Tool Beta
The Ancient World Behind the Text
Pick a passage anywhere in the New Testament. See the customs and ideas a first reader knew without being told.
Acts 2:14-41, Peter's sermon: the Spirit poured out
Peter explains the scene from Joel: God has poured out his Spirit, the crucified Jesus is raised and exalted as Lord and Messiah, and three thousand are baptized in his name.
Acts 2:14-41, in every translation this tool compares.
Peter stands with the eleven and says these men are not drunk, since it is only nine in the morning; this is what Joel foretold, that in the last days God would pour out his Spirit on all people and they would prophesy. Jesus of Nazareth, whom they put to death, God raised from the dead, as David foresaw, for David died and his tomb is still among them. Exalted to God's right hand, Jesus has poured out the Spirit, and God has made him both Lord and Messiah. Cut to the heart, the crowd asks what to do; Peter tells them to repent and be baptized in Jesus' name for the forgiveness of sins, and about three thousand are baptized that day.
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- {"u":"https:\/\/jayms.com\/bible-study-tools-2\/ancient-world-ideas\/messiah\/","n":"The Messiah, son of David","s":"The anointed king most Jews expected from David's line, who would free Israel from its enemies. Nobody expected him to be killed.","r":""}
- {"u":"https:\/\/jayms.com\/bible-study-tools-2\/ancient-world-ideas\/proselyte-baptism\/","n":"Ritual washing and convert immersion","s":"Jews washed often for purity, but one immersion happened only once: the bath a Gentile took on becoming a Jew. John's baptism and the church's took that shape.","r":""}
Many Jews, especially the elite, believed prophets no longer existed in their day, and Peter's added line, and they will prophesy, is not in Joel (Keener and his notes). The sermon unpacks the final line of the Joel quotation, about rescue for all who call on the Lord's name, and shows that the Lord's name is Jesus (Keener and his notes); Keener cites Kenneth Bailey's reading of the speech as a chiasm. Joining Psalm 16 and Psalm 110 by their shared right hand is the Jewish technique of linking texts through a common word, called gezerah shavah (Keener and his notes). Tombs of David and of Huldah were known in Jerusalem (Keener and his notes). Baptism as a once-for-all rite of conversion was associated with Gentiles becoming Jews, so calling Jews to be baptized asked for a public and costly step (Keener). The temple mount had many immersion pools, so three thousand could be immersed in a few hours, a large number when Josephus counts only six thousand Pharisees in all Judea (Keener and his notes). Ancient historians summarized speeches, and Luke condenses this one (Keener and his notes).
- NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, notes on Acts 2:17, 2:18, 2:21, 2:29, 2:34-35, 2:38, 2:40 and 2:41
- Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, on Acts 2:16-18, 2:20-21, 2:22-40, 2:29-31, 2:33-35, 2:36, 2:37-38, 2:40 and 2:41
