Acts 10:5
in Acts 10Now send men to Joppa to call for a man named Simon who is called Peter.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And now send men to Joppa, and fetch one Simon, who is surnamed Peter:
KJV
And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter:
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This verse in Acts 10
Commentary
12 notes on this verseAnd now send men to Joppa,.... Which lay near to Caesarea; and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: the angel was not sent to instruct Cornelius himself, but to direct him to an apostle of Christ, and minister of the Gospel, who should do it; for not angels, but men, are employed in the ministry of the word, which is the ordinary means of spiritual knowledge, and of increasing it.
This site's exposition
send men to Joppa
on Acts 10:5-6
Send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter gives Cornelius specific, checkable directions, down to the detail that he lodges with a tanner by the sea side, the kind of precision Luke's history keeps throughout the book. God could have told Cornelius the gospel directly through the angel, and does not, choosing instead to send him to a human messenger, a pattern the bench reads as consistent with how the gospel spreads everywhere else in Acts, through witnesses rather than direct revelation alone.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
A commentator
Augustine of HippoCHRISTIAN INSTRUCTION, PREFACE 6 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
Let us beware of such dangerous temptations of pride, and let us rather consider the fact that the apostle Paul himself, although stricken down and admonished by the voice of God from heaven, was yet sent to a man to receive the sacraments and be admitted into the church. Cornelius the centurion, although an angel announced to him that his prayers were heard and that his alms were remembered, was yet handed over to Peter for instruction, and not only received the sacraments from the apostle's hands but was also instructed by him as to the proper objects of faith, hope and love. And without doubt it was possible to have done everything through the instrumentality of angels, but the condition of our race would have been much more degraded if God had not chosen to make use of people as the ministers of his word to [other people]. For how could that be true which is written, "The temple of God is holy, and that temple you are," if God gave forth no oracles from his human temple but communicated everything that he wished to be taught to people by voices from heaven or through the ministration of angels? Moreover, love itself, which binds people together in the bond of unity, would have no means of pouring soul into soul, and, as it were, mingling them one with another, if people never learned anything from [others].
"And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter." Lest they should come to a different person, he designates the man not only by his surname, but by the place.
"Send and call for Simon": in like manner the Angel only calls Philip. He does not tell him for what purpose, that he may not take off the intense desire, but he leaves him to an eager and longing expectation of what he shall hear.
They do not mention that both the Ethiopian and Cornelius held office, but that by their wealth and the influence surrounding them they were not hindered from living devoutly. This man therefore is not a Jew, nor under the laws, but already had anticipated our …
The Medieval Church1 voice
And now send men to Joppa. When alms and prayers had been accepted, immediately the teacher of salvation is ordered to be summoned, clearly implying that through those alms and prayers, he sought from the Lord the full knowledge of his salvation.
5 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church2 voices
And summon Simon, who is called Peter; he lodges with a certain Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea. All things in the Holy Scriptures are filled with spiritual figures, even the names and the location of places. Peter lodges in the house …
Pay attention also to the Angel: he first elevates and raises the thoughts of Cornelius to the highest, and only then says: "Send men to Joppa and call for Simon, who is called Peter. He is staying with a certain Simon, a tanner." So that …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
We are not told what his prayer was; but if this message was an answer to it, and it should seem it was, we may suppose that finding the deficiency of natural light, and that it left him at a loss how to obtain the pardon of his sin and the favour of God, he prayed that God would make some further discoveries of himself and of the way of salvation to him.
Now that God has given a further record concerning his Son than what had been given in the Old-Testament prophecies he requires that we receive this when it is brought to us; and now neither our prayers nor our alms can come up for a memorial before God unless we believe in Jesus Christ, for it is that further which we ought to do. This is his commandment, that we believe.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
saw . . . evidently--"distinctly." the ninth hour of the day--three o'clock, the hour of the evening sacrifice. But he had been "fasting until that hour" (Ac 10:30), perhaps from the sixth hour (Ac 10:9).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
13 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| νῦν | nun | now | G3568 → | 145 times |
| πέμψον | pempson | do send | G3992 → | 79 times |
| ἄνδρας | andras | men | G435 → | 216 times |
| εἰς | eis | to | G1519 → | 1755 times |
| Ἰόππην | ioppen | Joppa | G2445 → | 10 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| μετάπεμψαι | metapempsai | do yourself summon | G3343 → | 9 times |
| Σίμωνά | simona | Simon | G4613 → | 75 times |
| τινα | tina | someone | G5100 → | 528 times |
| ὃς | hos | who | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| ἐπικαλεῖται | epikaleitai | is called | G1941 → | 30 times |
| Πέτρος· | petros | Peter; | G4074 → | 155 times |
καὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
νῦνnow
nunG3568 →145 times
πέμψονdo send
pempsonG3992 →79 times
ἄνδραςmen
andrasG435 →216 times
εἰςto
eisG1519 →1755 times
ἸόππηνJoppa
ioppenG2445 →10 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
μετάπεμψαιdo yourself summon
metapempsaiG3343 →9 times
ΣίμωνάSimon
simonaG4613 →75 times
τιναsomeone
tinaG5100 →528 times
ὃςwho
hosG3739 →1405 times
ἐπικαλεῖταιis called
epikaleitaiG1941 →30 times
Πέτρος·Peter;
petrosG4074 →155 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
John 1:42Andrew brought him to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated as Peter).
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 3:22
whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future. All of them belong to you,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Corinthians 9:5
Have we no right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- John 21:15–17
When they had finished eating, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love Me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he answered, “You know I love You.” Jesus replied, “Feed My lambs.”
- 1 Corinthians 3:22
Through
Acts 9:36In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which is translated as Dorcas), who was always occupied with works of kindness and charity.
it leads to
- Titus 3:8
This saying is trustworthy. And I want you to emphasize these things, so that those who have believed God will take care to devote themselves to good deeds. These things are excellent and profitable…
- Titus 2:7
In everything, show yourself to be an example by doing good works. In your teaching show integrity, dignity,
- 2 Chronicles 2:16
We will cut logs from Lebanon, as many as you need, and we will float them to you as rafts by sea down to Joppa. Then you can take them up to Jerusalem.”
- Acts 10:31
and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been remembered before God.
- Titus 3:8
Through
Acts 15:7After much discussion, Peter got up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you that the Gentiles would hear from my lips the message…
it leads to
- Galatians 2:7–9
On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted to preach the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised.
- Galatians 2:7–9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies7
About Acts
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Augustine of Hippo, CHRISTIAN INSTRUCTION, PREFACE 6; Bede, Commentary on Acts; Bede, Retractions on Acts; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 22; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on Acts and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Acts.