And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.
Persecution of the Church at Jerusalem, Particularly by Saul (8:1-3)
And Saul was consenting unto his death, х een (G1510) suneudokoon (G4909) tee (G3588) anairesei (G336) autou (G846)] - was heartily approving of his execution. The word conveys more than mere 'consent' (as will be seen from Luke 11:48; Romans 1:32; 1 Corinthians 7:12-13). How much more there was in this case his own confession long afterward reveal to us, Acts 22:20; Acts 26:9-11; and see below, Acts 8:3.
And at that time, х en (G1722) ekeinee (G1565) tee (G3588) heemera (G2250)] - literally, 'on that day.' In this literal sense it is understood by the Vulgate, Calvin, Beza, Bengel, DeWette, Meyer, Hackett, and Lechler, most of whom urge that the tide of the persecution which had swept away Stephen is here said to have rolled on from that hour. But there is no need to take it quite so literally, and what follows hardly accords with that. The phrase is employed in the same indefinite sense of "at that time" (in which our translators take it here) in John 14:20; John 16:23-26; and Mark 2:26 (according to the true reading). But, no doubt it was the facility with which the enemies of the Gospel had got rid of Stephen that stimulated them to proceed against the whole party of Christians at Jerusalem; for the persecuting passion, like every other passion, is fed by exercise, and they might think it wise to strike while the iron was hot.
And they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. This statement is not to be taken too literally. Probably it means only that all the more prominent disciples were fain to flee agreeably to their Lord's directions (Matthew 10:23). At all events not a few of them must have soon returned, as is evident from Acts 9:26-30. The apostles remained, not certainly as being less exposed to the heat of persecution, but to watch over the infant cause, at whatever risk, where it was most needful to cherish it, and probably under the impression that Jerusalem being the center of the whole Christian movement, they were not warranted to abandon it without express authority.