Ἦσαν δέ τινες ἐξ αὐτῶν ἄνδρες Κύπριοι καὶ Κυρηναῖοι, οἵτινες εἰσελθόντες εἰς Ἀντιόχειαν, ἐλάλουν πρὸς τοὺς Ἑλληνιστάς, εὐαγγελιζόμενοι τὸν κύριον Ἰησοῦν.
Introduction
Acts 11:20 marks a decisive moment in the development of early Christian mission, describing the geographical and linguistic outreach beyond Judea. Grammatically, it contains significant constructions: periphrastic participles, prepositional phrases with directional focus, and a key debated noun—Ἑλληνιστάς. Each component of the Greek informs both the theology and the literary style of Luke’s narrative.
Verbal Core and Periphrastic Structure: Ἦσαν … ἐλάλουν
– Ἦσαν: Imperfect active indicative, 3rd person plural of εἰμί, meaning “they were.”
– This sets the background as continuous past action.
– δέ: Coordinating conjunction, transitional and slightly adversative—”but” or “now.”
– τινες: Indefinite pronoun, nominative plural—”some [men].”
– This is a periphrastic construction in which Ἦσαν is the auxiliary verb and ἐλάλουν provides the verbal action.
– ἐλάλουν: Imperfect active indicative, 3rd person plural of λαλέω, “they were speaking.”
– Suggests repeated or ongoing speech.
Partitive and Ethnic Identification: ἐξ αὐτῶν ἄνδρες Κύπριοι καὶ Κυρηναῖοι
– ἐξ αὐτῶν: Preposition ἐκ in its contracted form ἐξ governs the genitive αὐτῶν, meaning “some from among them.”
– Refers to the larger group of believers scattered due to persecution.
– ἄνδρες: Nominative plural of ἀνήρ, specifying male individuals—”men.”
– Κύπριοι and Κυρηναῖοι: Ethnic adjectives identifying men from Cyprus and Cyrene.
– These were Hellenized Jews from the Diaspora, possibly bilingual or fluent in Greek.
– This detail explains their readiness to evangelize Hellenistic audiences.
Relative Clause of Identity: οἵτινες εἰσελθόντες εἰς Ἀντιόχειαν
– οἵτινες: Relative pronoun in nominative plural masculine, intensive form—”who indeed” or “such ones who.”
– More emphatic than οἵ; it highlights character or distinctiveness.
– εἰσελθόντες: Aorist active participle, nominative plural masculine of εἰσέρχομαι, “having entered.”
– Aorist aspect presents the entrance as a complete event.
– εἰς Ἀντιόχειαν: Preposition εἰς with accusative Ἀντιόχειαν, “into Antioch.”
– Directional movement into one of the great Gentile cities of the ancient world.
Indirect Discourse and Evangelistic Speech: ἐλάλουν πρὸς τοὺς Ἑλληνιστάς
– ἐλάλουν: Repeated for emphasis—imperfect indicative—”they were speaking.”
– πρὸς: Preposition with accusative, used here to denote communication directed toward a group.
– τοὺς Ἑλληνιστάς: Accusative plural of Ἑλληνιστής, a debated term.
– Two possible meanings:
1. Hellenized Jews (Greek-speaking Jews from the Diaspora)
2. Greeks (Gentiles)
– Contextually, many scholars favor the second option here, especially as the following verses describe Gentile conversions.
– However, Luke’s nuanced use of this term suggests it may have retained ambiguity—Jews and Gentiles alike who were culturally Greek.
Evangelistic Action: εὐαγγελιζόμενοι τὸν κύριον Ἰησοῦν
– εὐαγγελιζόμενοι: Present middle participle, nominative plural masculine of εὐαγγελίζομαι, “proclaiming good news.”
– Middle voice indicates involvement or personal investment in the action.
– The present tense shows ongoing evangelism.
– τὸν κύριον Ἰησοῦν: Accusative object of the participle—”the Lord Jesus.”
– κύριον is accusative singular masculine of κύριος, the common designation of Jesus’ lordship.
– Ἰησοῦν: Accusative singular of Ἰησοῦς, the personal name.
– This participial phrase expresses the content of their speech: not generic teaching, but the proclamation of Jesus as Lord.
Stylistic and Structural Observations
– The sentence begins with a periphrastic form: Ἦσαν … ἐλάλουν, giving a backdrop of action.
– The relative clause οἵτινες εἰσελθόντες anchors the temporal sequence.
– The participial phrase εὐαγγελιζόμενοι conveys the theological climax.
– The consistent use of imperfect tense (e.g., ἐλάλουν) creates a sense of continuous ministry.
– The asyndetic structure of participles and finite verbs (i.e., no conjunction between ἐλάλουν and εὐαγγελιζόμενοι) adds narrative speed.
Lexical Focus: Ἑλληνιστάς
– This rare noun (Ἑλληνιστής) appears only in Acts.
– In Acts 6:1, it refers clearly to Greek-speaking Jews.
– In Acts 11:20, its meaning is contested.
– Its accusative plural form here (τοὺς Ἑλληνιστάς) is structurally paralleled to Gentile-focused evangelism elsewhere.
– The term may indicate an expanding mission frontier—from Jews to Gentile sympathizers to full Gentile converts.
Participial Function: εὐαγγελιζόμενοι
– Functionally adjectival, modifying οἵτινες.
– Simultaneous with the main verb ἐλάλουν.
– Theologically rich: this verb is used for announcing divine salvation, not just reporting facts.
– Middle voice emphasizes that the preachers are not mere messengers but personally invested proclaimers.
Theological Implications
– The sentence contains no command or imperative but describes the organic expansion of the gospel.
– The grammar implies initiative from unnamed believers—not apostles—who are linguistically and culturally equipped for cross-cultural mission.
– The Lordship of Jesus (τὸν κύριον Ἰησοῦν) becomes the content of the proclamation, marking a shift from Messiah-language to universal Lord-language.
One Grammatically Rich Sentence
Acts 11:20 exemplifies Luke’s sophisticated narrative Greek. It blends participial action, imperfect narration, ethnic identification, and theological proclamation into one grammatically rich sentence. The sentence hinges on subtle distinctions such as the meaning of Ἑλληνιστάς and the voice of εὐαγγελιζόμενοι. These grammatical and lexical choices are not merely stylistic—they shape the reader’s understanding of how the gospel moves outward, from Judea to the nations, by the mouths of unnamed yet bold missionaries.
