This week’s reading in Acts will introduce us to several new concepts. The apostles act swiftly when issues come up that will threaten the unity of the church. We saw that in chapter 5 with Ananias and Sapphira. We’ll see swift action again in chapter six as a dispute arises with the Hellenist Jews who believed there was preferential treatment being given to the Hebrew Jewish widows. The Hellenist Jews have not been mentioned before. Hellas is the Greek word for Greece. A Hellenist Jew is one who speaks
Greek and not Hebrew or Aramaic. Also, there would probably be some cultural differences. If you have a Bible Dictionary you might want to read the article on ‘Hellenist’ to gain more information. One interesting insight you may notice from reading about the dispute, when they choose seven men to handle the distribution and assure fairness to the Greek Jewish widows, all seven men chosen had Greek names.
Luke doesn’t tell us how they were chosen, just that the requirements for service were being full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom and having a good reputation. Some of them would have been bilingual since they were going to minister to both the Greek speaking Jews and the Aramaic speaking Jews. We know that Philip was bilingual as he will later preach in Samaria (Acts 8:5ff) which would have required that he speak Aramaic and he would have spoken Greek when he witnessed to the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26ff). We often refer to these seven as deacons, but they are never given that title in the Scriptures.
Philip is referred to as a member of ‘the seven’ and as ‘the evangelist’ in Acts 21:8. The Greek words translated ‘distribution or serving’ in Acts 6:1 and ‘wait on or serve’ in Acts 6:2 are related to the Greek word for ‘deacon.’ One Bible Dictionary reads, “Although it is difficult to prove that the origin of the diaconate is found in the choosing of the seven in Acts 6:1–6, since the noun diakonos is not used, it is reasonable to believe that these seven leaders were at least the prototypes of the first deacons.”1
Luke gives us information on the first two of the seven men chosen, Stephen and Philip. Stephen’s ministry and preaching brought opposition from what are referred to as ‘Diaspora’ Jews. Since 722 BC Jews had been scattered throughout the world. It’s said that in the 1st century there were as many Jews living in various parts of the world as were living in Palestine. Some had migrated back to Palestine; they would have been Greek speaking Jews. Some belonged to the Synagogue of the ‘Freedmen.’ The ‘Freedmen’ were people that had been enslaved at some time in the past but had obtained their freedom. Stephen’s defense in chapter 7 before the Sanhedrin is very interesting. In 7:42 and 48 Stephen specifically says he is quoting Scripture. If your translation indicates O.T. quotations by a change in type face (the CSB uses Bold type face for this) you will see many more than the two that Stephen specifically mentions. It’s as though Scripture permeates his language. If you are up on your O.T. history, you may notice some differences in the chronology given by Stephen and what you find in reading your Old Testament. Some of the issues can be resolved from the fact that Stephen is using a Greek translation of the O.T. rather than the Hebrew O.T. that is behind our English translations. For example, compare Acts
7:14 with Ge 46:26–27; Ex 1:5; and Dt 10:22. A translation of the Greek O.T. of Ge 46:27 reads, “All the individuals of the house of Jacob who entered into Egypt were seventy-five”2 and Ex 1:5 reads, “Joseph was already in Egypt. And all the persons from Jacob were seventy-five.”3
1Merkle, Ben L. 2003. “Deacon.” In Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, edited by Chad Brand, Charles Draper, Archie England, Steve Bond, E. Ray Clendenen, and Trent C. Butler, 398. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
2Brannan, Rick, Ken M. Penner, Israel Loken, Michael Aubrey, and Isaiah Hoogendyk, eds. 2012. The Lexham English Septuagint. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
3Brannan, Rick, Ken M. Penner, Israel Loken, Michael Aubrey, and Isaiah Hoogendyk, eds. 2012. The Lexham English Septuagint. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
Greek and not Hebrew or Aramaic. Also, there would probably be some cultural differences. If you have a Bible Dictionary you might want to read the article on ‘Hellenist’ to gain more information. One interesting insight you may notice from reading about the dispute, when they choose seven men to handle the distribution and assure fairness to the Greek Jewish widows, all seven men chosen had Greek names.
Luke doesn’t tell us how they were chosen, just that the requirements for service were being full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom and having a good reputation. Some of them would have been bilingual since they were going to minister to both the Greek speaking Jews and the Aramaic speaking Jews. We know that Philip was bilingual as he will later preach in Samaria (Acts 8:5ff) which would have required that he speak Aramaic and he would have spoken Greek when he witnessed to the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26ff). We often refer to these seven as deacons, but they are never given that title in the Scriptures.
Philip is referred to as a member of ‘the seven’ and as ‘the evangelist’ in Acts 21:8. The Greek words translated ‘distribution or serving’ in Acts 6:1 and ‘wait on or serve’ in Acts 6:2 are related to the Greek word for ‘deacon.’ One Bible Dictionary reads, “Although it is difficult to prove that the origin of the diaconate is found in the choosing of the seven in Acts 6:1–6, since the noun diakonos is not used, it is reasonable to believe that these seven leaders were at least the prototypes of the first deacons.”1
Luke gives us information on the first two of the seven men chosen, Stephen and Philip. Stephen’s ministry and preaching brought opposition from what are referred to as ‘Diaspora’ Jews. Since 722 BC Jews had been scattered throughout the world. It’s said that in the 1st century there were as many Jews living in various parts of the world as were living in Palestine. Some had migrated back to Palestine; they would have been Greek speaking Jews. Some belonged to the Synagogue of the ‘Freedmen.’ The ‘Freedmen’ were people that had been enslaved at some time in the past but had obtained their freedom. Stephen’s defense in chapter 7 before the Sanhedrin is very interesting. In 7:42 and 48 Stephen specifically says he is quoting Scripture. If your translation indicates O.T. quotations by a change in type face (the CSB uses Bold type face for this) you will see many more than the two that Stephen specifically mentions. It’s as though Scripture permeates his language. If you are up on your O.T. history, you may notice some differences in the chronology given by Stephen and what you find in reading your Old Testament. Some of the issues can be resolved from the fact that Stephen is using a Greek translation of the O.T. rather than the Hebrew O.T. that is behind our English translations. For example, compare Acts
7:14 with Ge 46:26–27; Ex 1:5; and Dt 10:22. A translation of the Greek O.T. of Ge 46:27 reads, “All the individuals of the house of Jacob who entered into Egypt were seventy-five”2 and Ex 1:5 reads, “Joseph was already in Egypt. And all the persons from Jacob were seventy-five.”3
1Merkle, Ben L. 2003. “Deacon.” In Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, edited by Chad Brand, Charles Draper, Archie England, Steve Bond, E. Ray Clendenen, and Trent C. Butler, 398. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
2Brannan, Rick, Ken M. Penner, Israel Loken, Michael Aubrey, and Isaiah Hoogendyk, eds. 2012. The Lexham English Septuagint. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
3Brannan, Rick, Ken M. Penner, Israel Loken, Michael Aubrey, and Isaiah Hoogendyk, eds. 2012. The Lexham English Septuagint. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
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