Acts 2:45

τὰ κτήματα … τὰς ὑπάρξεις : according to their derivation, the former word would mean that which is acquired, and the latter that which belongs to a man for the time being. But in ordinary usage κτήματα was always used of real property, fields, lands, cf. Acts 5:1, whilst ὑπάρξεις was used of personal property (= τὰ ὑπάρχοντα in Hebrews 10:34). This latter word, to, τὰ ὑπάρχοντα, was a favourite with St. Luke, who uses it eight times in his Gospel and in Acts 4:32. No doubt κτῆμα is used in LXX for field and vineyard, Proverbs 23:10; Proverbs 31:16, but the above distinction was not strictly observed, for τὰ ὑπάρχοντα, ὕπαρξις, are used both of movable and immovable property (see Hatch and Redpath, sub v.). ἐπίπρασκον : all three verbs are in the imperfect, and if we remember that this tense may express an action which is done often and continuously without being done universally or extending to a complete accomplishment (cf. Acts 4:34; Acts 18:8; Mark 12:41), considerable light may be thrown upon the picture here drawn (see Blass, Grammatik des N. G., p. 186, on the tense and this passage): “And kept getting … and distributing to all, as any man [τις] [not ‘every man,' A.V.] had need”. See Rendall, Acts, in loco, and on Acts 4:32, and Expositor, vii., p. 358, 3rd series. καθότι : peculiar to St. Luke; in Gospel twice, and in Acts four times, ἄν makes the clause more indefinite: it is found in relative clauses after ὅς, ὅστις, etc., with the indicative here it is best explained as signifying “accidisse aliquid non certo quodam tempore, sed quotiescumque occasio ita ferret,” quoted by Wendt from Herm., ad Vig., p. 820; cf. Mark 6:56, Blass, in loco, and Viteau, Le Grec du N. T., p. 142 (1893). Grimm renders καθότι ἄν here “in so far,” or “so often as,” “according as”. Spitta refers Acts 2:45-47 to the Apostles only, but to justify this he is obliged to refer Acts 2:44 to his reviser. Hilgenfeld brackets the whole verse, referring it to his “author to Theophilus,” retaining Acts 2:44, whilst Weiss also refers the whole verse to a reviser, who introduced it in imitation of St. Luke's love of poverty as indicated in his Gospel. But by such expedients the picture of the whole body of the believers sharing in the Apostles' life and liberality is completely marred.