Acts 23:7

7 And [when] he said this, a dispute developed between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly 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 And Paul said, "I did not know, brothers, that he was high priest. For it is written, 'You must not speak evil [of] a ruler of your people.'"

6 Now [when] Paul realized that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he shouted out in the Sanhedrin, "Men [and] brothers! I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees! I am being judged concerning the hope and the resurrection of the dead!"

7 And [when] he said this, a dispute developed between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.

8 (For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection or angel or spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge [them] all.)

9 And there was loud shouting, and some of the scribes from the party of the Pharisees stood up [and] contended sharply, saying, "We find nothing wrong with this man! But [what] if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?"

Footnotes

• [a] *Here "[when]" is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle ("said")