Acts 9:33
in Acts 9There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been paralyzed and bedridden for eight years.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had kept his bed eight years; for he was palsied.
KJV
And there he found a certain man named Eneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy.
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This verse in Acts 9
Commentary
10 notes on this verseAnd there he found a certain man,.... In a house in that city, into which he entered: named Aeneas; which is a Gentile name, and so might the person be; though there is mention made of this name among the Jews. We read of one R. Samuel Bar, אנייא "Aenea, or Aeneas" (l); but it was more common among the Greeks. Aeneas the Trojan is well known in history, who, after the destruction of Troy, went into Italy, and settled there; and from him the Trojans are sometimes called Aeneadae.
This site's exposition
he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda
on Acts 9:32-35
Peter passed throughout all quarters, a phrase describing a pastoral circuit rather than a single mission trip, and comes down to the saints at Lydda on the coastal plain, a town on the road between Jerusalem and Joppa. Eneas, who had kept his bed eight years sick of the palsy, is healed with the same formula Peter had used at the temple gate years before, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole, the credit placed on Christ's name rather than the apostle's own touch. All that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him and turned to the Lord, the healing serving the same evangelistic purpose signs and wonders serve everywhere else in the book.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
"And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy. And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately." And why did he not wait for the man's faith, and ask if he wished to be healed? In the first place, the miracle served for exhortation to many: hear then how great the gain.
"Arise, and make thy bed:" he does well to give a proof of the miracle: for they not only released men of their diseases, but in giving the health they gave the strength also. Moreover, at that time they had given no proofs of their power, so that the man could not reasonably have been required to show his faith, as neither in the case of the lame man did they demand it. As therefore Christ in the beginning of His miracles did not demand faith, so neither did these. For in Jerusalem indeed, as was but reasonable, the faith of the parties was first shown; "they brought out their sick into the streets, but as Peter passed by, his shadow at least might fall upon some of them"; for many miracles had been wrought there; but here this is the first that occurs. For of the miracles, some were wrought for the purpose of drawing others to faith; some for the comfort of them that believed.
"And Peter said unto him, Eneas," etc. But before discourse, before exhortations, he says to the lame man himself, "Jesus Christ maketh thee whole." This word he believed in any wise, and was made whole. Observe how unassuming he is: for he said not, "In the Name," but rather as a sign he narrates the miracle itself, and speaks as its Evangelist.
The Medieval Church1 voice
He found there a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years. This Aeneas signifies the human race, languishing previously in the pleasure of infirmities, but healed by the work and word of the apostles. For since the world itself is raised …
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Upon the occasion of the regular hearers vacating their seats to allow strangers to fill the house. I MAY not hope that I shall see you all again, and so, as I have the opportunity of only preaching one sermon to you, I must make it as full as I can of the essence of the Gospel, from beginning to end. We have heard of a chaplain who preached in a jail, who selected a subject which he divided into two heads. The first part was the sinner's disease.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
Upon the occasion of the regular hearers vacating their seats to allow strangers to fill the house. I MAY not hope that I shall see you all again, and so, as I have the opportunity of only preaching one sermon to you, I must make it as full as I can of the essence of the Gospel, from beginning to end. We have heard of a chaplain who preached in a jail, who selected a subject which he divided into two heads. The first part was the sinner's disease. This he took for his topic on one Sabbath and closed the sermon by saying that he would preach upon the sinner's remedy upon the following Sunday. Now, there were several of the prisoners hanged on Monday, according to the custom of the bad old times, so that they did not hear that part of the discourse which it was most necessary for them to hear. It would have been well to have told out the great news of salvation at once to men so near their end. And I think that in every sermon, if the preacher confines himself to one subject, and leaves out essential Gospel Truths under the notion that he will preach salvation by Jesus another day, he is very unwise, for some of his congregation may be dead and gone—alas, some of them lost—before he will have the opportunity of coming to the grand and all-important point, namely, the way of salvation! By the Grace of God we will not fall into that evil tonight! We will try to shoot at the very center of our target and preach the plan of salvation as completely as we can. And may God grant that His blessing may rest on it, the Holy Spirit working with it. I shall only preach this one sermon to some of you. You will, therefore, have the greater patience with me as I shall not inflict myself upon you again. But, if we are to have only one communication with each other, let us come to real practical business and waste no time.
A certain man named Eneas - This name has been celebrated in the annals of heathen poetry, in that beautiful work of the poet Virgil, called the Aeneid; which gives an account of the misfortunes, travels, wars, etc., of a Trojan prince of this name, after the destruction of his native city, Troy. On the difference of names which so frequently occurs in some pasts of the Scriptures, Calmet makes the following judicious remarks: As both Greek and Hebrew, or Syriac, were commonly spoken in Palestine, most persons had two names, one Greek and the other Hebrew. Thus Peter was called Cephas in Hebrew, and Petros in Greek. Paul was called Saul in Hebrew, and Paulos in Greek. The person in Act 9:36, Tabitha in Hebrew, and Dorcas in Greek. And the paralytic person cured by Peter, Hananiah in Hebrew, and Aineas in Greek. So Thomas was the Hebrew name of the apostle who in Greek was called Didymus. Had kept his bed eight years - This was occasioned by a palsy; and now inveterate and hopeless, through its long standing.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Eneas - This is a Greek name; and probably he was a Hellenist. See the notes on Act 6:1. Sick of the palsy - See the notes on Mat 4:24.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| εὗρεν | heuren | He found | G2147 → | 175 times |
| δὲ | de | then | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| ἐκεῖ | ekei | there | G1563 → | 105 times |
| ἄνθρωπόν | anthropon | a man | G444 → | 549 times |
| τινα | tina | certain | G5100 → | 528 times |
| ὀνόματι | onomati | named | G3686 → | 227 times |
| Αἰνέαν | ainean | Aeneas | G132 → | |
| ἐξ | ex | for | G1537 → | 911 times |
| ἐτῶν | eton | years | G2094 → | 48 times |
| ὀκτὼ | okto | eight | G3638 → | |
| κατακείμενον | katakeimenon | lying | G2621 → | |
| ἐπὶ | epi | on | G1909 → | 883 times |
| κραβάττου | krabattou | a bed | G2895 → | |
| ὃς | hos | who | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| ἦν | en | was | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| παραλελυμένος. | paralelumenos | paralyzed. | G3886 → |
εὗρενHe found
heurenG2147 →175 times
δὲthen
deG1161 →2765 times
ἐκεῖthere
ekeiG1563 →105 times
ἄνθρωπόνa man
anthroponG444 →549 times
τιναcertain
tinaG5100 →528 times
ὀνόματιnamed
onomatiG3686 →227 times
ΑἰνέανAeneas
aineanG132 →
ἐξfor
exG1537 →911 times
ἐτῶνyears
etonG2094 →48 times
ὀκτὼeight
oktoG3638 →
κατακείμενονlying
katakeimenonG2621 →
ἐπὶon
epiG1909 →883 times
κραβάττουa bed
krabattouG2895 →
ὃςwho
hosG3739 →1405 times
ἦνwas
enG1510 →2333 times
παραλελυμένος.paralyzed.
paralelumenosG3886 →
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 5:5One man there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.
it leads to
- Acts 3:2
And a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those entering the temple courts.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Luke 8:43
including a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. She had spent all her money on physicians, but no one was able to heal her.
- Mark 9:21
Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has this been with him?” “From childhood,” he said.
- Luke 13:16
Then should not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be released from her bondage on the Sabbath day?”
- Acts 3:2
Through
Acts 3:2And a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those entering the temple courts.
it leads to
Through
Luke 13:16Then should not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be released from her bondage on the Sabbath day?”
it leads to
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Acts
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; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1315: “Untitled Sermon” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Calvin, Commentary upon the Acts of the Apostles; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 21 and John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748).