A Textual Commentary On The Greek NT

Acts 2:47-1

Acts 2:47 evpi. to. auvto,) Pe,troj de, {B}

The difficulty arises chiefly from the obscurity of the phrase evpi. to. auvto,. Torrey explains it as a mistranslation of a Judean Aramaic word meaning “greatly,” and translates the reconstructed Greek text, “And the Lord added greatly day by day to the saved.” ⁸⁶ Although de Zwaan characterized this a “splendid observation,” ⁸⁷ it was rejected on linguistic and exegetical grounds by F. C. Burkitt, ⁸⁸ M. Black, ⁸⁹ and H. F. D. Sparks. ⁹⁰

The phrase evpi. to. auvto,, which is common enough in classical Greek and in the Septuagint, acquired a quasi-technical meaning in the early church. This meaning, which is required in Acts 1:15; Acts 2:1, Acts 2:47; 1 Corinthians 11:20; 1 Corinthians 14:23, signifies the union of the Christian body, and perhaps could be rendered “in church fellowship.” ⁹¹ Not perceiving this special usage of the word in ver. Acts 2:47, scribes attempted to rearrange the text, either by moving the phrase to the following sentence ( Acts 3:1) or by glossing it with an equivalent phrase, evn th|/ evkklhsi,a|.

The Committee preferred to adopt the reading of î⁷⁴ a A B C G 81 1175 it^gig vg cop^{sa, bo} arm eth al.

⁸⁶ C. C. Torrey, The Composition and Date of Acts, pp. 10—14.

⁸⁷ The Beginnings of Christianity, vol. II, p. 55.

⁸⁸ Journal of Theological Studies, XX (1919), pp. 321 ff.

⁸⁹ An Aramaic Approach to the Gospels and Acts, pp. 9 f.

⁹⁰ “The Semitisms of Acts,” Journal of Theological Studies, N. S. I (1950), pp:17—18.

⁹¹ For a collection of passages illustrating the meaning of the phrase in Thucydides, the Septuagint, and the Apostolic Fathers, see A. A. Vazakas, Journal of Biblical Literature, XXXVII (1918), pp. 106—108.

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A Textual Commentary On The Greek NT

Acts 2:47-1

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