Acts 10:15

15 And a voice spoke to him again the second time, "What God has cleansed you must not call common."

Acts 10:15 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 10:15

And the voice spake unto him again the second time
The following words,

what God hath cleansed;
that is, hath pronounced clean and lawful to be used, as he now had all sorts of food, ( Matthew 15:11 ) ( Romans 14:14 ) ( 1 Timothy 4:4 ) .

[that] call not thou common;
or pronounce it to be unholy or unclean, and unlawful to be used: and the same holds good of men, as well as things; for as hereby the Lord instructed Peter, that there was nothing of itself common, or unclean, and unfit for use; so that no man, not any Gentile, Barbarian, Scythian, or be he who he would, was common or unclean, and his company to be avoided as such. Distinctions both of men and meats were now to be laid aside; and the Jews themselves own, that what is now unclean, will be clean in the time to come, or the times of the Messiah; they say ^F6,

``every beast which is unclean in this world, the holy
blessed God
(htwa rhjm) , cleanses it,
in the time to come, (the times of the Messiah,) as they were at first clean to the sons of Noah ( Genesis 9:3 ) , wherefore, as the herb was clean to all, and as the beasts were clean to the sons of Noah; so also in the time to come he will loose what he has bound, or forbidden.''

And particularly they observe, that a swine is call (ryzh) from (rzh) , "to return", because the Lord will return it unto Israel. ^F7

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FOOTNOTES:

F6 R. Moses Haddarsan in Galatin. l. 11. c. 12. & Bereshit Rabba in Pugio Fidei, c. 12. sect. 1.
F7 Abarbinel Rosh Amana, c. 12. fol. 18. 2.

Acts 10:15 In-Context

13 And a voice came to him, "Rise, Peter; kill and eat."

14 But Peter said, "Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean."

15 And a voice spoke to him again the second time, "What God has cleansed you must not call common."

16 This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again.

17 Now while Peter wondered within himself what this vision which he had seen meant, behold, the men who had been sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate.