Acts 8:36
in Acts 8As they traveled along the road and came to some water, the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is there to prevent me from being baptized?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And as they went on the way, they came unto a certain water; and the eunuch saith, Behold, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
KJV
And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
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This verse in Acts 8
Commentary
14 notes on this verseThat he who believes can immediately obtain (i.e., pardon and peace).]In the Acts of the Apostles: "Lo, here is water; what is there which hinders me from being baptized? Then said Philip, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest."
This site's exposition
what doth hinder me to be baptized
on Acts 8:36-38
As they went on their way they came unto a certain water, and the eunuch's own question, what doth hinder me to be baptized, reads as a heart already persuaded rather than a formality. The confession that answers him in the received text, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, is absent from the oldest surviving manuscripts and does not appear in the earliest versions, though it was already being quoted by Irenaeus and Cyprian in the second and third centuries, so the bench presents it honestly as the received text's reading rather than claiming manuscript unanimity it does not have. Philip commanded the chariot to stand still, and they went down both into the water, an immersion the text's own wording assumes rather than argues for, a detail readers on different sides of the mode question weigh differently.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? Mark the eager desire, mark the exact knowledge. Then, it says, they came to a certain water, and he said, Lo, here is water. Again, of his own accord he requests, saying, What doth hinder me to be baptized? And see again his modesty: he does not say, Baptize me, neither does he hold his peace; but he utters somewhat midway betwixt strong desire and reverent fear, saying, What doth hinder me?
Do you observe that he has the doctrines of faith perfect? For indeed the Prophet had the whole, Incarnation, Passion, Resurrection, Ascension, Judgment to come. And if he shows exceeding earnestness of desire, do not marvel. Though about to return home, he did not say to himself: "I am going back to my country, there let me receive baptism;" those cold words which most men use! No need had he of signs, no need of miracles: from the Prophet merely, he believed.
It should be observed that great zeal existed among Christians entirely for the sensible baptism. Since what is given is twofold, sometimes through water, sometimes in the Holy Spirit and fire, they did not despise the more bodily one on account of the superiority of …
The Medieval Church2 voices
They came to a certain water. Even today there is a village called Bethsoro in the tribe of Judah, on the twentieth milestone of those going from Chebron of Elias. Near it, a fountain bubbling up at the roots of a mountain is absorbed by …
"Behold, water; what hinders me from being baptized?" See how prudently he acts. First he reads and does not understand, then he reads the same prophecy; it contains the teaching about the suffering, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the bestowal of the grace of …
7 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church1 voice
Who prohibits me from being baptized? And he commanded the chariot to stop, and the rest. Here another translation according to the Greek exemplar has a few more verses where it is written: Behold water, who prohibits me from being baptized? But Philip said to …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And as they went on the way they came to a certain water - Thus, even the circumstances of the journey were under the direction of God. The kingdom of God suits itself to external circumstances, without any violence, as air yields to all bodies, and yet pervades all.
And as they went on their way,....
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
See, here is water - He was not willing to omit the first opportunity that presented itself of his taking upon himself the profession of the Gospel. By this we may see that Philip had explained the whole of the Christian faith to him, and the way by which believers were brought into the Christian Church.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
(Ac 8:37 is wanting in the principal manuscripts and most venerable versions of the New Testament. It seems to have been added from the formularies for baptism which came into current use).
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
And the eunuch answered, I pray thee, &c.--The respect with which he here addresses Philip was prompted by his reverence for one whom he perceived to be his superior in divine things; his own worldly position sinking before this.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
As they went on their way - In their journey. A certain water - The expression used here does not determine whether this was a river, a brook, or a standing pool. And there are no circumstances to determine that. It is well known, however, that there is no large river or very considerable stream in this vicinity. All that is intimated is that there was water enough to perform the rite of baptism. Grotius says they came “to a fountain which was in the neighborhood of Bethsora, in the tribe of Juda, at the twentieth milestone from Aelia (Jerusalem) to Hebron.” This is, however, a tradition taken from Eusebius. The place is still shown (Pococke). What doth hinder me ... - This shows that he had been instructed by Philip on the nature and design of baptism. It evinces also a purpose at once to give himself to Christ, to profess his name, and to be dedicated to his service. To be baptized - On the meaning of the word “baptize” βαπτίζω baptizō, see all the notes on Mat 3:6, Mat 3:16.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ὡς | hos | As | G5613 → | 500 times |
| δὲ | de | then | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| ἐπορεύοντο | eporeuonto | they were going | G4198 → | 147 times |
| κατὰ | kata | along | G2596 → | 468 times |
| τὴν | ten | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ὁδόν, | hodon | road, | G3598 → | 101 times |
| ἦλθον | elthon | they came | G2064 → | 628 times |
| ἐπί | epi | upon | G1909 → | 883 times |
| τι | ti | some | G5100 → | 528 times |
| ὕδωρ | hudor | water | G5204 → | 76 times |
| καί | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| φησιν | phesin | says | G5346 → | 66 times |
| ὁ | ho | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| εὐνοῦχος· | eunouchos | eunuch; | G2135 → | 8 times |
| ἰδοὺ | idou | Behold | G2400 → | 200 times |
| ὕδωρ· | hudor | water; | G5204 → | 76 times |
| τί | ti | what | G5101 → | 563 times |
| κωλύει | koluei | prevents | G2967 → | 23 times |
| με | me | me | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| βαπτισθῆναι; | baptisthenai | to be baptized? | G907 → | 76 times |
ὩςAs
hosG5613 →500 times
δὲthen
deG1161 →2765 times
ἐπορεύοντοthey were going
eporeuontoG4198 →147 times
κατὰalong
kataG2596 →468 times
τὴνthe
tenG3588 →19766 times
ὁδόν,road,
hodonG3598 →101 times
ἦλθονthey came
elthonG2064 →628 times
ἐπίupon
epiG1909 →883 times
τιsome
tiG5100 →528 times
ὕδωρwater
hudorG5204 →76 times
καίand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
φησινsays
phesinG5346 →66 times
ὁthe
hoG3588 →19766 times
εὐνοῦχος·eunuch;
eunouchosG2135 →8 times
ἰδοὺBehold
idouG2400 →200 times
ὕδωρ·water;
hudorG5204 →76 times
τίwhat
tiG5101 →563 times
κωλύειprevents
kolueiG2967 →23 times
μεme
meG3165 →1936 times
βαπτισθῆναι;to be baptized?
baptisthenaiG907 →76 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 3:5Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 36:25–27
I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
- Ephesians 5:26
to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
- Acts 2:38
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
- 1 Peter 3:21
And this water symbolizes the baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
- 1 Corinthians 6:11
And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
- Ezekiel 36:25–27
Through
Ezekiel 36:25I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
it leads to
- Hebrews 10:22
let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
- John 3:5
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
- Jeremiah 33:8
And I will cleanse them from all the iniquity they have committed against Me, and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against Me.
- Hebrews 10:22
Where this verse is studied
About Acts
This page draws on 11 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); Bede, Commentary on Acts; Cyprian, Treatise XII Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 19; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Oecumenius, Commentary on Acts and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Acts.