SEV Biblia, Chapter 2:11
cretenses y rabes, les oímos hablar en nuestras lenguas las maravillas de Dios.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Acts 2:11
Verse 11. Cretes] Natives of Crete, a large and noted island in the Levant, or eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea, now called Candia. Arabians] Natives of Arabia, a well known country of Asia, having the Red Sea on the west; the Persian Gulf on the east; Judea on the north; and the Indian Ocean on the south.
The wonderful works of God.] Such as the incarnation of Christ; his various miracles, preaching, death, resurrection, and ascension; and the design of God to save the world through him. From this one circumstance we may learn that all the people enumerated above were either Jews or proselytes; and that there was probably none that could be, strictly speaking, called heathens among them. It may at first appear strange that there could be found Jews in so many different countries, some of which were very remote from the others; but there is a passage in Philo's Embassy to Caius which throws considerable light on the subject. In a letter sent to Caius by King Agrippa, he speaks of to the holy city of Jerusalem, not merely as the metropolis of Judea, but of many other regions, because of the colonies at different times led out of Judea, not only into neighbouring countries, such as Egypt, Phoenicia, Syria, and Coelosyria, but also into those that are remote, such as Pamphylia, Cilicia, and the chief parts of Asia as far as Bithynia, and the innermost parts of Pontus; also in the regions of Europe, Thessaly, Boeotia, Macedonia, AEtolia, Attica, Argos, Corinth, and the principal parts of Peloponnesus.
Not only the continents and provinces (says he) are full of Jewish colonies, but the most celebrated isles also, Euboea, Cyprus, and Crete, not to mention the countries beyond the Euphrates. All these (a small part of Babylon and some other praefectures excepted, which possess fertile territories) are inhabited by Jews. Not only my native city entreats thy clemency, but other cities also, situated in different parts of the world, Asia, Europe, Africa; both islands, sea coasts, and inland countries." PHILONIS Opera, edit. Mangey, vol. ii. p. 587.
It is worthy of remark that almost all the places and provinces mentioned by St. Luke are mentioned also in this letter of King Agrippa. These, being all Jews or proselytes, could understand in some measure the wonderful works of God, of which mere heathens could have formed no conception.
It was wisely ordered that the miraculous descent of the Holy Ghost should take place at this time, when so many from various nations were present to bear witness to what was done, and to be themselves subjects of his mighty working. These, on their return to their respective countries, would naturally proclaim what things they saw and heard; and by this the way of the apostles was made plain; and thus Christianity made a rapid progress over all those parts in a very short time after the resurrection of our Lord.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 11. Cretes and Arabians , etc.] The former are either the same with the Cretians, ( Titus 1:12) the inhabitants of the island of Crete, ( Acts 27:7) now called Candia or Candy, which has on the north the Aegean sea, on the south the Libyan or African sea, on the west the Adriatic sea, and on the east the Carpathian sea. In it were an hundred cities; the most famous of which were, Gnosos, Cortyna, Lyctos, Lycastos, Holopixos, Phaestos, Cydon, Manethusa, Dyctynna f101 , and others; these spoke the Greek language; yet not the Attic, for the Cretian and Attic speech are distinguished f102 : or else, as Dr. Lightfoot thinks, these were the same with the Cherethim or Cherethites, in ( Ezekiel 25:16, Zephaniah 2:5) whom the Septuagint interpreters call Cretes, as here; since these are mentioned with the Philistines, to whose land Arabia joined; the inhabitants of which are next mentioned here. There were three Arabias; Arabia Petraea, which had on the west part of Egypt, and on the north Judea, and part of Syria, on the south the Red sea, and on the east Arabia Felix. The second was called Arabia Deserta, and had on the north part of Mesopotamia, and on the east Babylonia, on the south Arabia Felix, and on the west, part of Syria and Arabia Petraea. The third was called Arabia Felix, and had on the north the south sides of Petraea and Arabia Deserta, and the more southern part of the Persian gulf, on the west the gulf of Arabia, and on the south the Red sea, and on the east, part of the Persian gulf f103 ; and here dwelt Jews who spoke the Arabic language. Now these Jews, of different nations, declared concerning the apostles, saying, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God ; not the works of creation and providence, though these are great and wonderful; but of redemption, pardon, atonement, justification, and salvation, by the Messiah, by his obedience, sufferings, and death, and also of his resurrection from the dead; things which struck them with amazement, and the more, that such illiterate persons should have such knowledge of them, and should be able to speak of them in such a clear, distinct, and powerful manner; and still the more, that they should speak of them in their several tongues in which they were born, and to which they were used, and which the apostles had never learned: and this they heard with their own ears, and were fully satisfied that they did speak divers languages.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 5-13 - The difference in languages which arose at Babel, has much hindered the spread of knowledge and religion. The instruments whom the Lord firs employed in spreading the Christian religion, could have made n progress without this gift, which proved that their authority was from God.
Greek Textus Receptus
κρητες 2912 N-NPM και 2532 CONJ αραβες 690 N-NPM ακουομεν 191 5719 V-PAI-1P λαλουντων 2980 5723 V-PAP-GPM αυτων 846 P-GPM ταις 3588 T-DPF ημετεραις 2251 S-1DPF γλωσσαις 1100 N-DPF τα 3588 T-APN μεγαλεια 3167 A-APN του 3588 T-GSM θεου 2316 N-GSM
Vincent's NT Word Studies
11. Arabians. Whose country bordered on Judaea, and must have contained many Jews.Speak (lalountwn). Rev., rightly, gives the force of the participle, speaking.
Wonderful works (megaleia). See on majesty, 2 Pet. i. 16. From megav, great. Rev., mighty works. Used by Luke only.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
2:11 {Cretes and Arabians}. These two groups "seem to have been added to the list as an afterthought" (Knowling). Crete is an island to itself and Arabia was separate also though near Judea and full of Jews. The point is not that each one of these groups of Jews spoke a different language, but that wherever there was a local tongue they heard men speaking in it. {We do hear them speaking} (akouomen lalountwn autwn). Genitive case autwn with akouw the participle lalountwn agreeing with autwn, a sort of participial idiom of indirect discourse (Robertson, _Grammar_, pp. 1040ff.). {The mighty works} (ta megaleia). Old adjective for magnificent. In LXX, but only here (not genuine in #Lu 1:49) in the N.T. Cf. #2Pe 1:16 for megaleiotes (majesty).
