Acts 11:15

Greek (Tischendorf 8th ed.)

English Translation

As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, even as on us at the beginning.

World English Bible · Public Domain

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ἐπέπεσεν

epipíptō

G1968

“to fall upon”

Verb, Aorist, Active, Indicative, 3rd person, Singular

Appears 12× in the Greek New Testament
First appears at Mark 3:10

Full Thayer's Definition

Origin: from G1909 and G4098

TDNT: None

1. to fall upon, to rush or press upon a. to lie upon one b. to fall into one's embrace c. to fall back upon 2. metaph. a. to fall upon one i.e. to seize, take possession of him 1. of the Holy Spirit, in his inspiration and impulse 2. of reproaches cast upon one

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

19: words
15: distinct lemmas
Acts: section

Notable vocabulary

The rarest word here is ἐπέπεσεν to fall upon G1968 — appearing just 12 times in the whole Greek New Testament.

Shared distinctive vocabulary

ἐπέπεσεν to fall upon G1968 occurs in 12 verses of the Greek New Testament. Also found in:

Repetition

Words recur within this verse:

ἐπ’ upon G1909 ×2
τῷ the G3588 ×3
ἐν in G1722 ×2

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to Acts 11:15 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

Acts 19:6 When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke with other languages and prophesied.
Acts 2:2–12 Suddenly there came from the sky a sound like the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Acts 10:34–46 Peter opened his mouth and said, "Truly I perceive that God doesn't show favoritism;
Acts 4:31 When they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were gathered together. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Commentary

Notes on Acts 11:15 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Commentary source

Expositor's Greek Testament

ed. W. Robertson Nicoll

Act 11:15 . ἄρξασθαι : somewhat more precisely stated than in Act 10:44 . The speech has there no abruptness, but St. Peter may well have intended to say much more; if this was so, the notice here is quite natural, Winer-Moulton, lxv., 7 d. ἐν ἀρχῇ , i.e. , at the great Pentecost.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(15) And as I began to speak . . .—It is, perhaps, a trait of individual character that the Apostle speaks of what is recorded in Act_10:34-43 as the mere beginning of what he had meant to say.

As on us at the beginning.—The words are spoken, it will be remembered, to apostles and disciples who had been sharers in the Pentecostal gift. St. Peter bears his witness that what he witnessed at Cæsarea was not less manifestly the Spirit’s work than what they had then experienced.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne

15. at the beginning] i.e. at the feast of Pentecost.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

John Gill's Exposition

Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said,.... Just before his ascension, Act 1:5.

John indeed baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost; as they were on the day of Pentecost, and as now Cornelius and his family were; and since they had the greater baptism, the baptism of the Spirit, the lesser baptism of water could not be denied them.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And as I began to speak - Or, while I was speaking.

The Holy Ghost ... - Act 10:44.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations

As I began to speak; whilst Peter was speaketh, as Act 1:1.

The Holy Ghost fell on them, as in the day of Pentecost, Act 2:4, he had fallen on the apostles; either visibly, by fiery cloven tongues; or rather by extraordinarily enduing them with the gift of tongues; enabling the most illiterate amongst them to speak in any language needful for any to understand towards their salvation.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

Daniel D. Whedon

15. On us—The apostles.

At the beginning—Namely, at the day of Pentecost, the commencement of the Spirit dispensation. Peter hereby recognises the diminished, but real, continuance of the pentecostal effusion.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Pulpit Commentary

Even as for as, A.V.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Scofield Reference Notes

C. I. Scofield

as on us

even as on us. Cf. Act 2:1-4; Act 15:7-9.

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

McGarvey & Pendleton's Commentaries

J. W. McGarvey

See notes one verse 4

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

unfoldingWord translationNotes

Door43 World Missions Community

General Information:

Here the word "us" refers to Peter, the apostles, and any of the Jewish believers who had received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. (See: Inclusive "We")

As I began to speak to them, the Holy Spirit came on them

This implies that Peter had not finished speaking but had intended to say more.

the Holy Spirit came on them, just as on us in the beginning

Peter leaves out some things to keep the story short. AT: "the Holy Spirit came on the Gentile believers, just as he came on the Jewish believers at Pentecost" (See: Ellipsis)

in the beginning

Peter is referring to the day of Pentecost.

you shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit

This can be stated in active form. AT: "God will baptize you in the Holy Spirit" (See: Active or Passive)

translationWords

Holy Spirit

lord

John (the Baptist)

baptize

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Bengel's Gnomon

Johann Albrecht Bengel

[15. Ἐν—τῷ ἄρξασθαί με, as I began) How great must have been the fulness of Peter’s heart!—V. g.]

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges

15. ἐν δὲ τῷ ἄρξασθαί με λαλεῖν, and as I began to speak. A somewhat more precise statement than that of the previous chapter, which was (Act 10:44) ἔτι λαλοῦντος τοῦ Πέτρου. It would appear from these words of Peter that he had hardly begun his address before the gift of the Spirit descended.

ἐν ἀρχῇ, at the beginning, i.e. at the feast of Pentecost.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Alford’s Greek Testament

Henry Alford

15. ἐν δὲ τῷ ἄρξασθαι …] See note on ch. 10:44, as also for the rest of the verse.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

Acts, in the Acts, opens this verse with 19 words (15 distinct Greek lemmas). Its most distinctive word is epipíptō (“to fall upon”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

How does “to fall upon” (epipíptō) shape what this verse is saying?
How does Mark 3:10, which shares the word «to fall upon», read alongside this verse?
What does the repetition of “upon” (2× in this one verse) do in this verse?
The translations on this page render this verse differently — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment. What might account for the different wordings?
Compare how Expositor's Greek Testament and Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers read this verse. Where do they agree or differ?

Things to notice

These translations choose different wording for 5 words in this verse.
“upon” occurs 2× in this single verse.
15 distinct Greek lemmas span 19 words in this verse.