Acts 7:53

The phrase ἐλάβετε εἰς (Acts 7:53) is syntactically marked. Normally one would expect λαμβάνειν παρὰ (“receive from”) or λαμβάνειν διά (“receive through”) when indicating agency. Here, however, εἰς introduces the category or condition into which the reception is classified. Thus τὸν νόμον εἰς διαταγὰς ἀγγέλων is best understood not as “from angels,” but “as ordinances/dispositions of angels.” The construction parallels idiomatic Koine uses of λαμβάνειν εἰς meaning “to receive something into the form or status of …” (cf. P. Oxy. 1381.18, “λαμβάνειν εἰς τάξιν” = “receive into an order/class”). Hence the force is classificatory rather than instrumental.