Acts 5:40
in Acts 5At this, they yielded to Gamaliel. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and released them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles unto them, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
KJV
And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
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This verse in Acts 5
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThe prisons there, and the bonds, and the scourges, and the big stones, and the swords, and the onsets by the Jews, and the assemblies of the heathen, and the indictments by tribunes, and the hearing of causes by kings, and the judgment-seats of proconsuls and the name of Caesar, do not need an interpreter. That Peter is struck, that Stephen is overwhelmed by stones, that James is slain as is a victim at the altar, that Paul is beheaded has been written in their own blood.
This site's exposition
They called the apostles in
on Acts 5:40-42
The council has the apostles flogged and orders them not to speak in the name of Jesus. They leave rejoicing, and every day in the temple courts and from house to house they proclaim that Jesus is the Christ.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"And they were persuaded by him." How were they persuaded? So as not to slay them, but merely to scourge. For, it says, "And when they had called the Apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go." See after what great works they are scourged! And again their teaching became more extended: for they taught at home and in the temple. They reverenced the high character of the man. Such was the incontrovertible justness of his speech, they could not look it in the face; nevertheless, they sated their own animosity; and again they expected to terrify them in this way.
But if they were persuaded, how were they beaten? They were persuaded to refrain from the slaughter. For this was raging wildly among the lazy. And they beat them so that they would not rashly be driven to boast and act beyond bounds. And in …
The Medieval Church1 voice
They obeyed him because he was saying this not in the presence of the apostles. But how did the Jews beat the apostles if they obeyed him? They obeyed him in the sense that they abandoned their intention to kill them, because they had wanted …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And to him they agreed,.... They were convinced and persuaded by his reasonings, approved of his advice, and agreed to follow it: and when they had called the apostles; into the council again, having sent their servants for them, or ordered them to be brought in: and beaten them; or scourged and whipped them with forty stripes save one, whereby was fulfilled what Christ had foretold, Mat 10:17 they commanded they should not speak in the name of Jesus; as they had strictly commanded them before, Act 4:
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
To him they agreed - That is, not to slay the apostles, nor to attempt any farther to imprison them; but their malevolence could not be thus easily satisfied; and therefore they beat them - probably gave each of them thirty-nine stripes; and, having commanded them not to speak in the name of Jesus, they let them go. It was of Jesus they were afraid: not of the apostles. They plainly saw that, if the doctrine of Christ was preached, it must prevail; and, if it prevailed, they must come to nought.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And to him they agreed - Greek: They were “persuaded” by him; or they trusted to him. They agreed only so far as their design of putting them to death was concerned. They abandoned that design. But they did “not” comply with his advice to let them entirely alone. And beaten them - The usual amount of “lashes” which were inflicted on offenders was 39, 2Co 11:24. “Beating,” or “whipping,” was a common mode of punishing minor offences among the Jews. It was expressly foretold by the Saviour that the apostles would be subjected to this, Mat 10:17. The reason why they did not adopt the advice of Gamaliel altogether doubtless was, that if they did, they feared that their “authority” would be despised by the people. They had commanded them not to preach; they had threatened them Act 4:18; Act 5:28; they had imprisoned them Act 5:18; and now, if they suffered them to go without even the “appearance” of punishment, their authority, they feared, would be despised by the nation, and it would be supposed that the apostles had triumphed over the Sanhedrin. It is probable, also, that they were so indignant, that they could not suffer them to go without the gratification of subjecting them to the public odium of a “whipping.” People, if they cannot accomplish their full purposes of malignity against the gospel, will take up with even some petty annoyance and malignity rather than let it alone.
The words behind it
15 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 |
| προσκαλεσάμενοι | proskalesamenoi | having called in | G4341 → | 28 times |
| τοὺς | tous | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἀποστόλους | apostolous | apostles | G652 → | 79 times |
| δείραντες | deirantes | having beaten | G1194 → | 15 times |
| παρήγγειλαν | parengeilan | they commanded [them] | G3853 → | 31 times |
| μὴ | me | not | G3361 → | 1066 times |
| λαλεῖν | lalein | to speak | G2980 → | 294 times |
| ἐπὶ | epi | in | G1909 → | 883 times |
| τῷ | to | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ὀνόματι | onomati | name | G3686 → | 227 times |
| τοῦ | tou | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| Ἰησοῦ | iesou | of Jesus | G2424 → | 908 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἀπέλυσαν | apelusan | released | G630 → | 63 times |
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
προσκαλεσάμενοιhaving called in
proskalesamenoiG4341 →28 times
τοὺςthe
tousG3588 →19766 times
ἀποστόλουςapostles
apostolousG652 →79 times
δείραντεςhaving beaten
deirantesG1194 →15 times
παρήγγειλανthey commanded [them]
parengeilanG3853 →31 times
μὴnot
meG3361 →1066 times
λαλεῖνto speak
laleinG2980 →294 times
ἐπὶin
epiG1909 →883 times
τῷthe
toG3588 →19766 times
ὀνόματιname
onomatiG3686 →227 times
τοῦ<the>
touG3588 →19766 times
Ἰησοῦof Jesus
iesouG2424 →908 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἀπέλυσανreleased
apelusanG630 →63 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
Matthew 10:17But beware of men; for they will hand you over to their councils and flog you in their synagogues.
it leads to
- Mark 13:9
So be on your guard. You will be delivered over to the councils and beaten in the synagogues. On My account you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 23:34
Because of this, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and others you will flog in your synagogues and persecute in town after…
- Luke 12:11
When you are brought before synagogues, rulers, and authorities, do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say.
- Matthew 5:22
But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who…
- Mark 13:9
Through
Mark 13:9So be on your guard. You will be delivered over to the councils and beaten in the synagogues. On My account you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them.
it leads to
- John 16:2
They will put you out of the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 10:17–18
But beware of men; for they will hand you over to their councils and flog you in their synagogues.
- Mark 13:5
Jesus began by telling them, “See to it that no one deceives you.
- 1 Corinthians 4:9–13
For it seems to me that God has displayed us apostles at the end of the procession, like prisoners appointed for death. We have become a spectacle to the whole world, to angels as…
- John 16:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies20
On this verse
On this chapter
- Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5)
- Hanged on a tree
- Holiness and Purity
- Integrity
- Daniel's Open Window
- Rejoice in the Lord Always
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About Acts
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 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); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 14; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on Acts; Tertullian, Scorpiace and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Acts.