What Does Acts 16:5 Mean?
And so the assemblies were set firm in trust, and overflowed in number daily.
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 so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.THE KEY
The assemblies become firm in trust while continuing to grow: stability here is alive, not static.
THE MEANING
The assemblies are being made firm in trust, and their number grows day by day. Shared trust gives the community a steady ground from which it continues to expand.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the idea that becoming stable means staying unchanged: the assemblies grow as they are made firm in trust.
THE ROOT
ἐστερεοῦντο
estereounto
GROWS FROM
στερε- (stere-), from στερεόω (stereoō)
To make firm or strengthen.
“set firm” in this verse is estereounto. The verb describes the assemblies as being made firm over time, rather than stamped as finished structures in one moment. Its pairing with daily growth shows a living stability that can hold continued expansion.
ALSO GROWS
stereos: Firm, solid, steadfast.
στερεός
This is the same word family used for being steadfast in the faith, making the verse’s firmness concrete.
stereōma: Firm structure, support.
στερέωμα
This branch carries the sense of something made firm enough to support what grows within it.
πίστει
pistei
GROWS FROM
πείθω (peithō), the word family of πίστις (pistis)
To persuade, trust, or come to confidence.
The word translated “faith” is πίστις (pistis), trust: leaning your full weight on what holds. The assemblies are made firm through shared reliance, not through an abstract idea alone.
ALSO GROWS
peithō: Persuade, bring to trust.
πείθω
This verb shows the movement toward confidence carried by the word family behind “faith.”
pepoithōs: Having confidence, trusting.
πεποιθώς
This related form makes trust a settled reliance, the kind of ground that can steady a community.
ἐπερίσσευον
eperisseuon
GROWS FROM
περισσεύω (perisseuō), from the περισσ- (periss-) word family
To abound, overflow, or exceed.
“overflowed” in this verse is eperisseuon. “Increased” carries the sense of abounding, not merely adding a little at a time. Its ongoing verb form echoes the ongoing strengthening: firming and growth unfold together.
ALSO GROWS
perisseuō: Abound, overflow.
περισσεύω
This is the verb used for the assemblies’ continued increase.
perisseuma: Surplus, abundance.
περίσσευμα
This related noun shows the family’s sense of more than enough, illuminating the scale of the growth.
THE PATTERN
Trust made firm supports a living growth that continues over time.
And he becomes like a tree planted by the channels of the waters, that gives its fruit in its season; its leaf does not wither; whatever he does, he breaks through.Rooted and built up in him, and made firm in trust, just as you were taught, overflowing therein with thanksgiving.We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brothers, as it is worthy, because your trust grows beyond its measure, and the love of each one of you toward one another overflows.THE THREAD
Stand against him, firm in trust, seeing that the same sufferings are being carried through your kin in the world.“Stedfast” uses the same στερεός (stereos, firm) word family as “established” here, and “faith” is the same πίστις (pistis, trust). Together, the verses show trust becoming firm enough to hold under pressure.
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