25
The term "Jew" is an Anglicization of "Judean" which comes from the Greek Ἰουδαῖος (Ioudaios). Technically, it can simply be a regional distinction, that is someone who is from Judea. But it can of course represent one's ethnicity. Greek who happened to grow up in Judea would not have identified himself as a Judean.
In the book of Esther, the Hebrew "...
17
1. The Jews persecuted Christians for Blasphemy
From the perspective of the High Priest, the followers of the Way were violating the primary profession of the Jewish Faith: "Hear O Israel, the Lord your God is One."
Jesus, in claiming to be God, was, according to the High Priest, blaspheming. Those who followed him would, to the Jewish mind, have been ...
12
Two fourth-century fathers clearly make this connection. First, Cyril of Jerusalem:
The multitude of the hearers was confounded;—it was a second confusion, in the room of that first evil one at Babylon. For in that confusion of tongues there was division of purpose, because their thought was at enmity with God; but here minds were restored and united, ...
answered May 14 '16 at 11:12
Nathaniel is protesting
41.1k11 gold badges112 silver badges275 bronze badges
11
By the time of the New Testament "Jew" and "Israelite" had effectively become synonyms. This is because the large majority of people who returned from the Exile were from the former Kingdom of Judah. So Acts 21:29 is talking about his nationality, not his tribe.
11
J. A. T. Robinson, in Redating the New Testament (1976), lays out a thorough case for a pre-70 date for the publication of Acts. His main points are also maintained by other conservative scholars, such as D. A. Carson, Douglas Moo, and Leon Morris in their Introduction to the New Testament, and in the Reformed Study Bible. The key points are:
Evidence for ...
answered Aug 16 '16 at 14:05
Nathaniel is protesting
41.1k11 gold badges112 silver badges275 bronze badges
11
The exact value of a "Sabbath day's walk" is 2,000 cubits, which works out to about 5/8 of a mile, or one kilometer. Commentator Craig S. Keener explains the logic and biblical basis:
The figures were natural extrapolations from Exod 16:29 (one must not leave one's place on the Sabbath) and Num 35:5 (identifying one's place as 2,000 cubits square) [Acts, ...
answered Dec 29 '16 at 19:49
Nathaniel is protesting
41.1k11 gold badges112 silver badges275 bronze badges
10
The Bible does not reveal the the legalities or illegalities of all the killings it records. From the scanty histories available, most scholars seem to think that at the time of Pontius Pilate, only the Roman governor had the authority to order capital punishment . We must remember, however, people back then did not enjoy the equal protection of the law we ...
10
You are correct. Asia as referred to in the bible was a province in the Roman Empire. See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia_(Roman_province)
For further information, refer to the etymology section of the main Wikipedia article on Asia.
10
Two prominent advocates of this view are Rudolf Stier (1800–62) and Lloyd John Ogilvie (1930–). They argue both that the apostles erred, and that ultimately the evidence points to Paul being the true 12th apostle. They make several arguments:
The method of selection, particularly the casting of lots, was improper
The selection was unnecessarily hasty
The ...
answered Oct 2 '15 at 22:10
Nathaniel is protesting
41.1k11 gold badges112 silver badges275 bronze badges
9
Good question.
First, casting lots is not the same thing as divination. Divination is one of the forbidden practices mentioned in the Old Testament, and it involved the attempt to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge by occult or supernatural means. Diviners were just one class of people forbidden to practice their "arts" in Israel'...
8
Great question! I'm sure it was a miracle because John would not have bothered to mention the locked doors otherwise.
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’
John 20:19
So how did it happen? Jesus ...
answered Nov 18 '13 at 20:12
Reinstate Monica - Goodbye SE
17.5k23 gold badges81 silver badges149 bronze badges
8
It is clear that the verse cited, Acts 16:31, is a promise. The question is, to whom does the promise apply? Taken in context, it is a promise to a particular individual in a specific instance. This verse is lifted from the narrative of Paul and Silas in jail in Phillipi, to which they had been delivered by the owners of a slave girl from whom they had ...
7
Peter does not say "and if you don't get baptized you won't be saved".
Almost all Christian denominations take the view that baptism is the normal thing to do, and that Christians should do it. That doesn't imply that failing to do so for some reason invalidates your faith or excludes you from salvation. Likewise there is nothing in the Acts passage that ...
7
I don't know if there are any denominational-scale organizations that practice this, but there are certainly churches and other Christian organizations that practice this.
The Bruderhof may be a good example of this. My family lived in a Bruderhof community for a few months when I was growing up, as my father was doing some work (writing a book) for them.
...
7
The account in Genesis seems pretty clear that the cave of Abraham is in Hebron. Modern commentators seem to agree that Stephen was "telescoping" multiple Genesis accounts of patriarchal burials into one shorter narrative. I. Howard Marshall's commentary says, for example:
The relation of the story of the burial to the Old Testament
traditions is ...
7
'Dwelling' does not simply mean to 'be present'. It means to reside or inhabit. If you go into a shop, you are not 'dwelling' in the shop, but you are present there. If you say "I do not dwell in the shop" it doesn't mean you never go in there, or that you are not there now.
The point is that God is above 'dwelling' in places that humans have made. He has ...
7
Acts 25:14, "it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks," is a direct quotation from a play by Euripides (d. 406 BCE), the Bacchae, with Jesus speaking instead of the Greek god Dionysus. Euripides had used the plural ('pricks') for reason of meter, and Acts uses the same plural, although it would normally be a singular. In his own epistles, Paul never ...
7
The First Epistle to the Corinthians opens with an expanded address (1 Corinthians 1:1-7), identifying its writer as the apostle Paul who, with Sosthenes, was writing to the church community in Corinth. After a warm opening address, Paul urges the Corinthians to agree in what they say, and to be united in the same mind and in the same purpose. The reason for ...
7
The fact that both Books were written by the same individual known as Luke is extracted from the first few verses of both Books.
Luke 1:1 through4 KJV Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were ...
6
The temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in AD 70.
Acts 2 records how Holy Spirit was poured down on the Day of Pentecost (v 1-4). And then Peter addressed the crowd who were amazed and confused what was going on. Most of them were Jews who came to Jerusalem for the Pentecost festival (v 5). Following Peter's sermon, 3000 were baptized that day (v 41). From ...
6
The verse in Greek appears as follows:
Acts 2:38 (GNT)
38 Πέτρος δὲ πρὸς αὐτούς μετανοήσατε φησίν καὶ βαπτισθήτω ἕκαστος ὑμῶν ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ εἰς ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ὑμῶν καὶ λήμψεσθε τὴν δωρεὰν τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος
There are two imperatives in this verse. The first is the verb μετανοέω, which occurs in the second person plural. The second ...
6
Here is a summary of what I found on this subject :
The Greek word for “dagger men”, used in the the quoted verse, is derived from the Latin sicarii, which means “users of the sica,” or dagger. First-century historian Flavius Josephus describes the Sicarii as a band of fanatic Jewish patriots, unrelenting enemies of Rome, who engaged in organized political ...
6
John Calvin starts by reminding us that Jesus commanded them to begin at Jerusalem (Acts 1:4,8), and says that it makes sense that they would stay there until "being brought into some other place by his hand":
But here may a question be asked, forasmuch as they were commanded to preach the gospel throughout the whole world, (Mark 16:16) why they stayed at ...
6
I looked into Lampe (ed.)"A Patristic Greek Lexicon", Oxford University Press, 1961.
It makes four mentions for the use of hodos in this sense:
Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, Book 5, Chapter 1,48. (Migne 20.428A)
Chrysostom, Homily 19 on the Acts of the Apostoles (Migne 60.152)
Ammonius of Alexandria, On the Acts of the Apostoles 14:14 (...
6
There are a few things to consider. First of all, the Jewish Ceremonial and Civil Laws have no bearing on US today. For example, i live in the U.S. and am a gentile christian.
Therefore the laws of Israel, and the regulations of Judaism have no bindings on me.
These people were still living in Israel, and were commanded by Jesus to follow the laws of the ...
6
I am not sure you are interpreting the law about Levites owning land correctly.
Joshua 10 describes the division of the land between the tribes, but does not assign it to individuals. Verse 14 gives no portion of the land to Levi:
Only to the tribe of Levi he had given no inheritance; the sacrifices of the Lord God of Israel made by fire are their ...
6
There are a few reasons why people argue both of those books are written by Luke.
The Introductions
Both the book of Luke and the book of Acts reference a reader named "Theophilus" in their opening lines. The book of Luke sets up an initial correspondence with Theophilus:
Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have
been ...
6
I think you might be overthinking this. Going by NKJV, Acts 9:1-9, Christ did not necessarily "appear" physically. Verses 3-4 only indicate that Paul heard a voice and saw a light, and that light could have been anything
As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a ...
6
This is from an article in Tabletalk magazine, which is produced by Ligonier Ministries. It is written by Robert Rothwell and supposses to be the voice of Reformed Christianity on the topic of cessationism. There is much in the article describing the purpose of audible contact from the HS to the individual and why those purposes are expired.
We ...
6
And how exactly would you rather have him start ?
(Acts 2:22) Men of Israel, listen to this message: Jesus of Nazareth was a GOD certified by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know.
Don't you recall what happened the last time around ?
(John 5:17-18) Jesus answered them: My Father works ...
Only top voted, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible