What Does Acts 11:1 Mean?
And the sent ones and brethren who were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also taken hold of the word of God.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And the apostles and brethren that were in Judæa heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.THE KEY
The Greek behind “received” carries the sense of welcome: God’s word is welcomed beyond the circle that expects to receive it.
THE MEANING
God’s word is welcomed among people outside the familiar circle, and the news reaches those already gathered around it. The verse holds both realities together: the welcome has already happened, and the community hears of it.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that God’s word belongs only to people already inside the recognized community dissolves: the Gentiles receive it too.
THE ROOT
ἐδέξαντο
edexanto
GROWS FROM
δέχομαι
dechomai
to receive, take in, welcome
“taken hold of” in this verse is edexanto. The verb carries the warmth of welcoming something in, not merely coming into contact with it. English “received” holds that welcome quietly; the Greek makes it central to how the word of God reaches the Gentiles.
ALSO GROWS
apodechomai: to receive or welcome gladly
ἀποδέχομαι
Acts 2:41 uses this related verb for those who gladly receive the word, showing reception as an active welcome.
dektos: acceptable, welcome
δεκτός
This related form describes what can be received; it echoes the openness in the Gentiles’ reception here.
λόγον
logon
GROWS FROM
λέγω
legō
to say or speak; λόγος is what is said, a word or message
The word received here is λόγος, something expressed and communicated, not an abstract possession. The verse joins God’s speaking with human welcome: the message reaches people, and they take it in.
ALSO GROWS
legō: to say, speak
λέγω
This verb names the act of expression from which λόγος carries the sense of what is said.
logion: an utterance or saying, often a divine saying
λόγιον
This related word makes the link between λόγος and spoken divine instruction visible.
THE PATTERN
God’s welcome reaches people across boundaries that seem to define who can receive the word.
Them also will I bring to my set-apart mountain, and gladden them in my house of prayer. Their ascending offerings and their sacrifices shall be received with favor upon my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.Now when the sent ones who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had taken in the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.For there is no drawing apart between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich toward all who call upon him.THE THREAD
Now when the sent ones who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had taken in the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.Acts 8 uses the same Greek verb family, δέχομαι (dechomai), for Samaria receiving the word of God. Here the same kind of welcome reaches the Gentiles, opening the verse into a repeated pattern: the word is received across communal boundaries.
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