Acts 4:18

καθόλου : only here in N.T. The word which had been very common since Aristotle (previously καθʼ ὅλου) is quite classical in the sense in which it is used here, and it is also found a few times in the LXX (see Hatch and Redpath for instances of its use without and with the art [159], as here in T.R.). It is frequently used by medical writers, Hobart, Medical Language of St. Luke, p. 197. μὴ φθέγγεσθαι : “not to utter a word,” so Rendall, ne muttire quidem (Blass). The word seems to indicate more than that the disciples should not speak, “ne hiscerent aut ullam vocem ederent,” Erasmus. In contrast to διδάσκειν we might well refer it to the utterance of the name of Jesus in their miracles, as in Acts 3:6; only found twice elsewhere in N.T., and both times in 2 Peter 2:16; 2 Peter 2:18, but its use is quite classical, and it is also found several times in LXX.

[159] grammatical article.