Acts 5:1
in Acts 5Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
KJV
But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
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This verse in Acts 5
Commentary
13 notes on this verseFor they both raised the dead, which God alone (can do), and restored the debilitated to their integrity, which none but Christ (can do); nay, they inflicted plagues too, which Christ would not do. For it did not beseem Him to be severe who had come to suffer. Smitten were both Ananias and Elymas -Ananias with death, Elymas with blindness-in order that by this very fact it might be proved that Christ had had the power of doing even such (miracles).
This site's exposition
sold a possession
on Acts 5:1-2
Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, the very act Barnabas had just performed at the end of chapter four, and the pairing sets the contrast the narrative means to draw. The couple kept back part of the price while presenting the gift as though it were the whole, so the sin is not the sum given but the pretense of totality. Gill and Henry both note that nothing in the law of the church required any believer to sell property or to give all the proceeds, which is what makes the deception, not the withholding, the offense that follows.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
A commentator
Apostolic ConstitutionsApostolic Constitutions (Book VII), Section 1, II · Written before 380.
proposed
"You shall not steal:" [Exodus 20:15] for Achan, when he had stolen in Israel at Jericho, was stoned to death; [Joshua 7:1] and Gehazi, who stole, and told a lie, inherited the leprosy of Naaman; [2 Kings 5:27] and Judas, who stole the poor's money, betrayed the Lord of glory to the Jews, [John 12:6] and repented, and hanged himself, and burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out; [Matthew 27:5; Acts 1:18] and Ananias, and Sapphira his wife, who stole their own goods, and "tempted the Spirit of the Lord," were immediately, at the sentence of Peter our fellow-apostle, struck dead. [Acts 5:1-11]
And the mystics say that he slew the Egyptian by a word only; as, certainly, Peter in the Acts is related to have slain by speech those who appropriated part of the price of the field, and lied.
"But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, and kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the Apostles' feet." The aggravating circumstance was, that the sin was concerted, and none other saw what was done. This history touches Bishops too, and very forcibly. And the wife of Ananias was privy to the thing done: therefore he examines her. But perhaps some one will say that he dealt very harshly with her. What do you mean? What harshness? If for gathering sticks a man is to be stoned, much rather ought he for sacrilege; for this money was become sacred. He that has chosen to sell his goods and distribute them, and then withdraws them, is guilty of sacrilege. But if he is sacrilegious, who resumes from his own, much more he who takes from what is not his own. And do not think that because the consequence is not now the same, the crime will go unpunished.
And the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. And great fear came upon all the Church, and upon as many as heard these things."
Entirely full of Satanic madness, he who seizes what is good impulsively and by necessity and violence, while at the same time lukewarm in his zeal for the value of the good things, having squandered all his possessions. Three signs occurring at the same time: …
6 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church1 voice
Intending to narrate what happened with Ananias and Sapphira, and wishing to show that they sinned, Luke first mentions a man who acted rightly — Joses. Despite such a multitude of persons who did the same — sold their possessions and gave the money to …
The Reformation1 voice
Ananais corresponded all to little to his name, because he himself responded all to little to the grace of God. He had a wife Sapphira, a woman like her husband.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
But a certain man named Ananias,.... A name common among the Jews, the same with Hananiah, Jer 28:1 it signifies not the humility of the Lord, or the affliction of the Lord, or the answer of the Lord, as say some, as if it was derived from ענה; but the grace of the Lord, or the Lord's gracious one, coming from חנן: there is no dependence on names; though this man's name signified one that was in the grace and favour of God; he was not so, but a graceless person, as appears by what follows.
But a certain man named Ananias - It is certain, not a believer, for all that believed were of one heart and of one soul: probably not baptized; but intending now to offer himself for baptism.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
But a certain man - In the previous chapter the historian had given an account of the eminent liberality and sincerity of the mass of early Christians, in being willing to give up their property to provide for the poor, and had mentioned the case of Barnabas as worthy of special attention. In this chapter he proceeds to mention a case, quite as striking, of insincerity, and hypocrisy, and of the just judgment of God on those who were guilty of it.
But a certain man named Ananias - Of these unhappy people we have no farther account than what is recorded here. In reference to birth, connections, etc., their names are written in the dust. The import of his name, חנניה chananiyah, the grace or mercy of the Lord, agrees very ill with his conduct.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ἀνὴρ | aner | A man | G435 → | 216 times |
| δέ | de | now | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| τις | tis | certain | G5100 → | 528 times |
| Ἁνανίας | hananias | Ananias | G367 → | 11 times |
| ὀνόματι | onomati | named | G3686 → | 227 times |
| σὺν | sun | with | G4862 → | 128 times |
| Σαπφίρῃ | sapphire | Sapphira | G4551 → | |
| τῇ | tea | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| γυναικὶ | gunaiki | wife | G1135 → | 211 times |
| αὐτοῦ | autou | of him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ἐπώλησεν | epolesen | sold | G4453 → | 22 times |
| κτῆμα | ktema | a property | G2933 → |
ἈνὴρA man
anerG435 →216 times
δέnow
deG1161 →2765 times
τιςcertain
tisG5100 →528 times
ἉνανίαςAnanias
hananiasG367 →11 times
ὀνόματιnamed
onomatiG3686 →227 times
σὺνwith
sunG4862 →128 times
ΣαπφίρῃSapphira
sapphireG4551 →
τῇthe
teaG3588 →19766 times
γυναικὶwife
gunaikiG1135 →211 times
αὐτοῦof him
autouG846 →5565 times
ἐπώλησενsold
epolesenG4453 →22 times
κτῆμαa property
ktemaG2933 →
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 6:37Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never drive away.
it leads to
- Matthew 11:28
Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
- John 6:39
And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day.
- John 17:24
Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, that they may see the glory You gave Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
- John 10:28–29
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand.
- John 17:2
For You granted Him authority over all people, so that He may give eternal life to all those You have given Him.
- Matthew 11:28
Through
2 Timothy 2:20A large house contains not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay. Some indeed are for honorable use, but others are for common use.
it leads to
- Romans 9:21–23
Does not the potter have the right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special occasions and another for common use?
- 1 Peter 2:5
you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
- 1 Timothy 3:15
in case I am delayed, so that you will know how each one must conduct himself in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.
- Romans 9:21–23
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Acts
This page draws on 14 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions (Book VII), Section 1, II; Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata Book 1; Erasmus of Rotterdam, Commentary (church-history corpus); John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 12; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; 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; Pope Urban I, Commentary (church-history corpus); Tertullian, On Modesty and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Acts.