of its chief towns, and the seat of a celebrated school of philosophy. Its luxurious climate attracted to…
Cyrene — A city (now Tripoli) in Upper Libya, North Africa, founded by a colony of Greeks (B.C. 630). It contained latterly a large number of Jews, who were introduced into the city by Ptolemy, the son of…
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…
Ephesus — The capital of proconsular Asia, which was the western part of Asia Minor. It was colonized principally from Athens. In the time of the Romans it bore the title of “the first and greatest metropolis…
Libertine — Found only Acts 6:9, one who once had been a slave, but who had been set at liberty, or the child of such a person. In this case the name probably denotes those descendants of Jews who had been…
Libertines — This word, which occurs once only in the New Testament— (Acts 6:9)—is the Latin libertini, that is, “freedmen.” They were probably Jews who, having been taken prisoners by Pompey and other Roman…
Acts 6:7-10
7. Furthermore, the word of God grew, and the number of the disciples increased greatly at Jerusalem, and a great company of the priests obeyed the faith. 8. And Stephen, full of faith and power, wrought wonders and great signs amongst the people. 9. But there arose certain of the synagogue, which was called the synagogue of the Libertines and Cyrenians, and of Alexandria, and of those which were of Cilicia and Asia, disputing with Stephen. 10. And they could not resist the wisdom and spirit wherewith he spake.
Luke setteth forth again the increasing of the Church, to the end he may the better declare the power of God and his grace in the continual going forward thereof. This w…
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).
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…
Simon — The abbreviated form of Simeon. (1.) One of the twelve apostles, called the Canaanite (Matt. 10:4; Mark 3:18). This word “Canaanite” does not mean a native of Canaan, but is derived from the Syriac…
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…
Alexandria · A city of Egypt — A city of Egypt
Cilicia · Jews live in — Jews live in
Cyrene · Contained a synagogue — Contained a synagogue
Freedmen · Synagogue of — Synagogue of
Greece · .Persecute the early Christians — .Persecute the early Christians
Intolerance, Religious · .In persecuting Stephen — .In persecuting Stephen
Libertines · Freedmen — Freedmen
Stephen · Faith and power of — Faith and power of
Synagogue · .In — .In
Synagogues · Sometimes several, in the same city — Sometimes several, in the same city
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).
