Acts 5:34-39

5:34 But a Pharisee¹ whose name was Gamaliel,² a teacher of the law who was respected by all the people, stood up³ in the council⁴ and ordered the men to be put outside for a short time. 5:35 Then he said to the council,⁵ “Men of Israel,⁶ pay close attention to⁷ what you are about to do to these men. 5:36 For some time ago⁸ Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men joined him. He⁹ was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and nothing came of it.¹⁰ 5:37 After him Judas the Galilean arose in the days of the census,¹¹ and incited people to follow him in revolt.¹² He too was killed, and all who followed him were scattered. 5:38 So in this case I say to you, stay away from these men and leave them alone, because if this plan or this undertaking originates with people,¹³ it will come to nothing,¹⁴ 5:39 but if¹⁵ it is from God, you will not be able to stop them, or you may even be found¹⁶ fighting against God.” He convinced them,¹⁷

¹sn A Pharisee was a member of one of the most important and influential religious and political parties of Judaism in the time of Jesus. There were more Pharisees than Sadducees (according to Josephus, Ant. 17.2.4 [17.42] there were more than 6,000 Pharisees at about this time). Pharisees differed with Sadducees on certain doctrines and patterns of behavior. The Pharisees were strict and zealous adherents to the laws of the OT and to numerous additional traditions such as angels and bodily resurrection.

²sn Gamaliel was a famous Jewish scholar and teacher mentioned here in v. 34 and in Acts 22:3. He had a grandson of the same name and is referred to as “Gamaliel the Elder” to avoid confusion. He is quoted a number of times in the Mishnah, was given the highest possible title for Jewish teachers, Rabba (cf. John 20:16), and was highly regarded in later rabbinic tradition.

³tn Grk “standing up in the council, ordered.” The participle ἀναστάς (anasta") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

⁴tn Or “the Sanhedrin” (the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

⁵tn Grk “said to them”; the referent (the council) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶tn Or “Israelite men,” although this is less natural English. The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which only exceptionally is used in a generic sense of both males and females. In this context, it is highly unlikely that this is a generic usage, since Gamaliel was addressing the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high council, which would have been exclusively male.

⁷tn Or “men, be careful.”

⁸tn Grk “For before these days.”

⁹tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was replaced by the pronoun “he,” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point.

¹⁰tn Grk “and they came to nothing.” Gamaliel’s argument is that these two insurrectionists were taken care of by natural events.

¹¹tn Or “registration.”

¹²tn The verb ἀφίστημι (afisthmi) as a transitive means “cause to revolt” as used in Josephus, Ant. 8.7.5 (8.198), 20.5.2 (20.102); see BDAG 157 s.v. 1.

¹³tn Here ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).

¹⁴tn Or “it will be put to an end.”

¹⁵tn This is expressed in a first class condition, in contrast to the condition in v. 38b, which is third class. As such, v. 39 is rhetorically presented as the more likely option.

¹⁶tn According to L&N 39.32, the verb εὑρεθῆτε (Jeureqhte, an aorist passive subjunctive) may also be translated “find yourselves” – “lest you find yourselves fighting against God.” The Jewish leader Gamaliel is shown contemplating the other possible alternative about what is occurring.

¹⁷tn Grk “They were convinced by him.” This passive construction was converted to an active one (“He convinced them”) in keeping with contemporary English style. The phrase “He convinced them” is traditionally placed in Acts 5:40 by most English translations; the standard Greek critical text (represented by NA²⁷ and UBS⁴) places it at the end of v. 39.