Acts 5:36

Πρὸ γὰρ τούτων τῶν ἡμερῶν ἀνέστη Θευδᾶς, λέγων εἶναί τινα ἑαυτόν, ᾧ προσεκλήθη ἀριθμὸς ἀνδρῶν ὡσεὶ τετρακοσίων· ὃς ἀνῃρέθη, καὶ πάντες ὅσοι ἐπείθοντο αὐτῷ διελύθησαν καὶ ἐγένοντο εἰς οὐδέν.

RBT Greek Interlinear:

Strongs 4253; pro; πρὸ; in front; Prep

Strongs 1063; gar; γὰρ; for; Conj

Strongs 3778; toutōn; τούτων; these; DPro-GFP

Strongs 3588; tōn; τῶν; the; Art-GFP

Strongs 2250; hēmerōn; ἡμερῶν; days; N-GFP

Strongs 450; anestē; ἀνέστη; stood up; V-AIA-3S

Strongs 2333; Theudas; Θευδᾶς; Theudas; N-NMS

Strongs 3004; legōn; λέγων; he who is saying; V-PPA-NMS

Strongs 1510; einai; εἶναί; to be; V-PNA

Strongs 5100; tina; τινα; some things; IPro-AMS

Strongs 1438; heauton; ἑαυτόν; his own self; RefPro-AM3S

Strongs 3739; hō; ᾧ; which/whichever; RelPro-DMS

Strongs 4346; proseklithē; προσεκλίθη; were joined; V-AIP-3S

Strongs 435; andrōn; ἀνδρῶν; males; N-GMP

Strongs 706; arithmos; ἀριθμὸς; number [is]; N-NMS

Strongs 5613; hōs; ὡς; as; Adv

Strongs 5071; tetrakosiōn; τετρακοσίων; four hundred; Adj-GMP

Strongs 3739; hos; ὃς; which/whichever; RelPro-NMS

Strongs 337; anērethē; ἀνῃρέθη; was put to death; V-AIP-3S

Strongs 2532; kai; καὶ; and; Conj

Strongs 3956; pantes; πάντες; all; Adj-NMP

Strongs 3745; hosoi; ὅσοι; as many as; RelPro-NMP

Strongs 3982; epeithonto; ἐπείθοντο; were persuaded of; V-IIM/P-3P

Strongs 846; autō; αὐτῷ; self/itself/himself; PPro-DM/N3S

Strongs 1262; dielythēsan; διελύθησαν; were dispersed; V-AIP-3P

Strongs 2532; kai; καὶ; and; Conj

Strongs 1096; egenonto; ἐγένοντο; they became; V-AIM-3P

Strongs 1519; eis; εἰς; into; Prep

Strongs 3762; ouden; οὐδέν; In nothing; Adj-ANS

RBT Translation:

προσκλίσις - Leaning out of Balance

For before these ones, the Days, Godly ("Theudas")²² stood up, the one who is speaking his own self to be someone, to whom a number of men were leaning against just like four hundred, who was taken up. And everyone, as many as were persuaded by self, they were dissolved and they became into nothing.

διαλύω - loose apart, dissolve, untwined, thaw

Julia Smith Literal 1876 Translation:
For before these days Theudas arose, saying himself to be somebody: which a number of men followed, about four hundred, who was slain; and all, as many as believed him, were destroyed, and were for nothing.

LITV Translation:
For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming himself to be somebody, to whom was joined a number of men, about four hundred, who was done away, and all, as many as obeyed him, were dispersed and came to nothing.

Footnotes

22

"I'm of God!"

θευ- is a dialectal form (Doric and Ionic) corresponding to the more common θεο- root, which means "god."

This aligns with known theophoric compounds such as:

• Θεοδαίσιος (Theodaisios) — “divinely inspired” or “god-given”

• θεομορία (theomoria) — “oracle” or “divine lot”

• θεόμορος (theomoros) — “doom appointed by god” or “fated by god”

The example θευ-εργέσια (theu-ergesia), a festival name in an inscription from Delos, literally means "festival of the θεὸς εὐεργέτης"—"god benefactor" or "god-helper," where θευ- substitutes for θεο- in dialectal usage.

Implication for Θευδᾶς

• Given θευ- = θεο- ("god"), the root Θευδ- in Θευδᾶς clearly incorporates the divine root.

• The suffix -ᾶς is a typical masculine nominative ending.

• Therefore, Θευδᾶς can be understood as a Doric or Ionic dialectal theophoric name meaning roughly "of God", "godly," or "god’s [man/servant]" depending on contextual usage.

θευ- is an archaic/dialectal variant of θεο- ("god").

Names or words with θευ- are related to the divine, with Θευδᾶς as a personal name meaning essentially “godly” or “divine one” in the sense of “one associated with God.”

This usage is well attested in Doric and Ionic inscriptions and names.