Acts 5:40

Act 5:40. And to him they agreed — Acknowledging his advice to be safe and wise. They, therefore, dropped the design of putting the apostles to death; yet they could not forbear giving vent to their rage, (so outrageous was it,) in a most unjust and cruel manner, and as evidently contrary to the conviction of their judgments and consciences, as it was to Gamaliel’s counsel, which was to let them alone. For when they had called them in, they beat them — That is, stripped and scourged them as malefactors. Thus they thought to make them ashamed of preaching, and the people of hearing them; as Pilate scourged our Saviour to expose him to shame, when he declared he found no fault in him. And, added to this, they renewed their prohibition of speaking any more in the name of Jesus. This they did in order that, if they could find no other fault with their preaching, they might, at least, have this reason for reproaching it, that it was against law; and not only without the permission, but against the express order of their superiors.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act 5:40. Ἐπείσθησαν) They agreed or assented, viz. so far as that they did not kill the apostles: for the members of the council did not adopt a better tone of mind.—δείραντες, having beaten them) This had not as yet been done by the Jews, who were afterwards about to inflict severer punishments. Even the world proceeds by successive steps, either as their hatred increases, or else under the show of equity [or leniency].

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

Act 5:40 . ἐπείσθησαν δὲ αὐτῷ : whatever scruples Gamaliel may have had in pressing matters against the Apostles, or even if the teaching of Christ, as some have conjectured, with much of which he might have sympathised as a follower of Hillel, had influenced his mind, or if, like Joseph of Arimathea, he too had not consented to the counsel and will of his fellow-Sanhedrists, there is no reason to suppose (see above) that he ever advanced beyond the compromise here suggested. It may be that Neander was right in his judgment that Gamaliel was too wise a man to render a fanatical movement more violent still by opposing it. Others however see in his words a mere laisser-aller view of matters, or a timid caution which betokened a mere waiter upon Providence. But at the same time there are occasions when Gamaliel’s advice may not be out of place, see Bengel on Act 5:38 , and Farrar, St. Paul , i., 110 ff. δείραντες , Deu 25:3 , 2Co 11:24 : the punishment was for minor offences, and it was now inflicted upon the Apostles because they had trangressed the command enjoined upon them previously, Act 4:18 . The Pharisees, probably by their superior number in the Sanhedrim (Jos., Ant. , xiii., 10, 6), were able to secure the following of Gamaliel’s advice, and to prevent extreme measures against the Apostles, but they were not prepared to disregard the previous injunction of the Council which bade the Apostles refrain from uttering a word in the name of Jesus. But the Apostles themselves must have seen in the punishment a striking fulfilment of their Lord’s words, as in the closing hours of His earthly life He foretold their future sufferings for His Name. The penalty which must have been a very painful one, although the command not to exceed forty stripes often led to its mitigation, was often inflicted by the synagogues, and not only by the great Sanhedrim, for all kinds of offences as against heretics and others. These Act 5:40-42 , with the exception of the words ἐπείσθησαν δὲ αὐτῷ , were referred by Jüngst to the redactor on the ground that they do not fit in well after Gamaliel’s speech, and that the Apostles would have been at once released, but the Apostles were punished for a transgression of the command previously laid upon them in Act 4:18 . According to Jüngst, who here follows Spitta, the original conclusion of the narrative is to be found in inserting after Act 5:39 , chap. Act 6:7 ! Here we are told is a notice, which is quite out of place where it now stands, that a great number of the priests were obedient to the faith: this was the result of the speech of Gamaliel, and his warning not to be found “fighting against God”; a speech delivered in the Sanhedrim in the midst of the priests!

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

beaten them--for disobeying their orders (compare Luk 23:16).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 40. 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. It was a wise saying of the popish bishops in the time of Queen Mary-If we do not put down this PRINTING, it will put us down: They laboured to put down the printing, but they could not; and, under God, the printing, by exposing the wickedness of their doctrine and practices, and especially by multiplying copies of the New Testament, did most effectually put them down.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

40. Having beaten them, they commanded. He saith that Gamaliel’s counsel was allowed; yet the apostles are beaten, and forbidden to preach. Hereby we gather how great the rage of the enemies was, who being now pacified, or at least mitigated, do yet, notwithstanding, rage immoderately. And it appeareth also what evil success those doubtful counsels have, wherein men alone are respected, and the truth of God set aside. Gamaliel obtaineth thus much, that the lives of the apostles may be saved; but, in the mean season, the Son of God is blasphemed and slandered in their person; the truth of the gospel is buried in eternal silence, so much as in the enemies lieth, God surely doth by this means wonderfully spread abroad his word; yet that counsel ceaseth not to be evil. Which we must note for this cause, because most men at this day do think, that they do not a little obey God, if they save the lives of those men which come in hazard for the doctrine of the gospel, or somewhat appease the enemies who are otherwise bloody. In the mean season, they are not afraid to drive them unto the wicked denial of Christ, the confessing of whom is far more precious in the sight of God than the life of all men. But what could they do who, casting away all care of godliness, go about to redeem God’s favor with the duty of courtesy?

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(40) And to him they agreed.—The Sadducees, after their manner, would probably have preferred a more violent course, but the Pharisees were strong in the Sanhedrin, and the via media recommended by Gamaliel was, under such circumstances, likely to command a majority, and was, therefore, apparently accepted without a division.

And beaten them.—Here we trace the action of Caiaphas and the priests. They were not content without some punishment being inflicted, and the party of Gamaliel apparently acquiesced in this as a compromise in the hope of averting more violent measures. And this is accordingly to be noted as the first actual experience of persecution falling on the whole company of the Twelve, and not on Peter and John only. They were probably convicted of the minor offence of causing a disturbance in the Temple, though dismissed, as with a verdict of “not” proven, “on the graver charge of heresy. The punishment in such a case would probably be the “forty stripes save one,” of Deu_25:3 and 2Co_11:24.

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

40. and when they had called the apostles] i.e. back again to the judgment-hall.

and beaten them] As the guilty parties in the controversy (see Deu_25:1-3).

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.

And they departed from the presence of the council,.... Having been threatened and beaten by them:

rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name; Beza's ancient copy, and others; the Vulgate Latin, and Arabic versions read, "for the name of Jesus"; in which name they were forbid to speak, and for speaking in it they were beaten; the Alexandrian copy, and the Syriac version read, "for the name": that is, for God, for the glory of God, and in the cause of God; "the name", is often used in Jewish writings for God: the shame they suffered for him was by being scourged with forty stripes save one; which was reckoned an infamous and ignominious punishment, and which was inflicted on persons guilty of very scandalous crimes (y): but this gave the innocent minds of the apostles no uneasiness; they accounted it an honour conferred on them to be called to suffering for the sake of God and Christ, and in so good a cause; they did what Christ exhorted them to, Mat 5:11 which shows they had much of the presence of God, and large measures of grace communicated to them, by which they were supported; and thus cheerfully bore all indignity and reproach, for the name of Christ, which was exceeding dear and precious to them.

(y) Misn. Maccot, c. 3. sect. 1-10.

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

40 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.

Ver. 40. And to him they agreed] So did the enraged people to the elders, alleging the example of Micah the Morasthite, Jer 26:18. See the use and efficacy of history, which hath its name, say some, παρα το ισταναι τον ρουν, of stopping the stream of violence.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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.

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

To him they agreed; they yielded to his reason and argument, being persuaded and convinced by it.

Beaten them; this was what our Saviour had foretold them, Mat 10:17; and thus the husbandmen took the householder’s servants and beat them, Mat 21:35. They had power yet left them by the Romans to punish offenders in their synagogues, but not capitally nor publicly. In this they left the good advice of Gamaliel, who had warned them not to fight against God.

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

40. To him they agreed—Doubtless from the self-possession of Gamaliel, as well as his affording the Sadducees a mode of compromising the matter with the popular party.

Beaten them—In contradiction to the advice of Gamaliel, which they had accepted. But it was still politic compromise. They had yielded their surrender to Gamaliel’s party; they must claim the prerogative to beat the apostles as their own compensation.

Should not speak—They here repeat that order which they very well knew the apostles had promised to disobey, and which they afterward very faithfully disobeyed according to promise.

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

Called unto them (proskalesamenoi) for simply called, A.V.; they beat them and charged them for and beaten them, they commanded, A.V.; not to speak for that they should not speak, 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.

40. There was no opposition to Gamaliel's advice. (40) " And they obeyed him; and having called the apostles, and scourged them, they commanded them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. " Scourging was so common in the Roman empire, even of men untried and uncondemned, and was so common a fate of Christians at the time Luke was writing, that he mentions it here rather as a matter of course. It is the first time, however, that it was experienced by the apostles, and was, probably, harder to endure than it ever was afterward.

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.

40. To him they agreed. He carried the Sanhedrim with him. Called the apostles, and beaten them. While rejecting the punishment of death, they decided to scourge them for disobedience. Scourging was often inflicted even by the rulers of the synagogues. The scourging was on the bare back, and bloody and cruel.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

General Information:

Here first word "they" refers to the council members. The rest of the words "them," "They," and "they" refer to the apostles.

they called the apostles in and beat them

The council members would have ordered the temple guards to do these things. (See: Metonymy)

to speak in the name of Jesus

Here "name" refers to the authority of Jesus. See how you translated a similar phrase in Acts 4:18. AT: "to speak anymore in the authority of Jesus" (See: Metonymy)

they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the Name

The apostles rejoiced because God had honored them by letting the Jewish leaders dishonor them. This can be stated in active form. AT: "God had counted them worthy to suffer dishonor for the Name" (See: Active or Passive)

for the Name

Here "the Name" refers to Jesus. AT: "for Jesus" (See: Metonymy)

Thereafter every day

"After that day, every day." This phrase marks what the apostles did every day through the following days.

in the temple and from house to house

They did not go into the temple building where only the priests went. AT: "in the temple courtyard and in different people's houses" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

translationWords

call

apostle

command

Jesus

council

joy

worthy

suffer

dishonor

temple

preach

Christ

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

40. αὐτούς omitted with אABC. Vulg. ‘eos.’

40. προσκαλεσάμενοι κ.τ.λ., having called the Apostles, i.e. to return again into the judgment-hall.

δείραντες, having beaten them, as being the guilty parties. (See Deu 25:1-3.)

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.

40. δείραντες] See Deu 25:2,—for disobedience to their command.

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