^a A considerable amount of time might have gone by already since the end of chap 5. The church continued to grow but this gave rise to problems which were inevitable, both from within the church (6:1-7) and from outside the church (6:8-7:60). At this stage, the church was entirely Jewish in its composition. However, there were two groups of Jews within the community – the Hellenistic Jews and the Hebraic Jews (see notes b and c below).

^b Some translations have the word ‘Hellenists’. These were the Hellenistic Jews or Jews who spoke Greek and knew little or no Aramaic or Hebrew. (Aramaic was the official language used during the Assyrian, Babylonian and Persian empires and gradually faded from use with the spread of the Greek language. It, however, continued to be used in three areas, one of which was Palestine, among the Jews.) They were born in lands other than Palestine (called Jews of the Diaspora or Dispersion; refer to ‘The Diaspora’, p. xxxi) but had come back to settle in Jerusalem. Although they were more Grecian than Hebraic in their attitudes and outlook, they had a strong sense of their Jewishness. They attended Greek-speaking synagogues.

^c These would be the Hebraic Jews or Jews of Palestinian origin who spoke the Aramaic or Hebrew language of Palestine and preserved Jewish culture and customs. There were thus minor social and cultural differences between these two groups of Jews, resulting in tensions between them.

^d Some versions have ‘food’ while others translate as just ‘daily distribution’. Judaism had a system for the distribution of food and supplies to the poor which was continued by the early Christian community. Many pious Jews of the Diaspora moved back to Jerusalem in their later years in order to be buried near it. Thus their widows would not have relatives to care for them as would those who lived in Jerusalem. With the increasing number of believers and with passing time, the number of Hellenistic widows became disproportionately large.

^e Most likely the distribution was done by the Hebrew-speaking Jews.

^f At this early stage, the 12 apostles were responsible for the life of the church in general, including the ministry of the word of God and the care of the needy.

^g Other versions translate the phrase as ‘to serve at tables’, where ‘tables’ may have been used either for handing out food or most likely for distributing the money to buy food.

The 12 apostles recognised that the combined task of teaching and taking care of the financial arrangements of relief to the poor was too great for them.

^h The choice of seven men corresponded with the Jewish practice in setting up boards of seven men for particular duties. Although these seven men have traditionally been called ‘deacons’, Luke himself does not refer to them as deacons. Their task of serving had no formal name. They were simply called the Seven (see 21:8), just as the apostles were called the Twelve.

ⁱ The seven names are all Greek, which suggests that they were the Greek-speaking or Hellenistic Jews. They were also most likely the leaders of these Hellenistic Jews.

^j Stephen and Philip were named first because of their subsequent importance in the story that followed.

^k Antioch was a very important city located in the Roman province of Syria (see chap 11, note l for further details). It is significant that a proselyte (refer to ‘Glossary’) was included in the list and that Luke points out that he came from Antioch. This is the city to which the gospel would soon be taken and which would later become Paul’s ‘headquarters’ for the spread of the gospel to the Gentiles.

^l The laying on of hands recalls Moses’ appointment of Joshua as his successor (Nu 27:18-23). The act symbolises the passing on of authority, and here it symbolises the delegation of authority by the apostles to the seven.

^m These were probably the priests attached to the Temple in Jerusalem.