Acts 19:7
in Acts 19There were about twelve men in all.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they were in all about twelve men.
KJV
And all the men were about twelve.
⋯
This verse in Acts 19
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAll the men were about twelve, etc. But the judgments of God are a great abyss. Behold, recently deemed unworthy of the visitation of the apostles, Asia is now consecrated by the Apostolic number and elevated by the prophetic gift. And it should be noted …
This site's exposition
the name of the Lord Jesus
on Acts 19:5-7
When Paul laid his hands on the men baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit came upon them. It was the third such outpouring, after Jerusalem and Caesarea, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
This site's exposition
about twelve men in all
Luke gives the number with the word about, as he gives the hundred and twenty of 1:15 and the three thousand of 2:41. Some readers hear the twelve tribes or the twelve apostles in the figure. Luke leaves the number without comment.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
They did not see the Spirit, because He is invisible; but a certain sensible proof of His presence was offered by the gift of tongues: one spoke in Persian, another in Roman, a third in some other language; and by these outward signs it was …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And all the men were about twelve. The Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, have not the word "about"; but affirm, that the men were twelve; and indeed the number being so small, the historian might be at a certainty about it: these seem to be the first materials of a Gospel church at Ephesus, which afterwards was very large and flourishing, and very likely were some of the elders of it.
Have you had that seal of the truth of Christ's doctrine in yourselves?" We are not now to expect any such extraordinary gifts as they had then. The canon of the New Testament being long since completed and ratified, we depend upon that as the most sure word of prophecy. But there are graces of the Spirit given to all believers, which are as earnests to them, 2 Cor. i.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἦσαν | esan | There were | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| δὲ | de | then | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| οἱ | hoi | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πάντες | pantes | in all | G3956 → | 1235 times |
| ἄνδρες | andres | men | G435 → | 216 times |
| ὡσεὶ | hosei | about | G5616 → | 21 times |
| δώδεκα.¶ | dodeka | twelve. | G1427 → | 75 times |
ἦσανThere were
esanG1510 →2333 times
δὲthen
deG1161 →2765 times
οἱthe
hoiG3588 →19766 times
πάντεςin all
pantesG3956 →1235 times
ἄνδρεςmen
andresG435 →216 times
ὡσεὶabout
hoseiG5616 →21 times
δώδεκα.¶twelve.
dodekaG1427 →75 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Acts

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on Acts; Bede, Commentary on Acts; J. A. Alexander, The Acts of the Apostles Explained; John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Acts.
