Discovery BoxActs 4:32 
Context4:32 The group of those who believed were of one heart and mind, 1 and no one said that any of his possessions was his own, but everything was held in common. 2
Acts 5:12
Context5:12 Now many miraculous signs 3 and wonders came about among the people through the hands of the apostles. By 4 common consent 5 they were all meeting together in Solomon’s Portico. 6
1 tn Grk “soul.”
2 tn Grk “but all things were to them in common.”
sn Everything was held in common. The remark is not a reflection of political philosophy, but of the extent of their spontaneous commitment to one another. Such a response does not have the function of a command, but is reflective of an attitude that Luke commends as evidence of their identification with one another.
3 tn The miraculous nature of these signs is implied in the context.
4 tn Grk “And by.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
5 tn Or “With one mind.”
6 tn Or “colonnade”; Grk “stoa.”
sn Solomon’s Portico was a covered walkway formed by rows of columns supporting a roof and open on the inner side facing the center of the temple complex. Located beside the Court of the Gentiles, it was a very public area.
