Acts 8 · Verse 5

Acts 8:5

Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
Acts 8:5, King James Version

Acts 8:5 in other translations

BSBPhilip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ to them.
WEBPhilip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.
ASVAnd Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and proclaimed unto them the Christ.
YLTAnd Philip having gone down to a city of Samaria, was preaching to them the Christ,
DARBYAnd Philip, going down to a city of Samaria, preached the Christ to them;
BBEAnd Philip went down to Samaria and was teaching them about Christ.
WebsterThen Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ to them.

What does Acts 8:5 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

Ac 8:5-25. Success of Philip's Preaching in Samaria--Case of Simon Magus.

5. Then Philip--not the apostle of that name, as was by some of the Fathers supposed; for besides that the apostles remained at Jerusalem, they would in that case have had no occasion to send a deputation of their own number to lay their hands on the baptized disciples [Grotius]. It was the deacon of that name, who comes next after Stephen in the catalogue of the seven, probably as being the next most prominent. The persecution may have been directed especially against Stephen's colleagues [Meyer]. the city of Samaria--or "a city of Samaria"; but the former seems more likely. "It furnished the bridge between Jerusalem and the world" [Baumgarten].

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes
Verse 5. Then Philip. One of the seven deacons, Acts 6:5. He is afterwards called the Evangelist, Acts 21:8.

The city of Samaria. This does not mean a city whose name was Samaria, for no such city at that time existed. Samaria was a region, Mt 2:22. The ancient city Samaria, the capital of that region, had been destroyed by Hyrcanus so completely, as to leave no vestige of it remaining; and he "took away," says Justifies, "the very marks that there had ever been such a city there, Anti. b. xlii. chap. x. 3. Herod the Great afterwards built a city on this site, and called it Sebaste, i. e. Augusta, in honour of the emperor Augustus, Jos. Anti. b. xv. chap. viii. 5. Perhaps this city is intended, as being the principal city of Samaria; or possibly Sychar, another city where the gospel had been before preached by the Saviour himself, Jn 4.

And preached Christ. Preached that the Messiah had come, and made known his doctrines. The same truths had been before stated in Samaria by the Saviour himself, Jn 4 and this was doubtless one of the reasons why they so gladly now received the word of God. The field had been prepared by the Lord Jesus; and he had said that it was white for the harvest, Jn 4:35 and into that field Philip now entered, and was signally blessed. His coming was attended with a remarkable revival of religion. The word translated preach here is not that which is used in the previous verse. This denotes to proclaim as a crier, and is commonly employed to denote the preaching of the gospel, so called, Mk 5:20, 7:36, Lk 8:39; Mt 24:14, Acts 10:42, Rom 10:15, 1Cor 9:27, 15:12, 2Ti 4:2. It has been argued that because Philip is said thus to have preached to the Samaritans, that therefore all deacons have a right to preach, or that they are, under the New Testament economy, an order of ministers. But this is by no means clear. For,

(1.) it is not evident, nor can it be shown, that the other deacons Acts 6 ever preached. There is no record of their doing so; and the narrative would lead us to suppose that they did not.

(2.) They were appointed for a very different purpose, Acts 6:1-5; and it is fair to suppose that, as deacons, they confined themselves to the design of their appointment.

(3.) It is not said that Philip preached, in virtue of his being a deacon. From anything in this place, it would seem that he preached as the other Christians did--wherever he was.

(4.) But elsewhere an express distinction is made between Philip and the others. A new appellation is given him, and he is expressly called the Evangelist, Acts 21:8. From this, it seems that he preached, not because he was a deacon, but because he had received a special appointment to this business as an evangelist.

(5.) This same office, or rank of Christian teachers, is expressly recognized elsewhere, Eph 4:11. All these considerations show that there is not, in the sacred Scriptures, an order of ministers appointed to preach as deacons.

(b) "Philip went down" Acts 6:5

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 5 Then Philip - One of the seven deacons, Act 6:5, called afterwards, Philip the Evangelist, Act 21:8. The city of Samaria - At this time there was no city of Samaria existing: according to Josephus, Ant. lib. xiii. cap. 10, sect. 3, Hyrcanus had so utterly demolished it as to leave no vestige of it remaining. Herod the Great did afterwards build a city on the same spot of ground; but he called it ΣεβαϚη i.e. Augusta, in compliment to the Emperor Augustus, as Josephus tells us, Ant. lib. xv. cap. 8, sect. 5; War, lib. i. cap. 2. sect. 7; and by this name of Sebast, or Augusta, that city, if meant here, would in all probability have been called, in the same manner as the town called Strato's Tower, (which Herod built on the sea coasts, and to which he gave the name of Caesarea, in compliment to Augustus Caesar), is always called Caesarea, wherever it is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. Bp. Pearce. As Sychem was the very heart and seat of the Samaritan religion, and Mount Gerizim the cathedral church of that sect, it is more likely that it should be intended than any other. See Lightfoot. As the Samaritans received the same law with the Jews, as they also expected the Messiah, as Christ had preached to and converted many of that people, Joh 4:39-42, it was very reasonable that the earliest offers of salvation should be made to them, before any attempt was made to evangelize the Gentiles. The Samaritans, indeed, formed the connecting link between the Jews and the Gentiles; for they were a mongrel people, made up of both sorts, and holding both Jewish and Pagan rites. See the account of them on Mat 10:5 (note).

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Acts 8:5-13
As far as the gospel prevails, evil spirits are dislodged, particularly unclean spirits. All inclinations to the lusts of the flesh which war against the soul are such. Distempers are here named, the most difficult to be cured by the course of nature, and most expressive of the disease of sin. Pride, ambition, and desire after grandeur have always caused abundance of mischief, both to the world and to the church. The people said of Simon, This man is the great power of God. See how ignorant and thoughtless people mistake. But how strong is the power of Divine grace, by which they were brought to Christ, who is Truth itself! The people not only gave heed to what Philip said, but were fully convinced that it was of God, and not of men, and gave up themselves to be directed thereby. Even bad men, and those whose hearts still go after covetousness, may come before God as his people come, and for a time continue with them. And many wonder at the proofs of Divine truths, who never experience their power. The gospel preached may have a common operation upon a soul, where it never produced inward holiness. All are not savingly converted who profess to believe the gospel.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Acts 8:5 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ΦίλιπποςPhilipposPhilipG5376
δὲdenowG1161
κατελθὼνkatelthōnhaving gone downG2718
εἰςeistoG1519
πόλινpolincityG4172
τῆςtēs<the>G3588
ΣαμαρείαςSamareiasof SamariaG4540
ἐκήρυσσενekērussenwas proclaimingG2784
αὐτοῖςautoisto themG846
τὸνtontheG3588
Χριστόν.ChristonChrist.G5547

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Acts 8:5

  • Acts 6:5

    And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:

  • Acts 21:8

    And the next day we that were of Paul’s company departed, and came unto Cesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.

  • Acts 8:40

    But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Cesarea.

  • Acts 8:35-36

    Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?

  • Acts 5:42

    And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

  • 1 Corinthians 1:23

    But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;

  • 1 Corinthians 3:11

    For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

  • Acts 1:8

    But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

  • Acts 17:2-3

    And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.

  • John 4:25-26

    The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

  • Acts 9:20

    And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.

  • Acts 8:1

    And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Philip.
1,14,15,40; 6:5; 21:8
the city.Rather, "to a city of Samaria," [eis polis Samaria] for the city of Samaria had been utterly destroyed by Hyrcanus, and the city built by Herod on its site was called [Sebaste,] that is, Augusta, in honour of Augustus. Samaria comprised the tract of country formerly occupied by the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, west of Jordan, lying between Judea and Galilee: beginning, says Josephus, at Ginea in the great plain, and ending at the toparchy of Acrabateni.
1:8; Mt 10:5,6
preached.
35-37; 5:42; 9:20; 17:2,3; Joh 4:25,26; 1Co 1:23; 2:2; 3:11

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Acts 8:4

    Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.

  • Acts 8:5

    Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.

  • Acts 8:6

    And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.

Read all of Acts 8

Acts 8:5 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Entonces Felipe, descendiendo á la ciudad de Samaria, les predicaba á Cristo.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Philippe, étant descendu dans une ville de la Samarie, leur prêcha le Christ.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Philippus aber ging hinab in eine Stadt Samarias und predigte ihnen den Christus.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Philippus autem descendens in civitatem Samariæ, prædicabat illis Christum.