Acts 10:30

30 And Cornelius said, "{Four days ago at this hour}, [the] ninth, I was praying in my house. And behold, a man in shining clothing stood before me

Acts 10:30 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 10:30

And Cornelius said
The Syriac version adds, "to him", to the apostle; the following he said, in a very submissive and humble manner:

four days ago I was fasting unto this hour;
in the Greek text it is, "from the fourth day unto this hour I was fasting": which looks as if he had been fasting four days, and was still fasting at that hour; though the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions leave out the phrase "I was fasting": but the sense which our version and others give is the truest; that four days ago, or reckoning four days back, Cornelius was fasting on that day, until such time in that day as now it was in this present day; and which perhaps might be the ninth hour, or three o'clock in the afternoon: the account of days exactly agrees; as soon as Cornelius had had the vision, he sends men to Joppa, which was one day; on the morrow they came to Joppa, which makes two days; Peter lodged them all night there, and the next day set out on the journey with them, so you have three days; and the day after that, which was the fourth, he entered into Caesarea, and came to Cornelius's house, where he now was:

and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house;
which was one of the stated times of prayer; (See Gill on Acts 3:1).

And behold a man stood before me in bright clothing;
or "in a white garment", as the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions read: which was an emblem of the excellency, glory, and purity of the angel, and of the divine majesty in him: he calls him a man, because he appeared in the form of one, as angels used to do.

Acts 10:30 In-Context

28 And he said to them, "You know that it is forbidden for a Jewish man to associate with or to approach a foreigner. And to me God has shown [that] I should call no man common or unclean.
29 Therefore--and without raising any objection--I came [when I] was sent for. So I ask for what reason you sent for me."
30 And Cornelius said, "{Four days ago at this hour}, [the] ninth, I was praying in my house. And behold, a man in shining clothing stood before me
31 and said, 'Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your charitable deeds have been remembered before God.
32 Therefore send to Joppa and summon Simon who is also called Peter. This man is staying as a guest in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Literally "from the fourth day until this hour"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.