# Acts 6.9 **Book:** [Acts](/codex/acts/) · NASB95 ## Immediate context (±2 verses) **ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/)) > 7. And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem exceedingly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith. 8. And Stephen, full of grace and power, wrought great wonders and signs among the people. > > **9. But there arose certain of them that were of the synagogue called the synagogue of the Libertines, and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and Asia, disputing with Stephen.** > > 10. And they were not able to withstand the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spake. 11. Then they suborned men, who said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God. (Acts 6:7-11, ASV) **WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/)) > 7. The word of God increased and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem exceedingly. A great company of the priests were obedient to the faith. 8. Stephen, full of faith and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. > > **9. But some of those who were of the synagogue called “The Libertines”, and of the Cyrenians, of the Alexandrians, and of those of Cilicia and Asia arose, disputing with Stephen.** > > 10. They weren’t able to withstand the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke. 11. Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” (Acts 6:7-11, WEB) **KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/)) > 7. And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith. 8. And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. > > **9. Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.** > > 10. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake. 11. Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God. (Acts 6:7-11, KJV) **YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/)) > 7. And the word of God did increase, and the number of the disciples did multiply in Jerusalem exceedingly; a great multitude also of the priests were obedient to the faith. 8. And Stephen, full of faith and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people, > > **9. and there arose certain of those of the synagogue, called of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia, and Asia, disputing with Stephen,** > > 10. and they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit with which he was speaking; 11. then they suborned men, saying, 'We have heard him speaking evil sayings in regard to Moses and God.' (Acts 6:7-11, YLT) ## Setting - **Speaker:** Luke, narrating. Acts is the second volume of a two-part work addressed to Theophilus (Acts 1:1, compare Luke 1:1-4). - **Audience:** Theophilus and the wider church. Within the scene, Greek-speaking Jews of Jerusalem's diaspora synagogues. - **Location:** Jerusalem. - **Time period:** The early 30s AD, shortly before Stephen's death. ## Theological reading "Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen." (Acts 6:9, KJV) **Diaspora Jews in Jerusalem.** Stephen, one of the seven chosen in 6:1-6 and himself evidently a Greek-speaking Jew, is opposed not by the temple leadership first but by fellow Hellenists: Jews who had returned to Jerusalem from Rome, North Africa, Egypt and Asia Minor. **"Libertines."** The word is the Latin *libertini*, freedmen, written in Greek letters. Philo (*Embassy to Gaius* 155) says most of the Jews in Rome were freedmen, descended from captives brought to Italy and later set free. A synagogue of such families, or their descendants, in Jerusalem fits that history. The Greek dedication of Theodotus, found on the Ophel ridge in Jerusalem in 1913, records a synagogue, usually dated before AD 70, built for the reading of the law and for lodging visitors from abroad, and some scholars have connected it with this congregation, though the link is not provable. **One synagogue or several.** The grammar allows one synagogue drawing members from all these regions, two groups, or as many as five congregations. Commentators divide on it, and the text does not settle the question. **"Of Cilicia."** Tarsus was the chief city of Cilicia (Acts 21:39, 22:3), and a young man named Saul guards the witnesses' garments at Stephen's stoning (7:58). Many commentators suggest Saul belonged to the Cilician group that disputed with Stephen. Luke does not say so, and it should be held as a possibility. **Cyrenians again.** Luke keeps returning to Cyrene: [Simon of Cyrene](/codex/simon-of-cyrene/) (Luke 23:26), the Pentecost crowd (Acts 2:10), the men of Cyrene who first preached to Greeks at Antioch (11:20), and Lucius of Cyrene (13:1). The verse that follows says the disputants "were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake" (6:10, KJV), fulfilling the promise of Luke 21:15. ## Key words _Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word._ - None of the words in this verse has its own lexicon entry yet. ## Quoted in **People:** - [John Mark](/codex/john-mark/) - [Simeon Called Niger](/codex/simeon-called-niger/) - [Simon of Cyrene](/codex/simon-of-cyrene/) ## Notes _Your annotations._ ## Why these four translations ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance. The four: - **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition. - **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English. - **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base. - **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff. See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.