Acts 11:19–11:26, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Acts 11:19–11:26
Antioch becomes a mixed teaching community
Scattered speech becomes a year of mixed teaching, and a new name sticks
They which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travel as far as Phenice, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only. Some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, when they are come to Antioch, speak unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. The hand of the Lord is with them, and a great number believe and turn unto the Lord. Tidings come to the church in Jerusalem. They send forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch. When he comes and sees the grace of God, he is glad, exhorts them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord, for he is a good man, full of the Holy Ghost and of faith. Much people is added unto the Lord. Barnabas goes to Tarsus to seek Saul, brings him to Antioch, and for a whole year they assemble themselves with the church and teach much people. The disciples are called Christians first in Antioch.
A manuscript question affects whether the hearers are Greeks or Greek-speaking Jews. Either way, Acts marks a widening mission and a year of communal teaching, not a celebrity visit. Jerusalem's sending of Barnabas is oversight that rejoices at grace already present. The name Christian is given to a mixed Antioch body; it does not replace Israel or erase the Jewish believers who first carried the word.
How this should shape us
Stay long enough to teach, not only long enough to start something. Recruit the partner the work actually needs, and do not use a new group name as proof that Jewish life has been left behind.
Teach it back
Explain Acts 11:19–11:26 in your own words, naming its movement, speaker or narrator role, one source-controlled detail, one uncertainty, one affected person, and one conclusion the passage does not authorize.
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The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do responsible interpreters differ?
Best judgment: A manuscript question affects whether the group is described as Greeks or Greek-speaking Jews; either way, Acts marks widening mission and a year of communal teaching.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and unit coverage.
Acts 11:19–11:26, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Greek wording and punctuation control, without pretending one edition is a complete apparatus.
SBLGNT official text, Acts 11:19-11:26
Supports: Morphology and lexical cross-check for words explicitly discussed in this unit.
STEP Bible Data, TAGNT rows for Acts 11:19-11:26
Supports: Verse-attached textual, translation, language, geography, chronology, and historical notes actually printed for the unit.
NET Bible First Edition Acts PDF, printed pp. 2104-2205, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to 11:19–11:26
Supports: Introductory critical orientation to the unit's place in Luke-Acts, with contested judgments retained as interpretations.
Yale Bible Study Acts course, course unit 'Gentiles Join the Movement,' Acts 9-12 study guide
Supports: One complete confessional commentary reading, independently checked against the text and critical controls.
Thompson, online Acts commentary, heading and paragraphs explicitly covering Acts 11:19–11:26
Supports: Abstract-supported control for Jewish continuity and Gentile inclusion in Acts 11:19–11:26, not a settlement of every conflict scene.
Smith, JTS 72.2 (2021), pp. 738-765, official abstract and bibliographic record
Supports: Direct manuscript evidence only where a material Western reading is named; Bezae is not treated as the Western text as a whole.
IGNTP Codex Bezae Acts transcription, verse-addressable witness at 11:19–11:26, checked with SBLGNT and the NET tc note
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and unit coverage.
Exact location: Acts 11:19–11:26, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording and punctuation control, without pretending one edition is a complete apparatus.
Exact location: SBLGNT official text, Acts 11:19-11:26
Open the Acts Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Morphology and lexical cross-check for words explicitly discussed in this unit.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data, TAGNT rows for Acts 11:19-11:26
Open source ↗open translation and translator notes
NET Bible First Edition Notes: Acts
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-attached textual, translation, language, geography, chronology, and historical notes actually printed for the unit.
Exact location: NET Bible First Edition Acts PDF, printed pp. 2104-2205, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to 11:19–11:26
Open source ↗open university bible study course
Acts of the Apostles Course and Study Guides
Yale Divinity School faculty
Yale Bible Study, 2019
Supports: Introductory critical orientation to the unit's place in Luke-Acts, with contested judgments retained as interpretations.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study Acts course, course unit 'Gentiles Join the Movement,' Acts 9-12 study guide
Open source ↗open confessional commentary
The Acts of the Apostles
Alan J. Thompson
The Gospel Coalition, 2023
Supports: One complete confessional commentary reading, independently checked against the text and critical controls.
Exact location: Thompson, online Acts commentary, heading and paragraphs explicitly covering Acts 11:19–11:26
Open source ↗peer reviewed article abstract and metadata
The Jewishness of Luke-Acts: How Recent Scholarship Has Challenged the View that Luke-Acts Is Pro-Gentile and Anti-Jewish
Joshua Paul Smith
The Journal of Theological Studies 72.2, 2021
Supports: Abstract-supported control for Jewish continuity and Gentile inclusion in Acts 11:19–11:26, not a settlement of every conflict scene.
Exact location: Smith, JTS 72.2 (2021), pp. 738-765, official abstract and bibliographic record
Open source ↗primary manuscript transcription
Codex Bezae: Electronic Transcription of Acts
International Greek New Testament Project
Institute for Textual Scholarship and Electronic Editing, University of Birmingham, 2012 transcription; current online edition
Supports: Direct manuscript evidence only where a material Western reading is named; Bezae is not treated as the Western text as a whole.
Exact location: IGNTP Codex Bezae Acts transcription, verse-addressable witness at 11:19–11:26, checked with SBLGNT and the NET tc note
Open source ↗