Acts 13:20

Acts 13:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.
• New International Version (NIV)All this took about 450 years. “After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet.
• English Standard Version (ESV)All this took about 450 years. And after that he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“After that He gave them judges for about four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.

Context of Acts 13:20

18For a period of about forty years He put up with their behavior in the wilderness. 19When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He gave their land [to our ancestors] as an inheritance—this took about four hundred and fifty years. After this, He gave them judges until the prophet Samuel. 21Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22And when He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king: of him He testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart [conforming to My will and purposes], who will do all My will.’

Acts 13:20 word by word

ὡς ἔτεσιν τετρακοσίοις καὶ πεντήκοντα· καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἔδωκεν κριτὰς ἕως Σαμουὴλ τοῦ προφήτου·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• afterμετάmeta · with/afterG3326
• thatοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• he gaveδίδωμιdidōmi · to giveG1325
• judgesκριτήςkritēs · judgeG2923
• about the space ofὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
• four hundredτετρακόσιοιtetrakosioi tetrakosia · four hundredG5071
• fiftyπεντήκονταpentēkonta · fiftyG4004
• yearsἔτοςetos · yearG2094
• untilἕωςheōs · untilG2193
• SamuelΣαμουήλSamouēl · SamuelG4545
• the prophetὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the prophetπροφήτηςprophētēs · prophetG4396

Cross-references for Acts 13:20

• Judges 2:16Then the Lord raised up judges who rescued them from the hands of those who robbed them.
• Judges 3:10The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand, and he prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim.
• Ruth 1:1In the days when the judges governed [Israel], there was a famine in the land [of Canaan]. And a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live temporarily in the country of Moab with his wife and his two sons.
• 1 Samuel 12:11Then the Lord sent Jerubbaal (Gideon) and Bedan and Jephthah and Samuel, and He rescued you from the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in security.
• 2 Samuel 7:11even from the day that I appointed judges over My people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. The Lord also declares to you that He will make a house (royal dynasty) for you.
• 2 Kings 23:22Indeed, such a Passover as this had not been held since the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah.
• 1 Chronicles 17:6Wherever I have walked with all Israel, did I say a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, saying, ‘Why have you not built for Me a house of cedar?’ ” ’
• 1 Samuel 3:20And all Israel from Dan [in the north] to Beersheba [in the south] knew that Samuel was appointed as a prophet of the Lord.

Commentaries on Acts 13:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years - This is a most difficult passage, and has been termed by Scaliger, Crux Chronologorum. The apostle seems here to contradict the account in 1 Kings 6:1; : And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign, he began to build the house of the Lord. Sir Norton…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20He gave unto them judges - Men who were raised up in an extraordinary manner to administer the affairs of the nation, to defend it from enemies, etc. See Judges 2:16. About the space of four hundred and fifty years - This is a most difficult passage, and has exercised all the ingenuity of chronologists. The ancient versions agree with the present Greek text. The difficulty has been to reconcile it with what is said in 1 Kings 6:1, “And it came to pass in…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-31Verses 14-31 When we come together to worship God, we must do it, not only by prayer and praise, but by the reading and hearing of the word of God. The bare reading of the Scriptures in public assemblies is not enough; they should be expounded, and the people exhorted out of them. This is helping people in doing that which is necessary to make the word profitable, to apply it to themselves. Every thing is touched upon in this sermon, which might best…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17-22To establish common ground with his audience, Paul traced Jewish history starting from the Israelite exodus from Egypt. He emphasized: the Israelites' escape from Egyptian slavery, their settlement in Canaan, the establishment of the kingdom of Israel, the removal of King Saul, and the special role of King David.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 18-2218-22. forty years suffered he their manners--rather, according to what appears the true reading, "cherished he them" (as a nurse the infant in her bosom).Read the comment

Topics related to Acts 13:20

• Antioch
• Israel
• Judge
• Law
• Minister, Christian
• Paul
• Preaching
• Synagogue
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• Samuel
• Four Hundred
• Light
• Lo
• Ordain
• Prophet
• Season
• Stock
• Acts of the Apostles
• Doctrine

Commentaries on Acts 13

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings