The Meaning of Acts 23:8 Explained

Acts 23:8

KJV: For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.

YLT: for Sadducees, indeed, say there is no rising again, nor messenger, nor spirit, but Pharisees confess both.

Darby: For Sadducees say there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit; but Pharisees confess both of them.

ASV: For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit; but the Pharisees confess both.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For  the Sadducees  say  that there is  no  resurrection,  neither  angel,  nor  spirit:  but  the Pharisees  confess  both. 

What does Acts 23:8 Mean?

Context Summary

Acts 23:1-11 - Dividing His Persecutors
The behavior of the judge was quite unworthy of his office, but Paul's epithet cannot be defended. The best of men are but men at the best. Paul was thrown off his guard by an insult which touched him to the quick; but nothing could have been finer than the grace and frankness with which he acknowledged his error. The adroit way in which Paul divided the Council probably saved the situation. If the body had been united, Lysias would doubtless have handed Paul over to them to deal with. But the fiery hatred that broke out gave the chief captain grave concern for the safety of this man with citizen-rights.
How timely and precious was the Savior's revelation on the following night! As Paul's heart was sinking amid the solitude of his cell, and he was beginning to think that perhaps the predictions of Agabus and others were about to be fulfilled, he suddenly became aware of the presence of his Lord. Do not trust in your own understanding; let your Master steer your course; and remember that in the darkest hour, as in the brightest, He is beside you. There will be made to you, at "the fourth watch of the night," revelations which will reassure your weary and despairing soul that you are not alone. [source]

Chapter Summary: Acts 23

1  As Paul pleads his cause,
2  Ananias commands them to strike him
7  Dissension among his accusers
11  God encourages him
14  The Jews' vow to kill Paul,
20  is declared unto the chief captain
27  He sends him to Felix the governor

Greek Commentary for Acts 23:8

There is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit [μη ειναι αναστασιν μητε αγγελον μητε πνευμα]
Infinitive with negative μη — mē in indirect assertion. These points constitute the chief doctrinal differences between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. [source]
Both [αμποτερα]
Here used though three items of belief are mentioned as in Acts 19:16 where the seven sons of Sceva are thus described. This idiom is common enough in papyri and Byzantine Greek (Robertson, Grammar, p. 745). [source]
Both []
Showing that two classes of doctrines peculiar to the Sadducees, and not three, are meant: 1. The resurrection. 2. The existence of spirits, whether angels or souls of men; “neither angel nor spirit.” [source]

What do the individual words in Acts 23:8 mean?

Sadducees indeed for say not there to be resurrection nor angel spirit Pharisees however confess - both
Σαδδουκαῖοι ‹μὲν› γὰρ λέγουσιν μὴ εἶναι ἀνάστασιν μήτε ἄγγελον πνεῦμα Φαρισαῖοι δὲ ὁμολογοῦσιν τὰ ἀμφότερα

Σαδδουκαῖοι  Sadducees 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: Σαδδουκαῖος  
Sense: a religious party at the time of Christ among the Jews, who denied that the oral law was a revelation of God to the Israelites, and who deemed the written law alone to be obligatory on the nation, as the divine authority. They denied the following doctrines:.
‹μὲν›  indeed 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: μέν  
Sense: truly, certainly, surely, indeed.
λέγουσιν  say 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
εἶναι  there  to  be 
Parse: Verb, Present Infinitive Active
Root: εἰμί  
Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.
ἀνάστασιν  resurrection 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: ἀνάστασις  
Sense: a raising up, rising (e.
μήτε  nor 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: μήτε  
Sense: and not, neither … nor, not so.
ἄγγελον  angel 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: ἄγγελος  
Sense: a messenger, envoy, one who is sent, an angel, a messenger from God.
πνεῦμα  spirit 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: πνεῦμα  
Sense: a movement of air (a gentle blast.
Φαρισαῖοι  Pharisees 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: Φαρισαῖος  
Sense: A sect that seems to have started after the Jewish exile.
δὲ  however 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
ὁμολογοῦσιν  confess 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: ὁμολογέω  
Sense: to say the same thing as another, i.
τὰ  - 
Parse: Article, Accusative Neuter Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
ἀμφότερα  both 
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Neuter Plural
Root: ἀμφότεροι  
Sense: both of two, both the one and the other.

What are the major concepts related to Acts 23:8?

Loading Information...