Bible Strands
Acts 8:1
And Saul was there, giving approval to Stephen’s death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrative places Saul at the execution site immediately following Stephen’s martyrdom, marking the moment Jerusalem’s church faces violent displacement.
The words — συνευδοκῶν (suneudokōn) literally means “consenting” or “endorsing,” and Ἐγένετο (Egeneto) denotes “arose” or “broke out,” anchoring the text in Saul’s active approval and the sudden onset of persecution.
The thread — The text’s description of Saul’s consent runs parallel to his later testimony in Acts 22:20, while the forced scattering fulfills the pattern of church survival under pressure seen in Acts 5:40 and anticipates the steadfastness of Daniel 3:16.
Why it lands — The passage demands recognition of persecution as the catalyst for geographic mission, requiring the reader to track how institutional violence directly triggers the movement of the gospel beyond Jerusalem.
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 Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
Cross-references
- Daniel 3:16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.
- Acts 22:20 And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and watching over the garments of those who killed him.’
- Acts 5:40 At this, they yielded to Gamaliel. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and released them.
- Luke 11:49 Because of this, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles; some of them they will kill and others they will persecute.’
- Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
- Acts 5:33 When the Council members heard this, they were enraged, and they resolved to put the apostles to death.
- Acts 7:58 They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile the witnesses laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.
- Exodus 10:28 “Depart from me!” Pharaoh said to Moses. “Make sure you never see my face again, for on the day you see my face, you will die.”
- Acts 8:14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.
- John 15:20 Remember the word that I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they kept My word, they will keep yours as well.