The Meaning of Acts 8:6 Explained

Acts 8:6

KJV: And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.

YLT: the multitudes also were giving heed to the things spoken by Philip, with one accord, in their hearing and seeing the signs that he was doing,

Darby: and the crowds with one accord gave heed to the things spoken by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs which he wrought.

ASV: And the multitudes gave heed with one accord unto the things that were spoken by Philip, when they heard, and saw the signs which he did.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  the people  with one accord  gave heed  unto those things which Philip  spake,  hearing  and  seeing  the miracles  which  he did. 

What does Acts 8:6 Mean?

Context Summary

Acts 8:1-13 - Fruits Of The Scattered Seed
Evidently Stephen was beloved outside the precincts of the Church, for it would seem that the devout men who lamented his early death and carried his poor body to its burial were godly Jews who had been attracted by his earnest character. In the furious persecution that ensued under the leadership of Saul, neither sex nor age was spared. According to the subsequent statement of the arch-persecutor, the disciples of Jesus were dragged before the magistrate, thrust into prison, exposed to cruel torture, and compelled to blaspheme His holy Name. During those terrible days scenes were enacted which were destined to fill the heart of the future Apostle with most poignant sorrow.
This persecution was overruled to scatter the Church, which had grown too prosperous and secure, and needed to be reminded of the Lord's injunction to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. The light must be diffused; the salt must be scattered. How often God has to drive us by trouble to do what we ought to have done gladly and spontaneously! It was impossible to keep the deacons to the office of serving tables. Philip must needs go to Samaria, and that city welcomed what Jerusalem had refused. Here we enter upon the second circle of Acts 1:8. [source]

Chapter Summary: Acts 8

1  By occasion of the persecution in Jerusalem, the church being planted in Samaria,
4  by Philip the deacon, who preached, did miracles, and baptized many;
9  among the rest Simon the sorcerer, a great seducer of the people;
14  Peter and John come to confirm and enlarge the church;
15  where, by prayer and imposition of hands giving the Holy Spirit;
18  when Simon would have bought the like power of them,
20  Peter sharply reproving his hypocrisy and covetousness,
22  and exhorting him to repentance,
25  together with John preaching the word of the Lord, return to Jerusalem;
26  but the angel sends Philip to teach and baptize the Ethiopian Eunuch

Greek Commentary for Acts 8:6

Gave heed [προσειχον]
Imperfect active as in Acts 8:10, Acts 8:11, there with dative of the person There is an ellipse of νουν — noun (mind). They kept on giving heed or holding the mind on the things said by Philip, spell-bound, in a word. [source]
When they heard [εν τωι ακουειν αυτους]
Favourite Lukan idiom, εν — en and the locative case of the articlar infinitive with the accusative of general reference “in the hearing as to them.” Which he did (α εποιει — ha epoiei). Imperfect active again, which he kept on doing from time to time. Philip wrought real miracles which upset the schemes of Simon Magus. [source]
Which he did [α εποιει]
Imperfect active again, which he kept on doing from time to time. Philip wrought real miracles which upset the schemes of Simon Magus. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Acts 8:6

Acts 5:12 With one accord [ομοτυμαδον]
As already in Acts 1:14; Acts 2:46; Acts 4:24 and later Acts 7:57; Acts 8:6; Acts 12:20; Acts 15:25; Acts 18:21; Acts 19:29, old adverb and only in Acts in the N.T. Here “all” is added. In Solomon‘s Porch again as in Acts 3:11 which see. [source]
1 Timothy 1:4 Give heed [προσέχειν]
oP. Frequent in lxx and Class. Lit. To hold to. Often with τὸν νοῦν themind, which must be supplied here. It means here not merely to give attention to, but to give assent to. So Acts 8:6; Acts 16:14; Hebrews 2:1; 2 Peter 1:19. [source]
Hebrews 2:1 Therefore [δια τουτο]
Because Jesus is superior to prophets and angels and because the new revelation is superior to the old. The author often pauses in his argument, as here, to drive home a pungent exhortation. Ought It is necessity, necessity rather than obligation To give heed Present active infinitive with νουν — noun (accusative singular of νους — nous) understood as in Acts 8:6. More earnest Comparative adverb, “more earnestly,” “more abundantly” as in 1 Thessalonians 2:7 To the things that were heard Dative plural neuter of the articular participle first aorist passive of ακουω — akouō Lest haply we drift away Negative clause of purpose with μη ποτε — mē pote and the second aorist passive subjunctive of παραρρεω — pararreō old verb to flow by or past, to glide by, only here in N.T. (cf. Proverbs 3:21). Xenophon (Cyrop. IV. 52) uses it of the river flowing by. Here the metaphor is that “of being swept along past the sure anchorage which is within reach” (Westcott), a vivid picture of peril for all (“we,” ημας — hēmas). [source]

What do the individual words in Acts 8:6 mean?

Were giving heed now the crowds to the things being spoken by - Philip with one accord in the [time] to hear them and to see the signs that he was performing
προσεῖχον δὲ οἱ ὄχλοι τοῖς λεγομένοις ὑπὸ τοῦ Φιλίππου ὁμοθυμαδὸν ἐν τῷ ἀκούειν αὐτοὺς καὶ βλέπειν τὰ σημεῖα ἐποίει

προσεῖχον  Were  giving  heed 
Parse: Verb, Imperfect Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: προσέχω  
Sense: to bring to, bring near.
δὲ  now 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
ὄχλοι  crowds 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: ὄχλος  
Sense: a crowd.
τοῖς  to  the  things 
Parse: Article, Dative Neuter Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
λεγομένοις  being  spoken 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Middle or Passive, Dative Neuter Plural
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
τοῦ  - 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Φιλίππου  Philip 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: Φίλιππος  
Sense: an apostle of Christ.
ὁμοθυμαδὸν  with  one  accord 
Parse: Adverb
Root: ὁμοθυμαδόν  
Sense: with one mind, with one accord, with one passion.
τῷ  the  [time] 
Parse: Article, Dative Neuter Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
ἀκούειν  to  hear 
Parse: Verb, Present Infinitive Active
Root: ἀκουστός 
Sense: to be endowed with the faculty of hearing, not deaf.
βλέπειν  to  see 
Parse: Verb, Present Infinitive Active
Root: βλέπω  
Sense: to see, discern, of the bodily eye.
σημεῖα  signs 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Plural
Root: σημεῖον  
Sense: a sign, mark, token.
  that 
Parse: Personal / Relative Pronoun, Accusative Neuter Plural
Root: ὅς 
Sense: who, which, what, that.
ἐποίει  he  was  performing 
Parse: Verb, Imperfect Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ποιέω  
Sense: to make.

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