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ACTS CHAPTER 9
[Acts 9:7 NIV]:
"The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone."
DID PAUL'S COMPANIONS HEAR THE LORD'S WORDS OR NOT??
Note: KJV: "the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice.."
[Compare Acts 22:7 NIV]:
(v. 7) "I [Paul] fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, 'Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute Me?'
(v. 8) 'Who are you, Lord?' I asked.
'I am Jesus of Nazareth, Whom you are persecuting,' He replied.
(v. 9) My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of Him Who was speaking to Me.' "
[Note: KJV: "but they heard not the voice of Him that spake to me."]
Note that the KJV is not properly rendering the original Greek here.
[Ken Collins states, (http://www.kencollins.com/bible-i2.htm)]:
"An example of a discrepancy in the King James Version can be found in Acts. It says in Acts 9:7 that Paul's companions did not hear the voice from heaven, but in Acts 22:9, Paul says that his companions did hear the voice! The discrepancy is cleared up when we learn a little of Greek grammar: the verb "to hear" is the same in both verses, but the object of the verb is in the genitive case in Acts 9:7 and in the accusative case in Acts 22:9, and the difference is reflected in modern translations.
[Note the NIV translation above illustrates this]
Acts 22:9 says that they heard the voice, but Acts 9:7 says that they didn't understand it. The same thing can happen with the English verb 'listen', which can mean to hear or to obey. So a child can hear his mother talk without 'listening to' (that is, 'obeying') his mother!"
[John W. Haley states, 'Alleged Discrepancies of the Bible', Whitaker House, New Kensington, Pa., 1992, p. 359]:
"The Greek 'akou,' like our word 'hear,' has two distinct meanings, to perceive sound, and to understand.
[On use of akouo with different cases, see Winer's Grammar of N.T. Idiom, pp. 199, 200 (Thayer's edition); also, Bultmann's Grammar, pp. 165, 166.]
The men who were with Saul of Tarsus, heard the sound, but did not understand what was said to him. As to the fact that one passage represents them as 'standing'; the other, as having 'fallen to the earth,' the word rendered 'stood' also means to be fixed, to be rooted to the spot. Hence the sense may be, not that they stood erect, but that they were rendered motionless, or fixed to the spot, by overpowering fear. Or, perhaps, when the light with such exceeding brilliancy burst upon them, they all 'fell to the earth,' but afterward rose and 'stood' upon their feet.
[Compare Hackett, Commentary on Acts ix 7]"
[Dr. Stanley D. Toussaint states, (Bible Knowledge Commentary, Walvoord & Zuck, Victor Books, USA, 1988, p. 376)]:
"An apparent discrepancy stands between verse 7 and 22:9. In 9:7 Luke recorded [NIV] that the men who traveled with Saul... heard the sound (phonen), but in 22:9 Luke wrote that 'they did not understand the voice' (phonen), .....The NIV correctly translates the verse, because the verb 'to hear' with the genetive case may mean 'to hear a sound' and with the accusative case 'to hear with understanding.' The genitive case is employed in 9:7, and the accusative is used in 22:9. So the travelers with Saul heard the sound (9:7) but did not understand what Christ said (22:9)."
[Acts 9:10-18]:
(v. 10) ''' "In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!" "Yes, Lord," he answered.
(v. 11) The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.
(v. 12) In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight."
(v. 13) "Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem.
(v. 14) And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name."
(v. 15) But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.
(v. 16) I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."
(v. 17) Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord--Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here--has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit."
(v. 18) Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized,
[Ccbgracer@aol.com]:
"The scales falling indicates the occurrence of the filling of the Spirit, which would indicate the indwelling of the Spirit, which would indicate the baptism of the Spirit. The action that prompts the baptism is he got up. So the focus is on his physical movement. He had to get up and go somewhere to be water baptized. His physical posture would be irrelevant to Spirit baptism"
[bmj@direcway.com]:
"There is a sequence in the visit from Ananias, Ananias placed his hands on Saul, Saul received his sight "instantly", and "having risen up", was baptized, and "having eaten", was strengthened. No doubt that Saul was also [filled] by the Holy Spirit, as Acts 9:17 states he would be, but I take the "baptism" of Acts 9:18 to be water baptism]
(v. 19) and after taking some food, he regained his strength.'''