The Meaning of Acts 13:31 Explained

Acts 13:31

KJV: And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people.

YLT: and he was seen for many days of those who did come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people.

Darby: who appeared for many days to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people.

ASV: and he was seen for many days of them that came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses unto the people.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And he  was seen  many  days  of them which came up with  him  from  Galilee  to  Jerusalem,  who  are  his  witnesses  unto  the people. 

What does Acts 13:31 Mean?

Context Summary

Acts 13:25-37 - Condemned By Men But Raised By God
For Paul the Resurrection was always the keystone of faith. He had taken particular care to assure himself of the reality of that foundation fact. In 1 Corinthians 15:1-58 he sets forth at length the testimony culminating in his own experience, on which he rested his belief. He had been allowed to see that blessed One and hear the word from His mouth. He quotes Psalms 2:7, Isaiah 55:3, and Psalms 16:10. He makes unexpected use of the first of these quotations, teaching that it was fulfilled in the Resurrection. This sheds new light on death. It is not death but birth; not an ending but a beginning. Our Lord was the first-born from the dead. We say that a saint has died; angels say that he has been born.
Notice that great word about David, Acts 13:36. He served God's counsel, or purpose, in his own generation. That should be the supreme objective of our lives. Not to get on, or to make money, or to please ourselves, but to serve the will of God who sent us forth. [source]

Chapter Summary: Acts 13

1  Paul and Barnabas are chosen to go to the Gentiles
6  Of Sergius Paulus, and Elymas the sorcerer
13  Paul preaches at Antioch that Jesus is Christ
42  The Gentiles believe;
44  but the Jews talked abusively against Paul,
46  whereupon they turn to the Gentiles, of whom many believe
50  The Jews raise a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, who go to Iconium

Greek Commentary for Acts 13:31

Was seen for many days [ωπτη επι ημερας πλειους]
The common verb (first aorist passive indicative of οραω — horaō to see) for the appearance of the Risen Christ, the one used by Paul of his own vision of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:8), which is not reported by Luke here. For more days (than a few), the language means, forty in all (Acts 1:3). [source]
Of them that came up with him [τοις συναναβασιν αυτωι]
Dative (after ωπτη — ōphthē) articular participle (second aorist active of συναναβαινω — sunanabainō) with associative instrumental case The very point that Peter used to clinch his argument with such powerful effect (Acts 2:32; Acts 3:15). [source]
Who are now his witnesses [οιτινες νυν εισιν μαρτυρες αυτου]
The very point that Peter used to clinch his argument with such powerful effect (Acts 2:32; Acts 3:15). [source]

What do the individual words in Acts 13:31 mean?

who appeared for days many to those having come up with Him from - Galilee to Jerusalem who now are witnesses of Him to the people
ὃς ὤφθη ἐπὶ ἡμέρας πλείους τοῖς συναναβᾶσιν αὐτῷ ἀπὸ τῆς Γαλιλαίας εἰς Ἰερουσαλήμ οἵτινες νῦν εἰσιν μάρτυρες αὐτοῦ πρὸς τὸν λαόν

ὤφθη  appeared 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: εἶδον 
Sense: to see with the eyes.
ἡμέρας  days 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Plural
Root: ἡμέρα  
Sense: the day, used of the natural day, or the interval between sunrise and sunset, as distinguished from and contrasted with the night.
πλείους  many 
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Feminine Plural, Comparative
Root: πολύς  
Sense: greater in quantity.
τοῖς  to  those 
Parse: Article, Dative Masculine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
συναναβᾶσιν  having  come  up  with 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Dative Masculine Plural
Root: συναναβαίνω  
Sense: to ascend at the same time, come up together with to a higher place.
τῆς  - 
Parse: Article, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Γαλιλαίας  Galilee 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: Γαλιλαία  
Sense: the name of a region of northern Palestine, bounded on the north by Syria, on the west by Sidon, Tyre, Ptolemais and their territories and the promontory of Carmel, on the south by Samaria and on the east by the Jordan.
Ἰερουσαλήμ  Jerusalem 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: Ἰερουσαλήμ  
Sense: denotes either the city itself or the inhabitants.
νῦν  now 
Parse: Adverb
Root: νῦν  
Sense: at this time, the present, now.
μάρτυρες  witnesses 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: μάρτυς 
Sense: a witness.
αὐτοῦ  of  Him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
λαόν  people 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: λαός  
Sense: a people, people group, tribe, nation, all those who are of the same stock and language.