Acts 8:1

And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
Saul	Σαῦλος Saulos	G4569	Saulus (i.e. Shaul) · noun — nominative singular masculine, a proper name
was	ἦν ēn	G2258	I (thou
unto	συνευδοκῶν suneudokōn	G4909	to think well of in common · verb — present active participle, nominative singular masculine
his	αὐτοῦ.¶ autou	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
death	ἀναιρέσει anairesei	G336	(the act of) killing · noun — dative singular feminine
And	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
at	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
that	ἐκείνῃ ekeinē	G1565	that one (or (neuter) thing) · demonstrative pronoun — dative singular feminine
time	ἡμέρᾳ hēmera	G2250	day · noun — dative singular feminine
was	Ἐγένετο Egeneto	G1096	to cause to be ("gen"-erate) · verb — second aorist middle deponent indicative, 3rd person singular
great	μέγας megas	G3173	big (literally or figuratively · adjective — nominative singular masculine
persecution	διωγμὸς diōgmos	G1375	persecution · noun — nominative singular masculine
against	ἐπὶ epi	G1909	properly · preposition
church	ἐκκλησίαν ekklēsian	G1577	a calling out · noun — accusative singular feminine
was	τῇ tēa	G3588	the (sometimes to be supplied · article — dative singular feminine
at	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
Jerusalem	Ἱεροσολύμοις· Hi'erosolumois	G2414	Hierosolyma (i.e. Jerushalaim) · noun — dative plural neuter, a place
and	τέ té	G5037	both or also (properly
were	διεσπάρησαν diesparēsan	G1289	to sow throughout · verb — second aorist passive indicative, 3rd person plural
all	πάντες pantes	G3956	all · adjective — nominative plural masculine
abroad	διασπείρω diaspeírō	G1289	to sow throughout
throughout	κατὰ kata	G2596	(prepositionally) down (in place or time) · preposition
regions	χώρας chōras	G5561	room · noun — accusative plural feminine
Judæa	Ἰουδαίας Ioudaias	G2449	the Judæan land (i.e. Judæa) · noun — genitive singular feminine, a place
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
Samaria	Σαμαρείας Samareias	G4540	Samaria (i.e. Shomeron) · noun — genitive singular feminine, a place
except	πλὴν plēn	G4133	moreover (besides) · preposition
apostles	ἀποστόλων.¶ apostolōn	G652	a delegate · noun — genitive plural 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

Daniel 3:16-18 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
Acts 22:20 And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that…
Acts 5:40 And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jes…
Luke 11:49-50 Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæ…
Acts 5:33 When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them.
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.
Exodus 10:28-29 And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die.

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 8:1-3

In these verses we have, I. Something more concerning Stephen and his death; how people stood affected to it - variously, as generally in such cases, according to men's different sentiments of things. Christ had said to his disciples, when he was parting with them (Joh 16:20), You shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice. Accordingly here is, 1. Stephen's death rejoiced in by one - by many, no doubt, but by one in particular, and that was Saul, who was afterwards called Paul; he was consenting to his death, suneudokōn - he consented to it with delight (so the word signifies); he was pleased with it. He fed his eyes with this bloody spectacle, in hopes it would put a stop to the gr…

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Adam Clarke on Acts 8:1

Saul was consenting unto his death - So inveterate was the hatred that this man bore to Christ and his followers that he delighted in their destruction. So blind was his heart with superstitious zeal that he thought he did God service by offering him the blood of a fellow creature, whose creed he supposed to be erroneous. The word συνευδοκων signifies gladly consenting, being pleased with his murderous work! How dangerous is a party spirit; and how destructive may zeal even for the true worship of God prove, if not inspired and regulated by the spirit of Christ! It has already been remarked that this clause belongs to the conclusion of the preceding chapter; so it stands in the Vulgate, and…

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John Gill on Acts 8:1

And Saul was consenting unto his death,.... This clause, in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic and Ethiopic versions, stands at the close of the preceding chapter, and which seems to be its proper place; and so it does in the Alexandrian copy: that Saul consented to the death of Stephen, and approved of that barbarous action, is evident from his taking care of the clothes of the witnesses that stoned him; but the word here used signifies not a bare consent only, but a consent with pleasure and delight; he was well pleased with it, it rejoiced his very heart; he joined with others in it, with the utmost pleasure and satisfaction; this, and what is before said concerning his having the clothes…

The Church Fathers

And they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria. This is what the Lord Himself commanded: When they persecute you in one city, flee to another (Matt. X). For it was by His will that the occasion of tribulation became the seed-bed of the Gospel.
— Bede, Commentary on Acts

"The persecution," say you, "gained strength." True, but at that very time to men possessed before by a hostile power it brought deliverance. For it planted the miracles like a stronghold, in the heart of the enemy's country. Not even the death of Stephen quenched their rage, nay, increased it rather: it scattered wide the teachers, so that the greater became the discipleship.
— John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 18

See how God turns the plots of his enemies to a beneficial end. For though they scattered, they brought in far more than before being driven away. But the apostles were not scattered; they were in Jerusalem. For where the persecution was greatest, there the leaders ought to be drawn up and set before the others as an example of courage and boldness.
— Oecumenius, Commentary 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

Church — Derived probably from the Greek kuriakon (i.e., “the Lord’s house”), which was used by ancient authors for the place of worship. In the New Testament it is the translation of the Greek word ecclesia,…
John The Apostle — was the son of Zebedee, a fisherman on the Lake of Galilee, and of Salome, and brother of James, also an apostle. Peter and James and John come within the innermost circle of their Lord’s friends;…
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…
Saul — Asked for. (1.) A king of Edom (Gen. 36:37, 38); called Shaul in 1 Chr. 1:48. (2.) The son of Kish (probably his only son, and a child of prayer, “asked for”), of the tribe of Benjamin, the first…
Church, The · The wicked persecute — The wicked persecute
Intolerance, Religious · .In persecuting Stephen — .In persecuting Stephen
Jerusalem · Persecution of the Christian church commenced at — Persecution of the Christian church commenced at
Paul · Al — Al
Persecution · Suffering of — Exemplified: The Church — Suffering of — Exemplified: The Church
Samaria, Modern · The persecuted Christians fled to — The persecuted Christians fled to
Stephen · Stoned — Stoned
Union With Christ

Acts 8:1

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 8:1-3

Adam Clarke on Acts 8:1

John Gill on Acts 8:1

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Acts 8:1

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 8:1-3

Adam Clarke on Acts 8:1

John Gill on Acts 8:1

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Acts 8:1-4

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Acts 8:1-4