Acts of the Sent Away Ones 9

περιήστραψεν αὐτὸν φῶς — aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular of περιστρέφω, “to whirl around, wheel around, rotate.”

Morphology:

• περι- = “around, about” (prefix indicating circular or encompassing motion)

• ήστραψεν = aorist indicative active 3rd person singular of στρέφω (“to turn”) → completes the stem περιστρέφω.

• αὐτὸν = accusative masculine singular pronoun, “him” (direct object).

• φῶς = accusative or nominative singular of φῶς, “light” (goal or direction of the turning, or if nominative, the cause/subject).

Literal sense:

• “He turned him toward the light” or “He made him face the light.”

• Action is completed (aorist), physical rotation or reorientation is implied.

Figurative / extended sense:

• Could indicate moral, intellectual, or spiritual reorientation (“turning toward enlightenment, truth, or revelation”).

• Common metaphor in Greek literature for guidance or awakening.

Construction note:

• περιήστραψεν + accusative object + accusative goal is classical Greek syntax for “turn X toward Y.”

• The verb here is transitive, and the accusative object marks the entity being turned; φῶς indicates the target/direction.

• φῶς as nominative (emphasizing emergent light, predicate sense) or accusative (emphasizing goal/direction).

• In περιήστραψεν αὐτὸν φῶς, context usually favors accusative directional reading: “He turned him toward the light.”

• If taken as nominative, the phrase could suggest light as the resulting state or effect of the turning.

Etymological clarification:

• περιήστραψεν derives from περιστρέφω, not ἀστράπτω (“to flash, to shine”).

• Though the stem -στραψ- superficially resembles ἀστράπτω, morphology and classical usage confirm the rotational sense, not luminous flash.

• If one wanted to form a verb from ἀστράπτω with the idea of “turning around in a flash,” the correct aorist infinitive would be περιαστράψαι (“to flash around”), which is used later in Acts 22:6.

Parallel Hebrew/LXX concepts:

• Transitive “bring near” or “turn toward” parallels סַב / פנה / הפך.

• The addition of φῶς as the goal mirrors Hebrew figurative language פנה אל האור (“turn to the light”) or סוב את פניו לאור (“turn one’s face to the light”), used both literally and metaphorically for guidance, enlightenment, or salvation.

Summary:

• περιήστραψεν αὐτὸν φῶς = “he turned him to the light” (physical, moral, or spiritual).

• Verb is rotational (περιστρέφω), not luminous (ἀστράπτω).

• Accusative construction marks the person being turned; φῶς marks the direction.

• Any figurative meaning (“enlightenment,” “awakening”) derives from the collocation with φῶς, not from the verb stem.

(cf. LSJ περιστρέφω)

Ταρσεύς literally derives from ταρσός, a neuter noun meaning “frame of wicker, crate, or flat basket”, originally used for:

1. Practical applications – drying cheese (Od. 9.219, Theoc. 11.37) or as mats of reeds in brickwork (Hdt. 1.179; Thuc. 2.76).

2. Extended meanings – any flat, supportive, or layered structure, including the flat of the foot, rows of feathers, eyelid edges, or rows of oars.

As a proper name (Ταρσεύς) or ethnonym, the term likely reflects a toponymic or descriptive origin:

• Literal sense: “place of mats or flat frames” (i.e., a site characterized by reed mats, flatlands, or basketry).

• Metaphorical sense: may convey a structured or layered space, or by extension, a person or people associated with such a place.

Thus, Ταρσεύς could be understood as “one from the place of flat frames/mats”, linking the material/structural sense of ταρσός to a toponymic or tribal identity.

(cf. LSJ ταρσός)

οἰκοδομέω building a house has often been translated in its metaphorical sense as "edified." This is not the primary literal meaning (cf. LSJ οἰκοδομέω)

The modern translations, wanting to force the narratives into a chronological history disgracefully hacked the present participle senses of "she who is built up" and "she who is leading/traversing across" to the past tenses "was built up," "were edified," "was strengthened," "having gone," etc.

These are all false translations. The present tense does not equate to the past tense.

The name Αἰνέας derives from the Greek root αἶνος (“praise, commendation, laudatory tale”) and the verb αἰνέω (“to praise, approve”). Thus Αἰνέας carries the sense “the praiseworthy one” or “man of praise.” In Greco-Roman tradition, Aeneas is the Trojan hero, son of Anchises and Aphrodite, who survived the fall of Troy and became the legendary progenitor of Rome. In Acts 9:33, the same name is borne by a paralytic in Lydda, likely reflecting the Greek heroic name rather than a Semitic equivalent.

The name Δορκάς (“roe-deer, gazelle”) is traditionally derived from δέρκομαι, highlighting the animal’s large, bright eyes and acute vigilance, illustrating a common Greek practice of naming animals by distinctive physical traits.

The Greek verb δέρκομαι (perf. δέδορκα) means “to see clearly, perceive with the eyes, look intently.” It is a deponent verb used throughout classical literature to emphasize active perception or keen sight, often with a nuance of careful observation or scrutiny. Examples:

• Homeric: δέδορκεν ἄρα Ἀχιλλεύς — “Achilles saw clearly” (Il. 1.83).

• Hellenistic / Historiographical: Herodotus, Xenophon — used to describe animals or humans perceiving sharply (e.g., a Δορκάς noted for its bright, alert eyes).

• Figurative usage: δέρκομαι can convey mental or spiritual insight, not merely physical sight (e.g., Plutarch, Aristophanes).

The perfect form δέδορκα emphasizes completion or certainty of perception, often translated as “I have clearly seen” or “I have perceived fully.”

All the modern English translations render ἕως ἡμῶν as “to us”, effectively absorbing the temporal nuance of ἕως into the prepositional sense of “to”. 

• Greek: διελθεῖν ἕως ἡμῶν → literally “to pass through until to us”

• English (modern translations): “come to us”

Observations:

1. ἕως + genitive normally conveys “until / up to” in a temporal or spatial sense.

2. Translators render it as “to us” to force the text to read naturally in English. Greek normally uses prepositions for this sense (e.g. ἔρχεσθε πρὸς ἡμᾶς “come toward us”)

3. The subtle implication of duration or endpoint (literally, “until he reaches us”) is mostly lost; the idiomatic takes emphasize the goal of the journey, not the temporal “until.”

So while the Greek emphasizes the endpoint/arrival, modern translations, as usual, prioritize English idiomatic bias.