Acts 6:1

ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἡμέραις ταύταις, now in these days. The words refer back to Acts 6:14 of the previous chapter, where we read ‘believers were added to the Lord, multitudes (πλήθη) both of men and women.’

πληθυνόντων κ.τ.λ. Render, when the number of the disciples was multiplying. The participle is in the present tense, and its meaning should be fully expressed. It was at the time when this sudden increase was in progress that the difficulty arose which led to the murmuring. The numbers of the society increased so rapidly that the superintendence of the relief of the needy claimed the full devotion of the Apostles, and proved in the end more than they could discharge.

ἐγένετο γογγυσμός, there arose a murmuring. The noun is not classical, but is found in the LXX. of Exodus (Acts 16:7-9; Acts 16:12) and Numbers (Acts 17:5; Acts 17:10), as well as in Wisdom (Acts 1:10-11) and in Sir 46:7, κοπάσαι γογγυσμὸν πονηρίας, ‘to appease the murmuring of wickedness.’ By the readiness with which the Apostles took measures to remedy what was complained of, we may infer that there had been shewn sufficient cause for complaint. This may easily have come to pass without any fault on the part of the Twelve, simply from the sudden growth of the number of Christians. Chrysostom’s remark is οὐ γάρ ἐστιν�.

τῶν Ἑλληνιστῶν. Properly applied to Greek-speaking Jews. These were either (1) Jews who had been born in countries where Greek was the vernacular, and so did not speak Hebrew, nor join in the Hebrew services of the Jews of the Holy Land, but had synagogues of their own in Jerusalem; or else (2) they were proselytes. In either case they had embraced Christianity as Jews for as yet the Gospel had been preached to Jews only. That provision was made for a Greek service for the foreign Jews we may see from T. Jerus. Sotah, VII. 1 (Gemara), ‘Rabbi Levi, the son of Hithah, went to Cæsarea, and heard the voice of the people saying the Shema (the name given to the Hebrew confession “Hear, O Israel, the Lord thy God, Jehovah is one,” from its first word) in Hellenistic. He desired to prevent them. Rabbi Jose heard of it and was angry, and said, Thus I say, that whosoever does not know how to read it correctly in Hebrew shall not read it at all [in that language], but does his duty [by reading it] in any language which he knows how to speak.’

πρὸς τοὺς Ἑβραίους, against the Hebrews. These were the Jews by birth, whose home was in the Holy Land, and who spoke that Aramaic dialect which the N.T. calls Hebrew.

ὅτι … αἱ χῆραι αὐτῶν, because their widows were (overlooked, or) neglected, &c. Such widows, speaking a foreign language and being desolate, would be the persons most likely to be overlooked amid the increasing number of applicants for help.

ἐν τῇ διακονίᾳ κ.τ.λ. This noun is rendered in Acts 11:29 by relief, and, from the class of persons on whose behalf the complaint was made, it is clear that it bears the same sense here. The word διάκονος (deacon) has therefore been used as the name of these officers, whose appointment was at first made that they might have care of and distribute the funds contributed by the rich members for the relief of the needy. The appellation is nowhere directly given to the seven. They are still the seven in Acts 21:8. The deacons of the Pastoral Epistles are a later provision. We can nevertheless see from St Stephen’s work that the labours of the seven were not confined to relief-duties alone, for he is a mighty preacher and endued with gifts of the Holy Ghost in the same way as the Apostles. It is deserving of notice that, before we find any special arrangements made for what we now understand by ‘divine service,’ the regulation of the relief of those in need had become so engrossing a part of the duty of the Twelve as to have thrust aside in some degree the prayers and ministration of the word, which were especially their charge. In these early days they appear to have acted according to St James’ teaching (James 1:27), ‘Pure religion (θρησκεία) and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.’