Acts 5:1

Ἀνὴρ δέ τις : in striking contrast to the unreserved self-sacrifice of Barnabas, St. Luke places the selfishness and hypocrisy of Ananias and Sapphira. It is in itself no small proof of the truth of the narrative, that the writer should not hesitate to introduce this episode side by side with his picture of the still unbroken love and fellowship of the Church. He makes no apology for the facts, but narrates them simply and without comment. Ἀνανίας written in W.H [168] (so Blass) Ἁ., prob. Hebrew חֲנַנְיָה = Hananiah= to whom Jehovah has been gracious (the Hebrew name of Shadrach, Daniel 1:6, LXX, Jeremiah 28:1, Tob 5:12, (Song of the Three Children, ver. 66) (Lumby, but see also Wendt, note, in loco). Σαπφείρῃ, so also W.H [169], either from σάπφειρος (σάμφ., so here Σαμφ., [170] *, Blass), a sapphire, or from the Aramaic שַׁפִּירָא, beautiful. The latter derivation is adopted by Blass (Grammatik des N. G., p. 8), and Winer-Schmiedel, p. 76. It is declined like σπεῖρα, μάχαιρα, Acts 10:1; Acts 12:2, etc., in N.T., and so makes dative ῃ, Winer-Schmiedel, pp. 80, 93, and Blass, u. s. κτῆμα = χωρίον, Acts 5:3 : but may mean property of any kind. It is used in the singular several times in the LXX, as a possession, heritage, etc., Job 20:29; Proverbs 12:27; Proverbs 31:16, Wis 8:5, Ecclus. 36:30, 51:21, etc.

[168] Westcott and Hort's The New Testament in Greek: Critical Text and Notes.

[169] Westcott and Hort's The New Testament in Greek: Critical Text and Notes.

[170] Codex Sinaiticus (sæc. iv.), now at St. Petersburg, published in facsimile type by its discoverer, Tischendorf, in 1862.