Acts 2:5

Tuesday, 26 October 2021 <p> </p> <p>And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. Acts 2:5</p> <p> </p> <p>In the previous verses, the Holy Spirit came upon the believers and they “began to speak with other tongues.” With that noted, Luke now turns to the broader audience who witnessed these things, saying, “And there were dwelling.”</p> <p> </p> <p>The word katoikeó,  is used. It signifies to settle down as a permanent resident. Scholars generally argue against this notion though because in the coming verses Jews from many locations will be noted, and in verse 9, it uses the same word in the same present tense to indicate those dwelling in Mesopotamia and elsewhere.</p> <p> </p> <p>There is no difficulty with this. Some of these foreign-born Jews now dwelt permanently in Jerusalem. Some were pilgrims visiting Jerusalem. In Deuteronomy, Moses says what the Lord will do to the people if they disobey Him –</p> <p> </p> <p>“Then the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known—wood and stone.” Deuteronomy 28:64</p> <p> </p> <p>However, the Lord also promised restoration –</p> <p> </p> <p>“Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God drives you, 2 and you return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you. 4 If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. 5 Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers posses