Acts 5:7

And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(7) And it was about the space of three hours after.—Literally, And there was an interval of about three hours.

Benson Commentary

Acts 5:7-10. About the space of three hours after — How precious a space! his wife — Who was absent when this happened; not knowing what was done, came in — Into the place where the apostles were, expecting, doubtless, to share in the thanks of all present, for consenting to the sale of the land, and becoming, with her husband, so great a benefactor to the fund; Peter said to her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much — Naming the sum. And she said, Yea, for so much — Ananias and his wife had agreed to tell the same story; and the bargain being private, and, by consent, kept to themselves, so that nobody could disprove their assertion, they thought they might safely affirm what they did, and should gain credit to it. It is lamentable to see those relations, who should quicken one another to that which is good, hardening one another in that which is evil! Peter said — By an immediate impulse of the same Spirit, which had before so awfully interposed; How is it that you have agreed — Have acted as if you had agreed together; to tempt the Spirit of the Lord — To try whether he be capable of searching the heart, and of knowing what is done in secret? Before Peter passes sentence, he sets before her the greatness of the crime. Behold the feet of them which have buried thy husband — Whom divine vengeance has already struck dead on this occasion; are at the door — Upon their return; and shall carry thee out — A breathless corpse. She had not heard till now that her husband was dead, the notice of which, with the discovery of her sin, and the sentence of death passed upon her, struck her as a thunderbolt, so that she expired in a moment. And the young men came in — And, to their utter astonishment, doubtless, found her also dead, and carrying her forth immediately, buried her by her husband! — Observe, reader, there are many instances of sudden death, which are not to be looked upon as the punishment of gross sin, like these here recorded: we must not think that all who die suddenly were sinners above others. It may be intended as a favour to some, that a quick passage is granted them. Such instances, however, are intended to be a warning to others to be always ready: but the deaths here mentioned were, doubtless, in judgment. Some inquire concerning the eternal state of Ananias and Sapphira, and incline to think, that the destruction of the flesh was effected, that the spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. And had there been any space granted them for repentance, as there was to the incestuous Corinthian, there might have been reason for indulging a hope of this kind. But, as the case was, the ground for hope concerning them seems small, according to the Scriptures. Secret things, however, belong not to us, and we know the Judge of all the earth will do only what is perfectly just and holy.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

5:1-11 The sin of Ananias and Sapphira was, that they were ambitious of being thought eminent disciples, when they were not true disciples. Hypocrites may deny themselves, may forego their worldly advantage in one instance, with a prospect of finding their account in something else. They were covetous of the wealth of the world, and distrustful of God and his providence. They thought they might serve both God and mammon. They thought to deceive the apostles. The Spirit of God in Peter discerned the principle of unbelief reigning in the heart of Ananias. But whatever Satan might suggest, he could not have filled the heart of Ananias with this wickedness had he not been consenting. The falsehood was an attempt to deceive the Spirit of truth, who so manifestly spoke and acted by the apostles. The crime of Ananias was not his retaining part of the price of the land; he might have kept it all, had he pleased; but his endeavouring to impose upon the apostles with an awful lie, from a desire to make a vain show, joined with covetousness. But if we think to put a cheat upon God, we shall put a fatal cheat upon our own souls. How sad to see those relations who should quicken one another to that which is good, hardening one another in that which is evil! And this punishment was in reality mercy to vast numbers. It would cause strict self-examination, prayer, and dread of hypocrisy, covetousness, and vain-glory, and it should still do so. It would prevent the increase of false professors. Let us learn hence how hateful falsehood is to the God of truth, and not only shun a direct lie, but all advantages from the use of doubtful expressions, and double meaning in our speech.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And it was about the space ... - As Sapphira had been no less guilty than her husband, so it was ordered in the providence of God that the same judgment should tome upon both.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

7-11. Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much—naming the sum.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

About the space of three hours after; in his circumstance is expressed to confirm the truth of this history.

Not knowing what was done; not suspecting any such thing, she was the less inquisitive; and such a consternation and dread was upon all that were there, that they durst not tell her, lest they should offend Peter; also, probably, lest they should with so sudden and sad news grieve her.

Came in; into the church, or place, where they were met together.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And it was about the space of three hours after,.... The death of Ananias. So much time was taken up in burying of him; and in less time it could not well be, since the burying places of the Jews were without the city, as before observed: and if they were as distant from other cities, as they were from the cities of the Levites, they were, as Dr. Lightfoot shows from Maimonides (g), above a mile and half off: though there is a Jewish canon which runs thus (h);

"they put carcasses, graves, and tanners, fifty cubits from a city.''

So that to go thither, open the grave, inter the dead, and return, must take up so much time; and so much time his wife had to reflect upon what she and her husband had done, but seems not to have had any thought about it, at least not any remorse of conscience for it:

when his wife, not knowing what was done; she knew that her husband kept back part of the price of the land, and how much it was, and what he brought to the apostles; but she did not know that the fraud was detected, nor what followed; as that her husband was immediately struck dead, and was carried out and buried; which it is pretty much she should not in this time, when the thing was awful and shocking, the news of which must fly apace all over the city: but it looks as if the company of the saints was not broke up all this while, and that no one went out to carry it abroad, but the young men that went to bury him. Sapphira therefore, being ignorant of the whole affair,

came in; to the temple or house where the apostles were, expecting to see her husband among the apostles, and chief men, in great honour and esteem for what he had done; and that he would be on equal foot with Barnabas and others, who had sold all they had, and brought the whole price of their possessions into the common stock.

(g) Shemitta Veyobel, c. 13. sect. 2.((h) Misn. Bava Bathra, c. 2. sect. 9.

Geneva Study Bible

And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary

Acts 5:7. But it came to pass—about an interval of three hours—and his wife came in. The husband had remained away too long for her. A period of three hours might easily elapse with the business of the burial, especially if the place of sepulture was distant from the city (see Lightfoot). After ἐγένετο δέ a comma is to be put, and ὡς ὡρ. τρ. διάστ. is a statement of time inserted independently of the construction of the sentence. See on Matthew 15:32; Luke 9:28; Schaefer, ad Dem. V. p. 368. The common view: but there was an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, is at variance with the use, especially frequent in Luke, of the absolute ἐγένετο (Gersdorf, Beitr. p. 235; Bornemann, Schol. p. 2 f.). As to the καί after ἐγένετο, see on Luke 5:12. On διάστημα used of time, comp. Polyb. ix. 1. 1.

Expositor's Greek Testament

Acts 5:7. ἐγένετο δὲ … καὶ, cf. for construction Luke 5:1; Luke 5:17; Luke 8:1; Luke 8:22; Luke 9:51; Luke 14:1, etc. Hebraistic, if not strictly a Hebraism; on καί thus uniting two co-ordinate statements with ἐγένετο see Plummer’s valuable note, p. 45; St. Luke, first edition; and on the use of καί see Simcox, Language of the N. T., pp. 161, 162; Blass, Grammatik des N. G., pp. 256, 257.—διάστημα: as if a nominative absolute, here parenthetical from ὡς, cf. Luke 9:28. Cf. Viteau, Le Grec du N. T., p. 83 (1896). St. Luke alone uses διάστημα (only here in N.T.), cf. Polyb., ix., 1, 1; διάστημα τετραετές, and the verb διίστημι, cf. Luke 22:59; Luke 24:51, Acts 27:28. In Apocryph. Act. Andrea, 14, we have ἡμιωρίου διάδτημα (Lumby), and in LXX, cf. Ecclesiast., prol., 24, 3Ma 4:17.—ὡς = ὡσεί, fere, cf. Acts 1:15, Acts 2:4, etc.—ὡρῶν τριῶν: Nösgen supposes the approach of the next hour of prayer in this mention of the time, μὴ pro οὐ (Blass), see also Lumby’s note.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

7. the space of three hours after] Time enough for the bestowal of the dead body, but yet so short that the news of what had befallen her husband had not reached Sapphira. It may have been that their home was in the country at a distance from Jerusalem, and that the husband alone came in to offer the money by reason of the distance.

came in] i.e. to the room where Peter and the rest of the congregation were assembled.

Bengel's Gnomen

Acts 5:7. Διάστημα, the space) The woman, being the weaker vessel, had a longer space for repentance. A precious interval of three hours!—μὴ εἰδυῖα, not knowing) For if she had known, her confession would have been nothing great. Nor was she worthy to know, since she had tempted the Spirit of the Lord.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 7. - And it was about, etc.; better rendered, with Meyer, and it cams to pass, after an interval of three hours, that his wife, etc. It is a Hebrew idiom (scrap. Luke 5:12). Acts 5:7