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Acts 6:9 |
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Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called [the synagogue] of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.
Note 2 at Ac 6:9: These Libertines were either Jews who had been slaves but were set free by the Roman government, or they were possibly from a town in northern Africa called Libertina. At any rate, they were a group of Jews who, because of their common bond, had separated themselves from the rest of Judaism by having their own synagogue.
Note 3 at Ac 6:9: Cyrene was an important city in northern Africa, located just a few miles inland from the Mediterranean Sea in what is today called Libya.
Note 4 at Ac 6:9: The city of Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C. on the north coast of Egypt just west of the Nile Delta. During the time of this event in Acts, Alexandria had between 600,000 and 700,000 residents, a large part of whom were Jewish.
Note 5 at Ac 6:9: Cilicia was a southern province in Asia Minor, in which Tarsus, the home of Saul, was a principal city.
Note 6 at Ac 6:9: "Asia" here denoted a western province in Asia Minor whose capital was Ephesus.

