The Meaning of Acts 10:6 Explained

Acts 10:6

KJV: He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.

YLT: this one doth lodge with a certain Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea; this one shall speak to thee what it behoveth thee to do.'

Darby: He lodges with a certain Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.

ASV: he lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

He  lodgeth  with  one  Simon  a tanner,  whose  house  is  by  the sea side:  he  shall tell  thee  what  thou  oughtest  to do. 

What does Acts 10:6 Mean?

Context Summary

Acts 10:1-16 - Guidance For Men Who Pray
At this point the Church took a new departure, and the gospel broke over the walls of Jewish exclusiveness and was preached for the first time to pure-blooded Gentiles. Caesarea, built by the great Herod, was practically a Roman city, and the official seat of the Roman government in Judea. Cornelius was an officer of high rank, and it would seem naturally of noble character. He had no sympathy with the religious fables and sensuous indulgence of his time, and was attracted to the Jewish faith, which stood alone in the world for pure and undefiled conceptions of God. He adopted some of its characteristic features-its hours of prayer, its practice of fasting, and its almsgiving.
He had apparently set apart the whole of this memorable day for earnest inquiry as to the way of salvation, and as the sun was declining an angel brought the necessary indication of the steps that he should take. In the meanwhile God was about to prepare Peter to bring Cornelius into the perfect light. On the following day, as the messengers of Cornelius were nearing Joppa, the vision of a redeemed world from which Hebrew restrictions had vanished, opened to the Apostle a new and wider conception of God's purpose. [source]

Chapter Summary: Acts 10

1  Cornelius, a devout man, being commanded by an angel, sends for Peter,
11  who by a vision is taught not to despise the Gentiles;
17  and is commanded by the Spirit to go with the messenger to Caesarea
25  Cornelius shows the occasion of his sending for him
34  As he preaches Christ to Cornelius and his company,
44  the Holy Spirit falls on them, and they are baptized

Greek Commentary for Acts 10:6

Lodgeth [xenizetai)]
Present passive indicative of xenizō old verb from xenos a stranger as a guest. So to entertain a guest as here or to surprise by strange acts (Acts 17:20; 1 Peter 4:4). [source]
Whose [hōi)]
To whom, dative of possession. By the seaside (para thalassan). Along by the sea. Note accusative case. Outside the city walls because a tanner and to secure water for his trade. Some tanneries are by the seashore at Jaffa today. [source]
By the seaside [para thalassan)]
Along by the sea. Note accusative case. Outside the city walls because a tanner and to secure water for his trade. Some tanneries are by the seashore at Jaffa today. [source]
A tanner []
Showing that the strictness of the Jewish law was losing its hold on Peter; since the tanner's occupation was regarded as unclean by strict Jews, and the tanners were commanded to dwell apart. “If a tanner married without mentioning his trade, his wife was permitted to get a divorce. The law of levirate marriage might be set aside if the brother-in-law of the childless widow was a tanner. A tanner's yard must be at least fifty cubits from any town” (Farrar, “Life and Work of St. Paul”). [source]
By the seaside []
Outside the walls, both for proximity to the business, and because of the ceremonial requirement referred to above. Mr. William C. Prime, describing a visit to Joppa, says: “I was walking along the sea-beach, looking for shells, and at about a fourth of a mile from the city, to the southward, I found two tanneries directly on the seaside. I observed that the rocks in front of them were covered with the water a few inches deep, and that they soaked their hides on these rocks, and also submitted them to some process in the water which I did not stop to understand” (“Tent-life in the Holy Land”). [source]
Of them that waited on him continually [προσκαρτερούν των αὐτῷ]
See on Acts 1:14. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Acts 10:6

Acts 10:18 Asked [epunthanonto)]
Imperfect middle of punthanomai old verb to make inquiry especially with an indirect question as here. Kept on inquiring. Westcott and Hort follow B C here and read eputhonto (second aorist middle, effective aorist). Either makes sense, though the imperfect is more picturesque. Were lodging (xenizetai). Present middle indicative retained in indirect question. See note on Acts 10:6 for the verb. [source]
Acts 10:18 Were lodging [xenizetai)]
Present middle indicative retained in indirect question. See note on Acts 10:6 for the verb. [source]
Acts 10:23 Lodged them [exenisen)]
Active voice here rather than passive as in Acts 10:6. [source]
Acts 21:16 Bringing [αγοντες]
Nominative plural participle agreeing with τινες — tines understood, not with case of ματητων — mathētōn One Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we should lodge (παρ ωι χενιστωμεν Μνασωνι τινι Κυπριωι αρχαιωι ματητηι — par hōi xenisthōmen Mnasnōi tini Kupriōi archaiōi mathētēi). A thoroughly idiomatic Greek idiom, incorporation and attraction of the antecedent into the relative clause (Robertson, Grammar, p. 718). Μνασωνι — Mnasōni is really the object of αγοντες — agontes or the accusative with παρα — para or προς — pros understood and should be accusative, but it is placed in the clause after the relative and in the same locative case with the relative ωι — hōi (due to παρ — par' beside, with). Then the rest agrees in case with Μνασωνι — Mnasōni He was originally from Cyprus, but now in Caesarea. The Codex Bezae adds εις τινα κωμην — eis tina kōmēn (to a certain village) and makes it mean that they were to lodge with Mnason at his home there about halfway to Jerusalem. This may be true. The use of the subjunctive χενιστωμεν — xenisthōmen (first aorist passive of χενιζω — xenizō to entertain strangers as in Acts 10:6, Acts 10:23, Acts 10:32 already) may be volitive of purpose with the relative (Robertson, Grammar, pp. 955, 989). The use of αρχαιωι — archaiōi for “early” may refer to the fact that he was one of the original disciples at Pentecost as Peter in Acts 15:7 uses ημερων αρχαιων — hēmerōn archaiōn (early days) to refer to his experience at Ceasarea in Acts 10. “As the number of the first disciples lessened, the next generation accorded a sort of honour to the survivors” (Furneaux). [source]
Acts 21:16 One Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we should lodge [παρ ωι χενιστωμεν Μνασωνι τινι Κυπριωι αρχαιωι ματητηι]
A thoroughly idiomatic Greek idiom, incorporation and attraction of the antecedent into the relative clause (Robertson, Grammar, p. 718). Μνασωνι — Mnasōni is really the object of αγοντες — agontes or the accusative with παρα — para or προς — pros understood and should be accusative, but it is placed in the clause after the relative and in the same locative case with the relative ωι — hōi (due to παρ — par' beside, with). Then the rest agrees in case with Μνασωνι — Mnasōni He was originally from Cyprus, but now in Caesarea. The Codex Bezae adds εις τινα κωμην — eis tina kōmēn (to a certain village) and makes it mean that they were to lodge with Mnason at his home there about halfway to Jerusalem. This may be true. The use of the subjunctive χενιστωμεν — xenisthōmen (first aorist passive of χενιζω — xenizō to entertain strangers as in Acts 10:6, Acts 10:23, Acts 10:32 already) may be volitive of purpose with the relative (Robertson, Grammar, pp. 955, 989). The use of αρχαιωι — archaiōi for “early” may refer to the fact that he was one of the original disciples at Pentecost as Peter in Acts 15:7 uses ημερων αρχαιων — hēmerōn archaiōn (early days) to refer to his experience at Ceasarea in Acts 10. “As the number of the first disciples lessened, the next generation accorded a sort of honour to the survivors” (Furneaux). [source]

What do the individual words in Acts 10:6 mean?

He lodges with a certain Simon a tanner whose is [the] house by [the] sea He will tell you what you it behooves to do
οὗτος ξενίζεται παρά τινι Σίμωνι βυρσεῖ ἐστιν οἰκία παρὰ θάλασσαν {οὗτος λαλήσει σοι τί σε δεῖ ποιεῖν}

ξενίζεται  lodges 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Middle or Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ξενίζω  
Sense: to receive as a guest, to entertain, hospitably.
τινι  a  certain 
Parse: Interrogative / Indefinite Pronoun, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: τὶς  
Sense: a certain, a certain one.
Σίμωνι  Simon 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: Σίμων  
Sense: Peter was one of the apostles.
βυρσεῖ  a  tanner 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: βυρσεύς  
Sense: a tanner.
  whose 
Parse: Personal / Relative Pronoun, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: ὅς 
Sense: who, which, what, that.
οἰκία  [the]  house 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: οἰκία  
Sense: a house.
θάλασσαν  [the]  sea 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: θάλασσα  
Sense: the sea.
λαλήσει  will  tell 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἀπολαλέω 
Sense: to utter a voice or emit a sound.
δεῖ  it  behooves 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: δεῖ  
Sense: it is necessary, there is need of, it behooves, is right and proper.
ποιεῖν}  to  do 
Parse: Verb, Present Infinitive Active
Root: ποιέω  
Sense: to make.