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Acts 5:1. Ἀνὴρ δέ τις: in striking contrast to the unreserved self-sacrifice of Barnabas, St. Luke places the selfishness and hypocrisy of Ananias and Sapphira. It is in itself no small proof of the truth of the narrative, that the writer should not hesitate to introduce this episode side by side with his picture of the still unbroken love and fellowship of the Church. He makes no apology for the facts, but narrates them simply and without comment.—Ἀνανίας—written in W.H[168] (so Blass) Ἁ., prob. Hebrew חֲנַנְיָה = Hananiah=to whom Jehovah has been gracious (the Hebrew name of Shadrach, Daniel 1:6, LXX, Jeremiah 28:1, Tob 5:12, (Song of the Three Children, ver. 66) (Lumby, but see also Wendt, note, in loco).—Σαπφείρῃ, so also W.H[169], either from σάπφειρος (σάμφ., so here Σαμφ., [170]*, Blass), a sapphire, or from the Aramaic שַׁפִּירָא, beautiful. The latter derivation is adopted by Blass (Grammatik des N. G., p. 8), and Winer-Schmiedel, p. 76. It is declined like σπεῖρα, μάχαιρα, Acts 10:1; Acts 12:2, etc., in N.T., and so makes dative ῃ, Winer-Schmiedel, pp. 80, 93, and Blass, u. s.—κτῆμα = χωρίον, Acts 5:3 : but may mean property of any kind. It is used in the singular several times in the LXX, as a possession, heritage, etc., Job 20:29, Proverbs 12:27; Proverbs 31:16, Wis 8:5, Ecclus. 36:30, 51:21, etc.

[168] Westcott and Hort’s The New Testament in Greek: Critical Text and Notes.

[169] Westcott and Hort’s The New Testament in Greek: Critical Text and Notes.

[170] Codex Sinaiticus (sæc. iv.), now at St. Petersburg, published in facsimile type by its discoverer, Tischendorf, in 1862.

Acts 5:2. ἐνοσφίσατο: may merely mean from its derivation, to set apart νόσφι. But both in LXX and N.T. it is used in a bad sense of appropriating for one’s own benefit, purloining, Joshua 7:1, of Achan, 2Ma 4:32, so here and in Acts 5:3, and Titus 2:10, cf. also a similar use of the word in Jos., Ant., iv., 8, 29 (so in Greek authors, Xen., Polyb., Plut.).—ἀπό: the same combination in Joshua 7:1 (cf. Acts 2:17 above, ἐκχεῶ ἀπό, cf. Hebrew מִן. See Bengel’s note, in loco, on the sin of Achan and Ananias).—συνειδυίης: it was thus a deliberate and aggravated offence. On the irregular form, instead of -υιας, cf. the LXX, Exodus 8:21; Exodus 8:24, 1 Samuel 25:20; and see also Winer-Schmiedel, p. 81, note, and Blass on instances from the papyri, in loco.—παρὰ τοὺς πόδας: a further aggravation (Acts 4:35), since the money was brought ostentatiously to gain a reputation for the donors. Blass well comments: “in conventu ecclesiæ hoc liberalitatis documentum editum”; cf. Calvin, who in marking the ambition of Ananias to gain a reputation for liberality adds: “ita fit ut pedes Apostolorum magis honoret quam Dei oculos”.

Acts 5:3. διὰ τί: not simply “why?” but “how is it that?” R.V., cf. Luke 2:49; the force of the Greek seems to emphasise the fact that Ananias had it in his power to have prevented such a result, cf. Jam 4:7, 1 Peter 5:9—ἐπλήρωσεν, occupavit (cf. John 16:6), so that there is room for no other influence, Ecclesiastes 9:3. On the Vulgate, tentavit, which does not express the meaning here, see Felten’s note.—ψεύσασθαι, sc., ὥστε, often omitted; cf. Luke 1:54, the infinitive of conceived result, see Burton, N. T. Moods and Tenses, pp. 148, 154. The verb with the accusative of the person only here in N.T., but in LXX, Deuteronomy 33:29, Psalm 65:3, Isaiah 57:11, Hosea 9:2, 4Ma 5:34, etc., and frequently in classical writers.

Acts 5:4. οὐχὶ, “id quaerit quod sic esse nemo negat,” Grimm, “while it remained, did it not remain thine own?” R.V. Very frequent in Luke as compared with the other Evangelists, see also Acts 7:50. This rendering better retains the kind of play upon the word μένω, to which Weiss draws attention, and compares 1Ma 15:7 for the force of ἔμενεν.—πραθὲν, i.e., the price of it when sold (rectius πραθέντος τὸ ἀργύριον, cf. Viteau, Le Grec du N. T., p. 57 (1896)); so αὐτά in Acts 2:45 is used for the prices of the possessions and goods sold. The whole question, while it deprived Ananias of every excuse, also proves beyond doubt that the community of goods in the Church of Jerusalem was not compulsory but voluntary.—ἐξουσίᾳ, power or right (ἔξεστι): “The Ecclesia was a society in which neither the community was lost in the individual, nor the individual in the community,” Hort, Ecclesia, p. 48.—τί ὅτι, sc., τί ἔστιν ὅτι, cf. Luke 2:49, and Viteau, Le Grec du N. T., p. 101 (1893), Blass, Grammatik des N. G., p. 173.—ἔθου ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου, Acts 19:21, and Luke 21:14. The phrase is rightly described as having a Hebraistic colouring, cf. LXX, 1 Samuel 21:12, Daniel 1:8, Haggai 2:16; Haggai 2:19, Malachi 1:1, and the Homeric θέσθαι ἐν φρεσί, ἐν θυμῷ βάλλεσθαι.—τὸ πρᾶγμα τοῦτο: so frequently in LXX, Genesis 44:15, Exodus 1:18, Joshua 9:24, 1 Chronicles 21:8; Viteau, Le Grec du N. T., p. 149 (1896).—οὐκ ἐψεύσω: the words do not here of course mean that Ananias had not lied unto men, but an absolute negative is employed in the first conception, not to annul it, but rhetorically to direct undivided attention to the second, cf. Matthew 10:20, Mark 9:37, 1 Thessalonians 4:8, Winer-Moulton, Leviticus 8, 6. The dative of the person is found after ψεύδεσθαι in the LXX, but not in classical Greek. The sin of Ananias was much more than mere hypocrisy, much more than fraud, pride or greed—hateful as these sins are—the power and presence of the Holy Spirit had been manifested in the Church, and Ananias had sinned not only against human brotherhood, but against the divine light and leading which had made that brotherhood possible. In the words there lies an undeniable proof of the personality and divinity of the Holy Ghost, and a refutation of Macedonius long before he was born (see Bede’s note in loco, and on patristic authorities, Felten). We cannot satisfactorily explain the words by supposing that offence against the public spirit of that Church is meant, and that the sin against the Holy Ghost may be identified with this.

Acts 5:5. ἀκούων, “as he heard these words” = μεταξὺ ἀκούων, so Weiss, Blass, Rendall.—ἐξέψυξεν: only found here, in Acts 5:10 of Sapphira, and Acts 12:23 of the death of Herod, in the N.T.; not found in classical writers, and only twice in the LXX, Jdg 4:21 where A reads it to describe the death of Sisera, but = a Hebrew word which may only mean to faint, to faint away; Ezekiel 21:7 (12) where it translates a Hebrew word כָּהָה meaning to be faint-hearted, to despond, to be dim. But as Blass points out it is used by Hippocrates; indeed it would seem that its use is almost altogether confined to medical writers (Hobart, Zahn). It is therefore a word which may probably be referred to St. Luke’s employment of medical terms; Hobart, Medical Language of St. Luke, p. 37, for instances of its use not only in Hippocrates but in Galen and Aretaeus (Lumby refers to Acta Andr. et Matth. Apocr., 19, where the word is also used of men suddenly falling down dead). In classical Greek ἀποψύχειν (βίον), or ἀποψ. absolutely is the term employed. There can be no doubt that the narrative implies the closest connection between the guilt of Ananias and his sudden death. It therefore cannot be regarded as a narrative of a chance occurrence or of the effect of a sudden shock caused by the discovery of guilt in St. Peter’s words. No one has shown more clearly than Baur (Paulus, i., 27–33, especially against Neander) that all such explanations are unsatisfactory (see also Zeller and De Wette). In the early history of the Church, Origen, Tract. ix. in Matt., had espoused the view that Ananias had died overcome by shame and grief at the sudden detection of his sin. But no such explanation could account for the death of Sapphira which Peter foretells as about to follow without delay. That the narrative is not without historical foundation is frankly admitted by Wendt, and also by Baur, Zeller, Overbeck, and most recently by Weizsäcker, Holtzmann, Spitta. But this stern condemnation of any attempt to lie unto God is a stumbling-block even to those who with Wendt recognise not only some historical fact underlying the narrative, but also the danger and culpability of the action of Ananias and his wife. It may however be justly observed that our Lord Himself had condemned no sin so severely as that of hypocrisy, and that the action of Ananias and Sapphira was hypocrisy of the worst kind, in that they sought by false pretences to gain a reputation like the Pharisees for special sanctity and charity; the hypocrisy of the leaven of the Pharisees had entered the Church (Baumgarten), and if such a spirit had once gained ground in the Christian community, it must have destroyed all mutual affection and all brotherly kindness, for how could men speak the truth, every one with his neighbour, unless their love was without hypocrisy? Romans 12:9; how could they claim to be citizens of a city, into which none could enter who “made a lie”? Revelation 21:27; Revelation 22:15. The sin before us was not one sin but many (Chrys., Hom., xii., on Acts 5:9), and in its deliberateness it came perilously near that sin against the Holy Ghost which, whatever else it may mean, certainly means a wilful hardening against divine guidance. For further considerations on the necessity of this unhesitating condemnation of such a sin at the outset of the life of the Church, see St. Chrysostom’s remarks. We must guard against supposing that St. Peter had imprecated the death-penalty upon Ananias (as Porphyry asserted, see against such a view, Jerome, Epist., 130). St. Jerome speaks of Ananias and Sapphira as not only deceitful, but also as timid stewards, keeping back a part of the price “through fear of famine which true faith never fears”. On his judgment that the avenging stroke was inflicted, not in cruelty to them, but as a warning to others, see below.—καὶ ἐγένετο φόβος μέγας κ.τ.λ., i.e., upon all who were present, as distinct from Acts 5:11—but see Page’s note. Overbeck, with De Wette, regards the remark as proleptical, as if the writer hurried to describe the impression made—but why should the words not include the judgment uttered by St. Peter? for the construction see Luke 1:65; Luke 4:36. On the characteristic reference to φόβος as following upon the exhibition of divine miraculous power both in St. Luke’s Gospel and the Acts, see Friedrich, Das Lucasevangelium, p. 77, and above on Acts 2:43.

Acts 5:6. ἀναστάντες, see on Acts 2:14.—οἱ νεώτεροι: the fact that they are called simply νεανίσκοι in Acts 5:10 seems decisive against the view that reference is made to any definite order in the Church. Nor is it certain that we can see in the fulfilment of such duties by the νεώτεροι the beginnings of the diaconate, although on the natural distinction between πρεσβύτεροι and νεώτεροι it may well have been that official duties in the Church were afterwards based, cf. 1 Timothy 5:1, Titus 2:1-6, 1 Peter 5:5, Clem. Rom., i. 3; iii. 3; xxi. 6; Polycarp, Epist., v., 3 (cf. Luke 22:26). In comparatively early days it belonged to the duties of the deacons to provide for the burial of the strangers and the poor, but it seems hardly probable that οἱ νεώτεροι were appointed as a separate body to bury the dead, before any attempt had been made to relieve the Apostles of the more pressing duty of distributing the public funds, Acts 6:1. On the other hand it is possible that the company of public “buriers” whom the prophet saw in vision, Ezekiel 39:12-16, may have become quite customary in N.T. days. R.V. margin renders simply “the younger men”.—συνέστειλαν, “wrapped him round,” R.V., probably in their own mantles (for no formal laying-out in robes can be supposed by the context), for which περιστέλλω would be the usual word, cf. Eur., Troad., 378 (see Grimm, Blass, Weiss). But Meyer on the other hand is against the parallel, and argues, following Grotius, that the word should be rendered “placed him together,” i.e., laid out or composed his limbs, so that he might be carried out more conveniently (so too Overbeck, Holtzmann, Zöckler). Vulgate, amoverunt, followed by Luther, Erasmus, Beza, cannot be said to be supported by any parallel use of the word (Par.2 also same verb as Vulg.). The word is frequently used by medical writers in various senses, one of which, to bandage, to compress by bandaging, is that which seems to afford a possible parallel to its use here, Hobart, Medical Language, etc., pp. 37, 38. The use of the word by Josephus, Ant., xviii., 3; xix., 4, is not sufficient to justify us in taking it here to express all the preparations for burial.—ἐξενέγκαντες: outside the walls of the city, the usual place for graves—only prophets and kings had their graves in the city—Hamburger, Real-Encyclopädie des Judentums, i., 4, 475, “Grab”; Edersheim, Jewish Social Life, p. 169, cf. the use of ἐκφέρω and ἐκκομίζω in classical Greek, Latin, efferre.—ἔθαψαν: partly for sanitary reasons, partly to avoid defilement; the interval between death and burial was very brief, especially in Jerusalem (Numbers 19:11, Deuteronomy 21:23; Hamburger, u. s., i., 2, 161, “Beerdigung,” with reference to this passage, Edersheim, u. s., p. 168; for the existing custom in Jerusalem of speedy burial, see Hackett, in loco, and Schneller, Kennst du das Land? (eighth edition), p. 188).

Acts 5:7. ἐγένετο δὲ … καὶ, cf. for construction Luke 5:1; Luke 5:17; Luke 8:1; Luke 8:22; Luke 9:51; Luke 14:1, etc. Hebraistic, if not strictly a Hebraism; on καί thus uniting two co-ordinate statements with ἐγένετο see Plummer’s valuable note, p. 45; St. Luke, first edition; and on the use of καί see Simcox, Language of the N. T., pp. 161, 162; Blass, Grammatik des N. G., pp. 256, 257.—διάστημα: as if a nominative absolute, here parenthetical from ὡς, cf. Luke 9:28. Cf. Viteau, Le Grec du N. T., p. 83 (1896). St. Luke alone uses διάστημα (only here in N.T.), cf. Polyb., ix., 1, 1; διάστημα τετραετές, and the verb διίστημι, cf. Luke 22:59; Luke 24:51, Acts 27:28. In Apocryph. Act. Andrea, 14, we have ἡμιωρίου διάδτημα (Lumby), and in LXX, cf. Ecclesiast., prol., 24, 3Ma 4:17.—ὡς = ὡσεί, fere, cf. Acts 1:15, Acts 2:4, etc.—ὡρῶν τριῶν: Nösgen supposes the approach of the next hour of prayer in this mention of the time, μὴ pro οὐ (Blass), see also Lumby’s note.

Acts 5:8. τοσούτου, monstrat pecuniam, Blass, so Zöckler, Holtzmann, Felten, Weiss, and others: genitive of the price. The position of the word in the question is emphatic, cf. Luke 15:29. Blass would render non pluris (Bornemann, tantilli), but this is implied rather than expressed by the word here (see Wendt’s note for classical instances). The question of St. Peter and the emphatic reply of Sapphira show that opportunity was given her by the inquiry to retract, and that she wilfully persisted in her sin (Chrys.; so Calvin, “tempus illi ad resipiscendum datur”).