Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 4:35
And laid [them] down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
35. and laid them down at the apostles’ feet ] A significant act, whereby it was shewn that they gave the Apostles entire control over the bestowal of these sums. For the figure, cp. Psa 8:6, and Cicero pro Flacco (xxvii. 68), ante pedes praetoris in foro expensum est auri pondo centum paullo minus.
and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need ] Better, unto each according as any had need. There were no doubt many who were not in need, and they of course lived on their own. The distribution was intended only for the needy, as widows, &c., and for those who could not otherwise support themselves while they took part, as many did, in the active propagation of the new faith. It may be, too, that some were deprived of the means of support because they had become Christians. Cp. the threat of the authorities, Joh 9:22.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And laid them down … – That is, they committed the money received for their property to the disposal of the apostles, to distribute it as was necessary among the poor. This soon became a burdensome and inconvenient office, and they therefore appointed men who had special charge of it, Act 6:1-2, etc.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 35. Laid – down at the apostles’ feet] To show how cordially and entirely they parted with them. And they entrusted the management of the whole to those men to whom they found God had entrusted the gifts of his Holy Spirit, and the doctrine of the kingdom of heaven.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Laid them down at the apostles feet; submitted them to the apostles disposal: this metaphor is used, 1Co 15:27,
He hath put all things under his feet. According as he had need; the poor mans want is the fittest measure for our relief.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
35. laid . . . at the apostles’feetsitting, it may be, above the rest. But the expression maybe merely derived from that practice, and here meant figuratively.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And laid them down at the apostles’ feet,…. Showing great veneration and respect to the apostles, and a sort of neglect and contempt of their worldly substance; and signifying that they entirely delivered them to the apostles, and subjected them to their disposal:
and distribution was made unto every man, according as he had need; though they had all things in common, yet there was an order observed; a man might not go to the common stock and take out of it what he would; but as all was committed to the care of the apostles, and was in their power; the distribution was made by them, to every man, to the original proprietors, as well as to others, and that not as much as a man would have, or he might crave; but as much as he needed, for the present, of which the apostles were the judges.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Distribution was made (). Imperfect passive of , late omega form for (the stem vowel displaced by ). Impersonal use of the verb here.
According as any one had need ( ). Imperfect active of with and with the notion of customary repetition in a comparative clause (Robertson, Grammar, p. 967).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “And laid them down at the apostles’ feet:” (kai etithoun para tous podas ton apostolon) “And placed it at the feet of the apostles,” for their direction in distribution- -even if a figurative expression, the idea expressed still is that the apostles received and administered to the physical needs of the company of believers at this period, till deacons were later selected, Act 5:2; Act 6:2-4.
2) “And distribution was made,” (diedidoto de) “Then it was distributed,” among the needy of the company of believers of the church at Jerusalem, or in the Jerusalem area, Act 6:1.
3) “Unto every man according as he had need,” (hokasto kathoti an tis chreian eichen) “To each as anyone had a need,” or according to a need that any person had among them. It was distributed based on actual needs of believers of the household of faith — not equal division among families, but adequate need for each and all. Gal 6:2; Gal 6:6; Gal 6:10; Php_4:19.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(35) And laid them down at the apostles feet,The words are a vivid picture of one phase of Eastern life. When gifts or offerings are made to a king, or priest, or teacher, they are not placed in his hands, but at his feet. The Apostles sat, it would seem, in conclave, on their twelve seats, as in the figurative promise of Mat. 19:28, and the vision of Rev. 4:4.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
35. Apostles’ feet Tables and desks were then less used than with us, and deposits would often be made on floor or ground. But officials, sitting on elevated seats, would receive presentations laid on the step of the platform at their feet.
Act 4:35. And laid them down, &c. Orobio the Jew, in his conference with Limborch, has meanly insinuated, that it was no small advantage to poor fishermen to be treasurers of so considerable a bank; and some of our late infidels have hence in a more indecent manner taken occasion to asperse the apostles of our Lord, as if their conduct was influenced byworldly motives, and temporal views; and as if they greatly advanced their circumstances in life by turning apostles. But their whole character,their upright, generous, and disinterested behaviour, their readiness to sacrifice their lives for the sake of truth and the welfare of mankind, shew that they were far above falsifying such a trust as this, for the sake of a little money. Accordingly, they very willingly transferred the management of this affair to other hands, ch. Act 6:2-3, &c. But we ought to take the whole history together; and then, besides the honourable testimony given to them bySt. Luke in this verse, namely, that they distributed unto every man, of that charity, according as he had need; we must further consider, that God continued to them the power of working numerous, astonishing, and beneficent miracles; and that he enabled one of them to strike two of the members of the church dead upon the spot, for treachery and dissimulation, with respect to this very charity. And can we suppose that God would continue to shew such peculiar regard to men, who would embezzle part of a public charity, or make a bad use of any part of it? It must raise in every honest mind a just indignation to see such ungenerous reflections thrown out against the apostles of our blessed Lord, who patiently endured poverty and reproach, hunger and thirst, cold and nakedness, bonds, scourgings, and imprisonments, and, after all, a violentdeath, to promote truth and righteousness on the earth. One can hardly help suspecting, that they themselves are men of extraordinarily bad hearts, who are so ready to charge others upon all occasions with dishonest designs and corrupt views; and it seems to intimate, what some men would have done upon the like occasion. Where is the infidel to be found, who ever gave such proofs of his honesty as the apostles, of our Lord have done! Men of that stamp, we know, have generally chosen to fall in with the established religion, and not to suffer any thing for their particular sentiments, how contrary soever to those of professed Christians around them.
35 And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
Ver. 35. According as he had need ] The distribution was done with discretion. SeePsa 112:5Psa 112:5 . King Edward VI, moved thereto by a sermon of Bishop Ridley’s, gave Christ’s Hospital, the Savoy, and Bridewell for the use of the poor, 1. by impotence; 2. by casualty; 3. by ill husbandry; with singular discretion. Doctor Taylor, martyr, took the ablest of his parishioners once a fortnight to the almshouse, and among other poor men, that had many children or were sick, to see what they lacked in food, drink, bedding, or any other necessaries, and procured a supply for them.
35. ] , not a Hebraism for the whole person but literal . So Cicero pro Flacco, c. 28, ‘Ante pedes Prtoris in foro expensum estauri pondo centum.’ (Rosenm.) Wetstein gives several other examples. The Apostles, like the Prtor, probably sat upon a raised seat, on the step of which, at their feet, the money was laid, in token of reverence.
Act 4:35 . The statement marks, it is true, an advance upon the former narrative, Act 2:44 , but one which was perfectly natural and intelligible. Here for the first time we read that the money is brought and laid at the Apostles’ feet. As the community grew, the responsibilities of distribution increased, and to whom could the administration of the common fund be more fittingly committed than to the Apostles? The narrative indicates that this commital of trust was voluntary on the part of the Ecclesia, although it was marked by an act of reverence for the Apostles’ authority. The fact that Barnabas is expressly mentioned as laying the value of his field at the Apostles’ feet, may be an indication that the other members of the community were acting upon his suggestion; if so, it would be in accordance with what we know of his character and forethought, cf. Act 9:27 , Act 11:22-24 , Hort, Ecclesia , pp. 47, 48. There is no reason to reject this narrative as a mere repetition of Act 2:44-45 . The same spirit prevails in both accounts, but in the one case we have the immediate result of the Pentecostal gift, in the case before us we have the permanence and not only the vitality of the gift marked the Christian community is now organised under Apostolic direction, and stress is laid upon the continuance of the “first love,” whilst the contrast is marked between the self-sacrifice of Barnabas and the greed of Ananias and Sapphira, see Rendall, Acts , p. 196, and also Zckler, Apostelgeschichte , p. 198, in answer to recent criticisms. : the Apostles are represented as sitting, perhaps as teachers, Act 22:3 , cf. Luk 2:46 , and also as an indication of their authority: the expression in the Greek conveys the thought of committal to the care and authority of any one, cf. Act 5:2 , Act 7:58 , Act 22:20 , so Mat 15:30 , or that of reverence and thankfulness. Oecumenius sees in the words an indication of the great honour of the Apostles, and the reverence of those who brought the money. Friedrich notes the expression as characteristic of St. Luke’s style, since it is used by him five times in the Gospel, six times in Acts, and is found in the N.T. only once elsewhere, see above, cf. Cicero, Pro Flacco , 28, and instances in Wetstein. : impersonal, or may be supplied, Viteau, Le Grec du N. T. , p. 57 (1896), and in St. Luke’s Gospel twice, Act 11:22 , Act 18:22 ; only once elsewhere in N.T., Joh 6:11 ; on the abnormal termination for , cf. LXX, Kennedy, Sources of N. T. Greek , p. 159, cf. Exo 5:13 , , but A – ; Jer 52:34 , , but [165] [166] – ; 1Co 11:23 , Winer-Schmiedel, p. 121. : only found in St. Luke in N. T., twice in Gospel, four times in Acts; Luk 1:7 ; Luk 19:9 , Act 2:24 ; Act 2:45 ; Act 4:35 ; Act 17:31 ; on the imperfect with in a conditional relative clause, Burton, N. T. Moods and Tenses , pp. 13, 125, and Viteau, Le Grec du N. T. , p. 142 (1893), cf. Act 2:45 ; Act 2:33-35 are ascribed by Hilgenfeld to his “author to Theophilus,” but this reviser must have been very clumsy to introduce a notice involving a general surrender of all landed property, as Hilgenfeld interprets the verse, which could not be reconciled with St. Peter’s express words in Act 5:4 words which, on Hilgenfeld’s own showing, the reviser must have had before him.
[165] Codex Alexandrinus (sc. v.), at the British Museum, published in photographic facsimile by Sir E. M. Thompson (1879).
[166] Codex Vaticanus (sc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889 under the care of the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.
distribution, &c. = it was distributed.
he = any one. Greek. tis, as in Act 4:34.
35.] ,-not a Hebraism for the whole person-but literal. So Cicero pro Flacco, c. 28, Ante pedes Prtoris in foro expensum estauri pondo centum. (Rosenm.) Wetstein gives several other examples. The Apostles, like the Prtor, probably sat upon a raised seat, on the step of which, at their feet, the money was laid, in token of reverence.
Act 4:35. , and laid them down) as soldiers lowering or laying down their arms. They hereby were intimating that the apostles, under the guidance of Divine wisdom, should have all the control over their effects.-[, according as) Not according as each had given up more or less.-V. g.]
at: Act 3:6, Act 5:2, Act 6:1-6, 2Co 8:20, 2Co 8:21
distribution: Act 2:45, Act 6:1
Reciprocal: Lev 25:6 – General 2Ch 35:8 – his princes Neh 13:13 – to distribute Psa 112:9 – dispersed Luk 12:33 – Sell Luk 14:13 – call Luk 19:8 – Behold Act 4:37 – sold Rom 12:13 – Distributing Heb 6:10 – which
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Act 4:35. The money received for their property was deposited with the apostles. That was logical since no other officials had been designated for any special work.
See notes on verse 32
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)