The Meaning of Acts 13:52 Explained

Acts 13:52

KJV: And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.

YLT: and the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

Darby: And the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

ASV: And the disciples were filled with joy with the Holy Spirit.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  the disciples  were filled with  joy,  and  with the Holy  Ghost. 

What does Acts 13:52 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The identity of the "disciples" in Acts 13:52 is not clear. They could be Paul and Barnabas or the new converts in Antioch. I tend to think the word refers to both groups. Fullness of joy and fullness of the Holy Spirit marked these disciples.
It is interesting that two references to joy ( Acts 13:48; Acts 13:52) bracket the one mention of persecution in this passage ( Acts 13:50) suggesting that the missionaries" joy overrode the discomforts of persecution (cf. Acts 16:24-25).

Context Summary

Acts 13:38-52 - Jews Reject, Gentiles Accept, The Gospel
The doctrine of justification by faith, so closely associated with the work of Paul, is here stated for the first time. In Jesus there is forgiveness. For those who trust in Him past sins are absolutely put away, never to be named again, never to be brought up at any future judgment day. Our record is as clear as the sand which has been swept smooth by the ocean waves. We are not only forgiven, but justified. We are treated as though we had never sinned, and are justified from all things. It is a present fact. You may not feel justified or forgiven, but if you are trusting in Jesus, you are at this moment as certainly and as fully justified as have been the saints in heaven.
Pride, as well as jealousy of the Gentiles who were crowding into the fold, stirred the Jews to antagonism, but they could not eradicate the seed which had been so profusely scattered. Large numbers believed, and as they experienced salvation in Christ, they discovered that they were in line with an eternal purpose. This is the meaning of ordained in Acts 13:48. If with such slight opportunities, the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit, Acts 13:52, should we not possess the same experience? [source]

Chapter Summary: Acts 13

1  Paul and Barnabas are chosen to go to the Gentiles
6  Of Sergius Paulus, and Elymas the sorcerer
13  Paul preaches at Antioch that Jesus is Christ
42  The Gentiles believe;
44  but the Jews talked abusively against Paul,
46  whereupon they turn to the Gentiles, of whom many believe
50  The Jews raise a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, who go to Iconium

Greek Commentary for Acts 13:52

And the disciples [οι τε]
The Gentile Christians in Antioch in Pisidia. Persecution had precisely the opposite effect to the intention of the Jews for they “were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit” Imperfect passive, they kept on being filled. It had been so before (Acts 4:31; Acts 8:4; Acts 9:31; Acts 12:24). The blood of the martyrs is still the seed of the church. [source]

What do the individual words in Acts 13:52 mean?

- and the disciples were filled with joy and [the] Spirit Holy
οἵ τε μαθηταὶ ἐπληροῦντο χαρᾶς καὶ Πνεύματος Ἁγίου

οἵ  - 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
μαθηταὶ  the  disciples 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: μαθητής  
Sense: a learner, pupil, disciple.
ἐπληροῦντο  were  filled 
Parse: Verb, Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive, 3rd Person Plural
Root: πληρόω  
Sense: to make full, to fill up, i.e. to fill to the full.
χαρᾶς  with  joy 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: χαρά  
Sense: joy, gladness.
καὶ  and  [the] 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: καί  
Sense: and, also, even, indeed, but.
Πνεύματος  Spirit 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Neuter Singular
Root: πνεῦμα  
Sense: a movement of air (a gentle blast.
Ἁγίου  Holy 
Parse: Adjective, Genitive Neuter Singular
Root: ἅγιος  
Sense: most holy thing, a saint.