Acts 5:41

οἱ μὲν οὖν : no answering δέ as after Acts 1:6; Acts 2:41, but explained because immediately upon ἐπορεύοντο (which answers to ἀπέλυσαν) follows χαίροντες, marking the attitude of the Apostles, and showing how little they proposed to obey the injunction from fear of further punishment. But see also Mr. Rendall's note, and also his Appendix on μὲν οὖν, Acts, p. 163, in which he examines this view at length; according to him there is an answering δέ, but it is found in the antithesis to this sentence in chap. Acts 6:1, the connection being that the Apostles now became more absorbed in their spiritual work, and a murmuring arose in consequence of their neglect of the distribution of the common funds. But this antithesis does not seem natural, and a censure on the Apostles is not necessarily contained in Acts 6:1. ff. ἐπορεύοντο χαίροντες : “imperf. quia describitur modus” (Blass, Grammatik des N. G., p. 186; if one prophecy of their Lord had been already fulfilled, another was fulfilled in the sequel, Matthew 5:11-12; Philippians 1:29. κατηξιώθησαν … ἀτιμασθῆναι : oxymoron, cf. 2 Corinthians 6:8-10; cf. Bengel's note he calls it “eximium oxy.”. The verb καταξ. is used by St. Luke in his Gospel, Acts 20:35 (Acts 21:36, T.R., but not W.H [187] or R.V.), and here; only found once elsewhere, 2 Thessalonians 1:5, in a passage where the thought of Christian suffering and inheritance is combined; 2Ma 13:12, 3Ma 3:21; 3Ma 4:11, 4Ma 18:3. ἀτιμασθῆναι only used once elsewhere by St. Luke, cf. Luke 20:11, where it is also found in connection with δέρω. ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὀνόμ., “the Name” i.e., the Name κατʼ ἐξοχήν, cf. 3 John 1:7, and James 5:14 (Acts 2:7) (τοῦ Κ. doubtful), cf. also Clem. Rom., 2 Cor. (so called), xiii. 4, Ignat., Ephes., iii., 1, used here as the absolute use of שֵׁם in Leviticus 24:11; Leviticus 24:16, by which the Jews understood Jehovah. See Grimm, Mayor's St. James above, and Taylor, Pirke Aboth, p. 67, second edition; cf. τῆς ὁδοῦ, “the Way,” Acts 9:2, etc. πᾶσάν τε ἡμέραν : the τε joins the imperfect ἐπαύοντο closely to the preceding, indicating the continuance of the work of the Apostles in spite of threats and blows, and of their resolve to welcome suffering for Christ as an honour = κατὰ πᾶσαν ἡμέραν. This use of παύεσθαι with the participle almost entirely in Luke and Paul may be regarded as a remains of literary usage, Luke 5:4; Colossians 1:9; Ephesians 1:16 (Hebrews 10:2); Viteau, Le Grec du N. T., p. 193 (1893). ἐν τῷ ἱερ. καὶ κατʼ οἶκον : the words may mark a contrast between the public preaching which was not discontinued, cf. Acts 5:21, and the teaching continued at home in a household assembly, or κατά may be taken distributively, and refer to the Christian assemblies met together in various houses in the city, as in Acts 2:46. See Zöckler's note, and Edersheim, Jewish Social Life, pp. 259, 260. τὸν Χρ. Ἰ.: “Jesus as the Christ,” R.V. The contents of the first Apostolic preaching, the sum and substance of the Apostles' message to their fellow-countrymen. This is allowed and insisted upon by Schwegler, Renan, and others, but in the statement what an intimate knowledge of the life of Jesus is presupposed, and how great must have been the impression made by Him upon His daily companions!

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