Acts 1-15

Sunday, 10 October 2021 <p> </p> <p>And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples (altogether the number of names was about a hundred and twenty), and said, Acts 1:15</p> <p> </p> <p>It was just noted that all of the apostles, and those who joined them, were in one accord. Understanding there is a lack in the apostleship, it now says, “And in those days.” This defines the period between the ascension and the time when the Promise of the Father would come. It is during this interval that “Peter stood up.”</p> <p> </p> <p>This is a general way of saying that someone is presenting himself to do something, be it speak, read, or so on. A couple of examples from Luke will show this –</p> <p> </p> <p>“So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. 17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.” Luke 4:16, 17</p> <p> </p> <p>“And behold, a certain awyer stood up and tested Him, saying, ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’” Luke 10:25</p> <p> </p> <p>In this posture of presenting himself, it next says “in the midst of the disciples.” Some translations say “brethren” instead of “disciples.” Either way, the words “in the midst” are a way of saying that all attention is directed at him and that he is now the center of focus in the narrative. With that stated by Luke, he then – as he so often does – makes a careful recording of those gathered, saying, “altogether the number of names was about a hundred and twenty.”</p> <p> </p> <p>There are a variety of ways of translating this –</p> <p> </p> <p>the company of persons</p> <p>number of names</p> <p>multitude of persons</p> <p>multitude of the names</p> <p>etc.</p> <p> </p> <p>It seems unlikely that the word “number” would be used to identify a group just about to be numbered, so “multitude” may be better. The word “name” is used at times to refer to individuals, and so “persons” is also an acceptable translation. The majo