Five-minute study · Day 306 · Acts 3
Acts 3:6
A word worth stopping on: silver ἀργύριον argyrion
'Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.' The Greek word for 'silver' is argyrion. Coined silver, money, currency. Peter and John were walking into the Temple at the ninth hour, the afternoon hour of prayer, roughly 3 PM. A man who had been lame from birth sat at the gate called Beautiful, asking for argyrion. He asked for coins. Peter said he had none. Then Peter gave him something the man had stopped imagining was possible. His legs. Forty years of being carried to that gate (Acts 4:22 tells us the man was over forty), and Peter walked past the currency the man expected and offered a transaction the man had abandoned.
Word study: silver
- Greek
- ἀργύριον
- Pronounced
- argyrion
- Strong's
- G0694
- Definition
- Silver, silver coin, money. A piece of silver used as currency. From argyros (silver as a metal). Used broadly in the New Testament for money in general.
Argyrion appears 20 times in the New Testament. BDAG defines it as 'silver, money, a piece of silver.' The word ranges from the specific (a silver coin) to the general (money, funds). It appears in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:18, 27, the servant hiding his master's argyrion in the ground), in the payment to Judas (Matthew 26:15, thirty pieces of argyrion), in the purchase of the potter's field (Matthew 27:5-6, Judas throwing the argyrion into the Temple), and in Simon Magus's attempt to purchase the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:20, 'thy argyrion perish with thee').
Barrett's commentary on Acts I (ICC) examines Acts 3:1-10 as the first healing miracle in the post-Pentecost church. The narrative parallels and surpasses Jesus's own healing miracles. Barrett notes the specific details Luke provides: the gate called Beautiful, the ninth hour, the man's age and condition. The gate called Beautiful (horaia) is debated among scholars. Josephus describes the Nicanor Gate on the eastern side of the Temple, made of Corinthian bronze, which he calls 'far exceeding in value those plated with silver and set in gold' (Jewish War 5.5.3). If this identification is correct, the man begging for argyrion sat beside a gate made of metal far more precious than the coins he sought.
Barrett observes that Peter's declaration, 'Silver and gold have I none,' is more than an apology. It establishes the economy of the apostolic church. The early community had pooled resources (Acts 2:44-45), and Peter personally may have had nothing. The contrast between 'what I do not have' and 'what I do have' structures the entire encounter. The man expected the economy of the gate. Peter operated in the economy of the name. Argyrion was the currency of the Temple forecourt. The name of Jesus was the currency Peter carried.
Historical context · c. 30-33 AD, Herodian Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple Gates and the Economy of Almsgiving
The Temple in Jerusalem as rebuilt by Herod the Great (beginning c. 20 BC) was one of the architectural wonders of the ancient world. Josephus describes it in extensive detail in both the Antiquities of the Jews and the Jewish War. The Temple complex covered approximately 36 acres, enclosed by massive retaining walls (the Western Wall survives today). Access moved through a series of courts: the Court of the Gentiles (outermost, open to all), the Court of Women (accessible to Jewish women and men), the Court of Israel (Jewish men only), the Court of the Priests, and the Temple building itself.
The gate called Beautiful (Acts 3:2, 10) is most commonly identified with the Nicanor Gate, which stood at the boundary between the Court of the Gentiles and the Court of Women. Josephus describes this gate as made of Corinthian bronze, requiring twenty men to open and close it. Archaeological evidence from the Temple Mount excavations, conducted after 1967, includes massive stone blocks from the Herodian construction, fallen columns, and inscriptions warning Gentiles not to pass beyond the outer court (the Soreg inscription, one example now in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum).
Almsgiving at the Temple gates was common. Beggars positioned themselves where foot traffic was heaviest, particularly at the times of prayer when worshipers streamed through the gates. The ninth hour (Acts 3:1) was one of the two daily times of prayer corresponding to the morning and afternoon tamid (continual) sacrifices. The man at the gate Beautiful had been carried there daily (Acts 3:2). His livelihood depended on the generosity of people entering to worship. The intersection of prayer and charity at the Temple gate was culturally embedded. Deuteronomy 15:11 commanded generosity: 'Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor.' The Temple was where that command was most publicly enacted.
For reflection
The lame man asked for money. Peter gave him something he had stopped asking for. Is there something you have stopped asking God for because you assumed it was off the table?
Think about the difference between what you settle for and what you once hoped for.
Sources: BDAG; Barrett, 'Acts I' (ICC)