Bible Strands
Acts 6:9
But resistance arose from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and men from the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. They disputed with Stephen,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records a moment when Stephen’s public ministry triggers organized opposition from specific diaspora Jewish groups. These men confront him in debate as his reported wonders and signs draw attention.
The words — ἀνέστησαν (anestēsan) literally means “arose” or “stood up,” denoting the sudden emergence of opposition. συναγωγῆς (synagōgēs) identifies the institutional source of this resistance as a named local assembly.
The thread — The text lists Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and Asia, geographic markers that reappear in Acts 15:23 and Acts 15:41 as centers of early church correspondence and strengthening. Cyrene is also noted in Matthew 27:32 as the origin of Simon, linking the regional scope of early Christian opposition and mission.
Why it lands — The passage requires readers to acknowledge that institutional religious structures actively oppose emerging spiritual authority. It demands a clear-eyed recognition that effective witness operates within, and often against, established communal boundaries.
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
Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.
Cross-references
- Matthew 27:32 Along the way they found a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross of Jesus.
- Acts 15:23 and sent them with this letter: The apostles and the elders, your brothers, To the brothers among the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings.
- Acts 15:41 And he traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
- Acts 22:3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but raised in this city. I was educated at the feet of Gamaliel in strict conformity to the law of our fathers. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.
- Acts 23:34 The governor read the letter and asked what province Paul was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia,
- Matthew 10:17 But beware of men, for they will hand you over to their councils and flog you in their synagogues.
- Mark 13:9 So be on your guard. You will be delivered over to the councils and beaten in the synagogues. On My account you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them.
- Luke 21:12 But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. On account of My name they will deliver you to the synagogues and prisons, and they will bring you before kings and governors.
- Acts 2:9 Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
- Acts 16:6 After the Holy Spirit had prevented them from speaking the word in the province of Asia, they traveled through the region of Phrygia and Galatia.