Acts 11:1

The apostles and brothers throughout Judea soon heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The narrator reports that the apostles and believers throughout Judea received news about Gentile conversions. This report precedes Peter’s arrival in Jerusalem and the subsequent confrontation with the circumcised believers.

The words — Ἤκουσαν (Ēkousan) means "they heard," marking the initial reception of the report. ἀδελφοὶ (adelphoi) translates literally as "brothers," identifying the Jewish-Christian recipients of the news.

The thread — The expansion of God's message to the nations echoes the universal scope of Psalms 22:27 and Malachi 1:11. It also establishes the practical framework for the mutual acceptance commanded in Romans 15:7.

Why it lands — The text reports a factual shift in the early church's demographic before detailing the resulting conflict. It requires the reader to acknowledge that divine inclusion of Gentiles precedes and necessitates institutional reckoning.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

And the apostles and brethren that were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.

Cross-references

Psalms 22:27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him.
Malachi 1:11 For My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place, incense and pure offerings will be presented in My name, because My name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD of Hosts.
Romans 15:7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring glory to God.
Isaiah 32:15 until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high. Then the desert will be an orchard, and the orchard will seem like a forest.
Isaiah 49:6 He says: “It is not enough for You to be My Servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the protected ones of Israel. I will also make You a light for the nations, to bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.”
Zechariah 8:20 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Peoples will yet come—the residents of many cities—
Acts 14:27 When they arrived, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them, and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
Acts 15:3 Sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, recounting the conversion of the Gentiles and bringing great joy to all the brothers.
Galatians 1:17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to the apostles who came before me, but I went into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.
Genesis 49:10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.