Acts 5:12

Miraculous powers of the Apostles. Continued growth of the Church

12. And by the hands of the apostles, &c. By the handsmay here only be the Hebrew mode of expressing by. Cp. (Joshua 14:2) "By lot was their inheritance as the Lord commanded by the handof Moses." But as in the description of our Lord's miracles we very often read "he laid his handsupon a few sick folk" (Mark 6:5, &c.), and as it is said of the Apostles (Mark 16:18) "they shall lay their hands on the sick and they shall recover," it seems better to understand the words here of such acts of imposition of hands, though we presently find (Acts 5:15) that the multitudes believed that a cure could be wrought without such an act.

and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch This must refer to such assemblies as were held by the Apostles for conference and instruction when they went up at the usual times of prayer. Thus allwill signify the whole company assembled on some such occasions, and not embrace every person who had joined the new teaching. They came to Solomon's porch, both teachers and hearers, with one common purpose, to tell and know more of the religion of Jesus. But it is not necessary to interpret the sentence to signify that they took a regular possession of this cloister as their place for worship (see Acts 3:11).