The Meaning of Acts 22:6 Explained

Acts 22:6

KJV: And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.

YLT: and it came to pass, in my going on and coming nigh to Damascus, about noon, suddenly out of the heaven there shone a great light round about me,

Darby: And it came to pass, as I was journeying and drawing near to Damascus, that, about mid-day, there suddenly shone out of heaven a great light round about me.

ASV: And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and drew nigh unto Damascus, about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  it came to pass,  that, as I made  my  journey,  and  was come nigh  unto Damascus  about  noon,  suddenly  there shone  from  heaven  a great  light  round  about  me. 

What does Acts 22:6 Mean?

Context Summary

Acts 22:1-16 - How His Life Was Changed
What a sermon Paul preached! His pulpit, the steps that ascended from the Temple level to the Castle of Antonia. His audience, the frenzied crowds who filled the court below him, but who were calmed to silence as they heard the venerable Hebrew speech, which was unintelligible to the Romans around them. His text, the real and personal interposition of the living Christ to arrest his course of persecution and convert him. Here was a fact, which to the Apostle was the greatest of all facts, namely, that he had seen Jesus Christ, and had been transformed by what he had seen and heard. No light thing could have revolutionized his life. His zeal for the Old Covenant and his persecution of the Christian sect were guarantees of his anti-Christian bias. He was not shallow or fickle, or likely to be moved by anything less than an imperative revelation.
We must obey a step at a time. God says much to us directly, but He loves to employ servants like Ananias, who live in immediate touch with Him. Paul never forgot that salutation, Brother. Be very careful how you treat young converts; they need the kindest and most sympathetic handling as they step out into their new life.
We are chosen of God for three things: to know His will; to see Him; and to hear His voice, Acts 22:14. [source]

Chapter Summary: Acts 22

1  Paul declares how he was converted to the faith,
17  and called to his apostleship
22  At the very mentioning of the Gentiles the people exclaim on him
24  He would have been scourged;
25  but claiming the privilege of a Roman, he escapes

Greek Commentary for Acts 22:6

And it came to pass [εγενετο δε]
Rather than the common και εγενετο — kai egeneto and with the infinitive (περιαστραπσαι — periastrapsai), one of the three constructions with και ̔δἐ εγενετο — kai ‛de' egeneto by Luke (Robertson, Grammar, pp. 1042f.), followed by και — kai by finite verb, by subject infinitive as here. [source]
As I made my journey [μοι πορευομενωι]
To me (dative after εγενετο — egeneto happened to me) journeying (participle agreeing with μοι — moi). See this same idiom in Acts 22:17. Luke uses εγενετο δε — egeneto de seventeen times in the gospel and twenty-one in the Acts. Unto Damascus (τηι Δαμασκωι — tēi Damaskōi). Dative after εγγιζοντι — eggizonti (drawing nigh to). About noon Mid First aorist active infinitive of περιαστραπτω — periastraptō to flash around, in lxx and late Greek, in the N.T. only here and Acts 9:3 which see. Note repetition of περι — peri A great light Luke‘s favourite word ικανον — hikanon (considerable). Accusative of general reference with the infinitive. [source]
Unto Damascus [τηι Δαμασκωι]
Dative after εγγιζοντι — eggizonti (drawing nigh to). [source]
About noon [περι μεσημβριαν]
Mid First aorist active infinitive of περιαστραπτω — periastraptō to flash around, in lxx and late Greek, in the N.T. only here and Acts 9:3 which see. Note repetition of περι — peri A great light Luke‘s favourite word ικανον — hikanon (considerable). Accusative of general reference with the infinitive. [source]
Shone round about me [περιαστραπσαι περι εμε]
First aorist active infinitive of περιαστραπτω — periastraptō to flash around, in lxx and late Greek, in the N.T. only here and Acts 9:3 which see. Note repetition of περι — peri [source]
A great light [πως ικανον]
Luke‘s favourite word ικανον — hikanon (considerable). Accusative of general reference with the infinitive. [source]
About noon []
Not mentioned in ch. 9. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Acts 22:6

Acts 9:3 A light []
Compare Acts 22:6; Acts 26:13. [source]
Acts 9:3 There shined round about [περιήστραψεν]
Only here and Acts 22:6. Flashed. See on Luke 11:36; Luke 24:4. [source]
Acts 8:26 The south [μεσημβρίαν]
A contracted form of μεσημερία , midday, noon, which is the rendering at Acts 22:6, the only other passage where it occurs. Rev. gives at noon in margin. [source]
Acts 2:2 Suddenly [απνω]
Old adverb, but in the N.T. only in Acts (Acts 2:2; Acts 16:26; Acts 28:6). Kin to εχαιπνης — exaiphnēs (Acts 22:6). [source]
Acts 22:17 When I had returned [μοι υποστρεπσαντι]
Note dative μοι — moi with εγενετο — egeneto as in Acts 22:6, genitive μου — mou (genitive absolute with προσευχομενου — proseuchomenou), accusative of general reference με — me with γενεσται — genesthai and with no effort at uniformity, precisely as in Acts 15:22, Acts 15:23 which see. The participle is especially liable to such examples of anacolutha (Robertson, Grammar, p. 439). [source]
Acts 26:13 At midday [ημερας μεσης]
Genitive of time and idiomatic use of μεσος — mesos in the middle of the day, more vivid than μεσημβριαν — mesēmbrian (Acts 22:6). [source]
Acts 26:13 Above the brightness of the sun [υπερ την λαμπροτητα του ηλιου]
Here alone not in Acts 9; 22, though implied in Acts 9:3; Acts 22:6, “indicating the supernatural character of the light” (Knowling). Luke makes no effort to harmonize the exact phrases here with those in the other accounts and Paul here (Acts 26:16) blends together what Jesus said to him directly and the message of Jesus through Ananias (Acts 9:15). The word λαμπροτης — lamprotēs old word, is here alone in the N.T. Shining round about me (περιλαμπσαν με — perilampsan me). First aorist active participle of περιλαμπω — perilampō common Koiné{[28928]}š verb, in N.T. only here and Luke 2:9. [source]
Acts 9:3 Drew nigh [εγγιζειν]
Present active infinitive, was drawing nigh. Shone round about him (αυτον περιηστραπσεν — auton periēstrapsen). First aorist (ingressive) active indicative of περιαστραπτω — periastraptō late compound verb common in lxx and Byzantine writers, here and Acts 22:6 alone in the N.T. “A light from heaven suddenly flashed around him.” It was like a flash of lightning. Paul uses the same verb in Acts 22:5, but in Acts 26:13 he employs περιλαμπσαν — perilampsan (shining around). There are numerous variations in the historical narrative of Saul‘s conversion in 9:3-18 and Luke‘s report of Paul‘s two addresses, one on the steps of the Tower of Antonia facing the murderous mob (Acts 22:6-16), the other before Festus and Agrippa (Acts 26:12-20). A great deal of capital has been made of these variations to the discredit of Luke as a writer as if he should have made Paul‘s two speeches conform at every point with his own narrative. This objection has no weight except for those who hold that Luke composed Paul‘s speeches freely as some Greek writers used to do. But, if Luke had notes of Paul‘s speeches or help from Paul himself, he naturally preserved the form of the two addresses without trying to make them agree with each other in all details or with his own narrative in chapter 9. Luke evidently attached great importance to the story of Saul‘s conversion as the turning point not simply in the career of the man, but an epoch in the history of apostolic Christianity. In broad outline and in all essentials the three accounts agree and testify to the truthfulness of the account of the conversion of Saul. It is impossible to overestimate the worth to the student of Christianity of this event from every angle because we have in Paul‘s Epistles his own emphasis on the actual appearance of Jesus to him as the fact that changed his whole life (1 Corinthians 15:8; Galatians 1:16.). The variations that appear in the three accounts do not mar the story, when rightly understood, as we shall see. Here, for instance, Luke simply mentions “a light from heaven,” while in Acts 22:6 Paul calls it “a great (ικανον — hikanon) light” “about noon” and in Acts 26:13 “above the brightness of the sun,” as it would have to be “at midday” with the sun shining. [source]
Acts 9:3 Shone round about him [αυτον περιηστραπσεν]
First aorist (ingressive) active indicative of περιαστραπτω — periastraptō late compound verb common in lxx and Byzantine writers, here and Acts 22:6 alone in the N.T. “A light from heaven suddenly flashed around him.” It was like a flash of lightning. Paul uses the same verb in Acts 22:5, but in Acts 26:13 he employs περιλαμπσαν — perilampsan (shining around). There are numerous variations in the historical narrative of Saul‘s conversion in 9:3-18 and Luke‘s report of Paul‘s two addresses, one on the steps of the Tower of Antonia facing the murderous mob (Acts 22:6-16), the other before Festus and Agrippa (Acts 26:12-20). A great deal of capital has been made of these variations to the discredit of Luke as a writer as if he should have made Paul‘s two speeches conform at every point with his own narrative. This objection has no weight except for those who hold that Luke composed Paul‘s speeches freely as some Greek writers used to do. But, if Luke had notes of Paul‘s speeches or help from Paul himself, he naturally preserved the form of the two addresses without trying to make them agree with each other in all details or with his own narrative in chapter 9. Luke evidently attached great importance to the story of Saul‘s conversion as the turning point not simply in the career of the man, but an epoch in the history of apostolic Christianity. In broad outline and in all essentials the three accounts agree and testify to the truthfulness of the account of the conversion of Saul. It is impossible to overestimate the worth to the student of Christianity of this event from every angle because we have in Paul‘s Epistles his own emphasis on the actual appearance of Jesus to him as the fact that changed his whole life (1 Corinthians 15:8; Galatians 1:16.). The variations that appear in the three accounts do not mar the story, when rightly understood, as we shall see. Here, for instance, Luke simply mentions “a light from heaven,” while in Acts 22:6 Paul calls it “a great (ικανον — hikanon) light” “about noon” and in Acts 26:13 “above the brightness of the sun,” as it would have to be “at midday” with the sun shining. [source]

What do the individual words in Acts 22:6 mean?

It happened however to me journeying and drawing near - to Damascus about noon suddenly out of - heaven shone a light great around me
Ἐγένετο δέ μοι πορευομένῳ καὶ ἐγγίζοντι τῇ Δαμασκῷ περὶ μεσημβρίαν ἐξαίφνης ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ περιαστράψαι φῶς ἱκανὸν περὶ ἐμέ

Ἐγένετο  It  happened 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Middle, 3rd Person Singular
Root: γίνομαι  
Sense: to become, i.
δέ  however 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
μοι  to  me 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative 1st Person Singular
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.
πορευομένῳ  journeying 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Middle or Passive, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: πορεύομαι  
Sense: to lead over, carry over, transfer.
ἐγγίζοντι  drawing  near 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: ἐγγίζω  
Sense: to bring near, to join one thing to another.
τῇ  - 
Parse: Article, Dative Feminine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Δαμασκῷ  to  Damascus 
Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: Δαμασκός  
Sense: one of the most ancient and most important cities of Syria lying in almost lovely and fertile plain at the eastern base of the Antilibanus.
περὶ  about 
Parse: Preposition
Root: περί 
Sense: about, concerning, on account of, because of, around, near.
μεσημβρίαν  noon 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: μεσημβρία  
Sense: as respects to time: noon.
ἐξαίφνης  suddenly 
Parse: Adverb
Root: ἐξαίφνης 
Sense: of a sudden, suddenly, unexpectedly.
ἐκ  out  of 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἐκ 
Sense: out of, from, by, away from.
τοῦ  - 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
οὐρανοῦ  heaven 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: οὐρανός  
Sense: the vaulted expanse of the sky with all things visible in it.
περιαστράψαι  shone 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Infinitive Active
Root: περιαστράπτω  
Sense: to flash around, shine about.
φῶς  a  light 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: φῶς  
Sense: light.
ἱκανὸν  great 
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: ἱκανός  
Sense: sufficient.
περὶ  around 
Parse: Preposition
Root: περί 
Sense: about, concerning, on account of, because of, around, near.
ἐμέ  me 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Accusative 1st Person Singular
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.