Acts 23:7

7 When he said this, an argument arose between the P'rushim and the Tz'dukim, and the crowd was divided.

Acts 23:7 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 23:7

And when he had so said
He stopped and made a pause:

and there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the
Sadducees;
about the things which he had spoken of, particularly the resurrection of the dead; and this was what the apostle intended, so that his end was answered by the speech he made:

and the multitude was divided;
that is, the members of the sanhedrim were divided, some being on one side of the question, and some on the other; for this multitude cannot design the multitude of the common people, who were not convened together on this occasion.

Acts 23:7 In-Context

5 Sha'ul said, "I didn't know, brothers, that he was the cohen hagadol; for it says in the Torah, 'You are not to speak disparagingly of a ruler of your people.'"

6 But knowing that one part of the Sanhedrin consisted of Tz'dukim and the other of P'rushim, Sha'ul shouted, "Brothers, I myself am a Parush and the son of P'rushim; and it is concerning the hope of the resurrection of the dead that I am being tried!"

7 When he said this, an argument arose between the P'rushim and the Tz'dukim, and the crowd was divided.

8 For the Tz'dukim deny the resurrection and the existence of angels and spirits; whereas the P'rushim acknowledge both.

9 So there was a great uproar, with some of the Torah-teachers who were on the side of the P'rushim standing up and joining in - "We don't find anything wrong with this man; and if a spirit or an angel spoke to him, what of it?"