He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
He said unto them, х heuroon (G2147) ... eipen (G2036), or, according to, perhaps, the true reading, heurein (G2147) ... eipen (G2036) te (G5037), 'found, And said'],
Have ye received the Holy Spirit since ye believed? х elabete (G2983) pisteusantes (G4100)] - rather, 'Did ye receive the Holy Spirit on believing?' from which it is natural to infer that the one did not of necessity carry the other along with it (see the notes at Acts 8:14-17). Why this question was asked, we cannot tell; but it was probably in consequence of something that passed between them from which the apostle was led to suspect the imperfection of their light. They were probably at the same stage of Christian knowledge as Apollos when he came to Corinth, and, having newly arrived, had no communication with any Christians at Ephesus.
And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Spirit. This cannot be the meaning, since the personality and office of the Holy Spirit, in connection with Christ, formed an especial subject of the Baptist's teaching. Literally, 'We did not even hear whether the Holy Spirit was [given],' that is, at the time of their baptism. That the word 'given' is the right supplement, seems plain from the nature of the case; and it is the same in John 7:39, on the same subject.