Acts 8:5

5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there.

Acts 8:5 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
English Standard Version (ESV)
5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.
New Living Translation (NLT)
5 Philip, for example, went to the city of Samaria and told the people there about the Messiah.
The Message Bible (MSG)
5 Going down to a Samaritan city, Philip proclaimed the Message of the Messiah.
American Standard Version (ASV)
5 And Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and proclaimed unto them the Christ.
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
5 Philip went to the city of Samaria and told people about the Messiah.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and preached the Messiah to them.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria. There he preached about the Christ.

Acts 8:5 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 8:5

Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria
The city which was formerly called Samaria, but now Sebaste; it had been destroyed by Hyrcanus, and was rebuilt by Herod; and called by him, in honour of Augustus, by the name of Sebaste F4; and so R. Benjamin says F5, that

``from Luz he came in a day to Sebaste, (Nwrmwv ayh) , "this is Samaria"; where yet may be discerned the palace of Ahab king of Israel-----and from thence are two "parsas" to Neapolis, this is Sichem.''

Which last place, Sichem, is by Josephus said to be the "metropolis" of Samaria; and is thought by Dr. Lightfoot to be the city Philip went to, and where our Lord had before been, and preached to the conversion of many persons: this place lay lower than Jerusalem, and therefore Philip is said to go down to it; and who was not Philip the apostle, but Philip the deacon, for the apostles abode at Jerusalem; and beside, though this Philip preached the Gospel, and baptized, and wrought miracles, yet did not lay on hands, in order that persons might receive the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost; this was peculiar to the apostles, and therefore Peter and John came down for this purpose, when they heard of the success of Philip's ministry: the subject matter of which follows:

and preached Christ unto them;
that Christ was come in the flesh, that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ, and that he was the Son of God, and the alone Saviour of men; who by his obedience, sufferings, and death, had wrought righteousness, procured peace and pardon, and obtained eternal redemption for his people; and was risen again, and ascended into heaven, and was set down at the right hand of God, where he ever lived to make intercession, and would come again a second time to judge both quick and dead.


FOOTNOTES:

F4 Joseph de Bello Jud. l. 1. c. 2. sect. 7. & c. 21. sect. 2. Plin. l. 5. c. 13.
F5 Itinerar. p. 38.

Acts 8:5 In-Context

3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.
4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.
5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there.
6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said.
7 For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed.

Cross References 1

  • 1. Acts 6:5; Acts 21:8
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