Acts 5:1 - Exposition

Ananias ( ἀνανίας ) In Nehemiah 3:23 the Hebrew name היָנְנַעֲ (God covers or protects) is thus rendered in the LXX . But the name occurs nowhere else. The very common name היָנְנַהֲ , Hananiah (God is gracious), is also rendered in the LXX . Ananias ( ἀνανίας ), and is doubtless the name meant here and in Acts 9:10 ; Acts 23:2 , etc. Sapphira does not occur elsewhere. It is either derived from the Aramean הרָיפָשַׁ , beautiful, or from the Hebrew ריפִסַ , a sapphire. A possession (see Acts 2:45 ). The kind of possession is not specified by the word itself, which applies to houses, fields, jewels, and wealth generally; but the nature of the property is shown by the word χωρίον , applied to it in Acts 23:3 and Acts 23:8 , which means especially" a parcel of ground" ( John 4:5 ), "a field" ( Acts 1:18 , Acts 1:19 ).