Peter Kirby

I have an exploratory essay, originally part of a post to XTalk, published here:

http://www.didjesusexist.com/seven.html

Since my first writing, I have found two bits of info supporting some of the ideas postulated.

One of them has already been incorporated into the essay: "Does it seem far-fetched that early Christians would number the apostles at some figure other than twelve? Michael Gough points out that a painting from the second or third century from the Catacomb of Callixtus 'shows seven figures seated at a crescent-shaped sigma-table on which are two platters of fish; eight baskets filled with bread are in the foreground.' (The Origins of Christian Art, p. 45) So there was indeed an ancient tradition about the disciples of Jesus numbering seven."

The other new info concerns the alignment of names:

= John - Papias - Ebionite =

Simon Peter - Peter - Simon
'sons of Zebedee' - John - John son of Zebedee
'sons of Zebedee' - James - James son of Zebedee

Thomas called Didymus - Thomas - Thaddaeus/Simon the Zealot
Nathanael - Matthew - Matthew
'two others of his disciples' - Andrew - Andrew
'two others of his disciples' - Philip - Thaddaeus/Simon the Zealot

Previously I had written, "After that, the only name left unmatched in Papias is Matthew, so I placed it next to Nathanael by a process of elimination." Now I have read Richard Bauckham write: "Papias' list would be even more Johannine if we supposed that he identified Matthew with Nathanael (the two names have a similar meaning)" (JSHJ 1.1, p. 36, n. 35) What was deduced by elimination receives independent confirmation!

Now, can anyone tell me the significance of the Hellenist Seven in Acts chapter six?

best,
Peter Kirby

Geoff Hudson

[ ] Read out
{ } Read in

Chapter 6

THE CHOOSING OF THE SEVEN GREEKS IN THE CHURCH OF ROME TO MINISTER THE SPIRIT TO THE GREEK DISCIPLES

(1)[In those days] When the number of disciples was increasing, the [Grecian Jews] {Greek disciples} complained against the [Hebraic Jews] {Jewish disciples} because [their widows] {THEY} were being overlooked in the DAILY…
[distribution of food]
…{MINISTRY OF THE SPIRIT}.

(2)So [the twelve] {James and John} gathered all the {Greek} disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the [word] {Spirit} of God {to Jewish disciples} in order to [wait on] {minister to} [tables] {the Greek disciples} .

(3)Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be FULL OF THE SPIRIT and [wisdom] {understanding}.

We will turn THIS RESPONSIBILITY over to them,

(4)and we will give our attention to
[prayer and] the ministry of the [word] {Spirit to the Jewish disciples}.”

(5)This proposal pleased the [whole group] {Greek disciples}.

They chose Stephen, full of [faith] {the Spirit}; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.

(6)They presented these men to [the apostles] {James and John} who prayed and laid their hands on them.

(7)So the [word] {Spirit} of God spread.

The number of disciples in [Jerusalem] {Rome} increased rapidly, and a large number of [priests] {GREEKS} became OBEDIENT to the [faith] {Spirit}.

Note:
v.(1)DAILY agrees with “day by day” of 5:42.
v.(3)The requirement to be filled with the Spirit never did go well with the idea of “waiting on tables”, although I have heard preachers try to explain that it was a necessary qualification - but you are a little inferior to the pastor you know.
v.(5)The first six disciples of the Spirit were Greeks, not Jews, and never had been converts to Judaism. Nicolas was a Greek who had converted to Judaism before he became a disciple of the Spirit. The idea was that the seven Greeks would minister the Spirit to Greeks, leaving Jewish disciples free to minister the Spirit to Jews – daily of course.
V.(7)Here we have that explicit word OBEDIENT that goes with the Spirit.

For your little test Peter.

Geoff

Peter Kirby

So why are the Hellenist leaders numbered at seven and what is their function?

best,
Peter Kirby

Toto

One opinion which seems to assume a HJ and some basis in history for Acts -

Eisenman in James the Brother of Jesus p. 196 speculates that the Seven were derived (or "transmogrified") from the Seventy, 70 being "the number of people who went down with Joseph to Egypt, and following this, up with Moses on Mount Sinai to receive the Law" and the number of persons in a Jewish Assembly.

Geoff Hudson

How about one to minister the Spirit each day of the week? Perhaps not.

An alternative may be one to minister the Spirit on each of the seven hills or main areas Rome - in the seven churches in the [province] {city} of [Asia] {Rome} (Rev.1:4). That looks a little more promising. Was there a Jewish area of Rome separate from the Greek areas? If so, Jews would probably be reluctant to enter them. The reverse could also be true.

I do not think the function of the seven was to "wait on tables". It was probably to preach or proclaim the Spirit in the gentile areas of Rome. No doubt the seven were the first professional gentile minsters, i.e. they were paid or supported to do their appointed task.

Geoff

Geoff Hudson

Acts 5:42 - "Day after day, in the [temple] {?} courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the [good news] that [Jesus] {the Spirit} is [the Christ] {God}."

It would seem that one of the main fuctions of the early church leaders was to "teach the people" (Acts 5:21,25,28). The converts in Rome devoted themselves to the teaching (Acts 2:42). As the number of disciples increased so would the teaching workload as the demand for teaching and proclaiming the Spirit increased.

So the seven Greeks were appointed to take on the teaching and proclaiming of the Spirit to the Greeks in the city. And no doubt the teaching was regarded as coming from the Spirit, not the teachers. The teaching was done "in the Spirit" - "We gave you strict orders not to teach IN [this] {the} [name] {Spirit]" (Acts 5:27). "I wrote to you about all that [Jesus] {the Spirit} began to SAY" (Acts 1:1).

Geoff