GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
He saw heaven opened and a certain container descending to him, like a great sheet let down by four corners on the earth, in which were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, reptiles, and birds of the sky. A voice came to him, “Rise, Peter, kill and eat!”
But Peter said, “Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.”
Acts 10:11-14 sits inside this longer paragraph.
When the angel who spoke to him had departed, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier of those who waited on him continually. Having explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa. Now on the next day as they were on their journey, and got close to the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray at about noon. He became hungry and desired to eat, but while they were preparing, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and a certain container descending to him, like a great sheet let down by four corners on the earth, in which were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, reptiles, and birds of the sky. A voice came to him, “Rise, Peter, kill and eat!”
But Peter said, “Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.”
He saw heaven opened and a certain container descending to him, like a great sheet let down by four corners on the earth,
in which were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, reptiles, and birds of the sky.
A voice came to him, “Rise, Peter, kill and eat!”
But Peter said, “Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.”
and sawe heven opened and a certayne vessell come doune vnto him as it had bene a greate shete knyt at the.iiii. corners and was let doune to the erth
where in wer all maner of.iiii. foted beastes of the erth and vermen and wormes and foules of the ayer.
And ther came a voyce to him: ryse Peter kyll and eate.
But Peter sayde: God forbyd Lorde for I have never eaten eny thinge that is comen or vnclene.
And hee sawe heauen opened, and a certaine vessell come downe vnto him, as it had bene a great sheete, knit at the foure corners, and was let downe to the earth.
Wherein were all maner of foure footed beastes of the earth, and wilde beastes and creeping things, and foules of the heauen.
And there came a voyce to him, Arise, Peter: kill, and eate.
But Peter sayd, Not so, Lord: for I haue neuer eaten any thing that is polluted, or vncleane.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv11–14 11. The opening of heaven signifieth, in my judgment,…
11. The opening of heaven signifieth, in my judgment, another thing in this place than in the seventh chapter. For it is said there that heaven was opened to Stephen, that he did behold the glory of Christ; in this place Peter saw our heaven which we see divided, so that a sheet came thence.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv11, 12, 14 So that it seemed to be a foursquare sheet.
So that it seemed to be a foursquare sheet.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv11–14 11 And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel…
11 And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:
Ver. 11. And saw heaven opened] sc. The visible heaven, the air; for, as for the third heaven, it openeth not without a miracle, as some think.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv11–14 And saw heaven; either visibly to his corporal eyes,…
And saw heaven; either visibly to his corporal eyes, as to St. Stephen’s; or rather mentally, more suitably to the rapture mentioned in the former verse.
Opened; which might signify, that heaven, that was shut to the children of men by the first Adam, was now by Christ, the Second Adam, opened to all believers.
Read full note →
Vessel; this word is taken for any utensil commonly used about the house; and, with the
sheet here spoken of, bears an analogy to a table and table cloth amongst us.
Knit at the four corners; so gathered up or knit, that the viands, Act 10:12, might not fall down. And this Peter saw to come from heaven, to show that the liberty of taking Cornelius and other Gentiles into the church, did come from thence only.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv11–14 And saw heaven opened,.... Not literally, as at the…
And saw heaven opened,.... Not literally, as at the baptism of Christ, and the stoning of Stephen; but in a visionary way, and which was an emblem of the opening and revealing the mystery of the calling of the Gentiles, which in other ages was not made known, as it now and afterwards was:
and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet: which seems to represent the church of God, whose original is from heaven, and consists of persons born from above, who have their conversation in heaven, and were designed for it; and especially as under the Gospel dispensation, which Peter had a vision of in this emblematic way; the doctrines and ordinances of which are from heaven: and which may be compared to a linen sheet for its purity and holiness; through the blood and righteousness of Christ, and the grace of his Spirit, and with respect to its discipline and conversation; and so to a great one for its largeness; for though the number of its members, when compared with the world, are few, yet in themselves are a number which no man can number; and though it was but small at first, yet the Gospel being carried among the Gentiles it increased, and in the last times will be large:
Read full note →
knit at the four corners; which may denote the preaching of the Gospel, and the spread of it, and the planting of churches by it in the four parts of the world; and also the church being knit to Christ, and the members of it one to another:
and let down to the earth; for Peter to see it, and where it was to continue for a while, even to the second coming of Christ, and when the whole church of the firstborn will be let down to earth again; see Rev 21:2.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv11, 14 Tied at the corners - Not all in one…
Tied at the corners - Not all in one knot, but each fastened as it were up to heaven.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv11–14 Verse 11. And saw heaven opened] His mind now…
Verse 11. And saw heaven opened] His mind now entirely spiritualized, and absorbed in heavenly contemplation, was capable of discoveries of the spiritual world; a world which, with its πληρωμα, or plenitude of inhabitants, surrounds us at all times; but which we are incapable of seeing through the dense medium of flesh and blood, and their necessarily concomitant earthly passions. Much, however, of such a world and its economy may be apprehended by him who is purified from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, and who has perfected holiness in the fear of God. But this is a subject to which the enthusiast in vain attempts to ascend. The turbulent working of his imagination, and the gross earthly crudities which he wishes to obtrude on the world as revelations from God, afford a sufficient refutation of their own blasphemous pretensions.
A great sheet, knit at the four corners] Perhaps intended to be an emblem of the universe, and its various nations, to the four corners of which the Gospel was to extend, and to offer its blessings to all the inhabitants, without distinction of nation, &c.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v11 Act 10:11-14. And saw heaven opened — While he…
Act 10:11-14. And saw heaven opened — While he lay in a trance, the heaven appeared to be opened above him, to signify the opening of a mystery that had been hid. And a certain vessel — Or utensil; (for the word σκευος, here used, extends to all sorts of instruments, and every part of household furniture, of which see on Act 9:15;) descending unto him as it had been a great sheet — Οθονην μεγαλην, a great linen cloth, or wrapper, an emblem of the gospel, extending to all nations of men; knit — Δεδεμενον, tied; at the four corners — Not all in one knot, but each fastened, as it were, up to heaven; and let down to earth — To receive from all parts of the world those that were willing to be admitted into it. Wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts — The net of the gospel was to enclose persons of all countries, nations, and languages, without any distinction of Greek or Jew, or any disadvantage attaching to barbarian or Scythian, Col 3:11. And there came a voice, Rise, Peter, kill and eat — Of what thou seest, without any exception, or putting any difference between clean and unclean; the Lord thus showing him that he might now converse with Jews and Gentiles indifferently, and preach unto the latter, as well as unto the former, the word of life; and, at the same time intimating, that the Jewish Christians were, by the gospel, absolved from the ceremonial law, in which the distinction between clean and unclean meats made so considerable a part. But Peter said, Not so, Lord — I would rather continue fasting a great while longer, than satisfy my hunger on such terms; for I see only unclean animals here; and I have never —
From my childhood to this hour, defiled my conscience by eating any thing common or unclean — Hitherto I have kept my integrity in this matter, and am determined still to keep it. Peter’s words speak his resolution still to adhere to God’s law, though he has a counter command by a voice from heaven; for he knew not, at first, but the words, kill and eat, might be a command of trial, whether he would abide by the sure word, the written law; and if so, his answer, Not so, Lord, had been very proper. Temptations to eat forbidden fruit must not be parleyed with, but peremptorily rejected. Reader, if God by his grace has preserved us from gross sin unto this day, we should use that as an argument with ourselves to continue to abstain from all appearance of evil.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv11, 12, 14 And saw heaven opened - Act 7:56. See the…
And saw heaven opened - Act 7:56. See the notes on Mat 3:16. This language is derived from a common mode of speaking in the Hebrew Scriptures, as if the sky above us was a solid, vast expanse, and as if it were opened to present an opportunity for anything to descend. It is language that is highly figurative.
And a certain vessel - See the notes on Act 9:15.
Read full note →
As it had been - It is important to mark this expression. The sacred writer does not say that Peter literally saw such an object descending; but he uses this as an imperfect description of the vision. It was not a literal descent of a vessel, but it was such a kind of representation to him, producing the same impression, and the same effect, as if such a vessel had descended.
Knit at the four corners - Bound, united, or tied. The corners were collected, as would be natural in putting anything into a great sheet.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv12, 14 all manner of four-footed beasts, &c.--that is, the clean…
all manner of four-footed beasts, &c.--that is, the clean and the unclean (ceremonially) all mixed together.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv11–14 11. Heaven opened—The polished surface of the visible firmament…
11. Heaven opened—The polished surface of the visible firmament seemed to part and let the square sheet down through.
Vessel—An article in which a thing could be contained and borne.
Read full note →
Sheet—Of white linen, the emblem of purity.
Knit—Rather, fastened, as if the sheet were suspended by cords, which were attached to its four corners and fastened at the upper end to the firmamental roof.
Down to the earth—So that Peter could look from the housetop down upon its upper surface.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv11–14 11. and saw [beholdeth] heaven opened] To shew him…
11. and saw [beholdeth] heaven opened] To shew him that the teaching of the vision was sent to him from God.
and a certain vessel descending unto him] The oldest MSS. omit the two last words.
Read full note →
as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth] The oldest MSS. only give “a great sheet let down by four corners upon the earth.” The word rendered “corners” is used of the “end of a cord” in Herod. 4:60, but it seems that for such a sense there must be added either a noun or adjective for explanation. What the Apostle saw was an extended sheet, the four corners of which were held up as it were by cords let down from the four extremities of the opened sky. The significance of the outstretched sheet, as a figure of the wide world, and the four corners as the directions into which the gospel was now to be borne forth into all the world, has often been dwelt upon.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv11–14 (11) A certain vessel descending . . .—The form…
(11) A certain vessel descending . . .—The form of the vision corresponded, as has just been said, with the bodily condition of the Apostle. Its inward meaning may fairly be thought of as corresponding to his prayer. One who looked out from Joppa upon the waters of the Great Sea towards the far-off Isles of the Gentiles, might well seek to know by what process and under what conditions those who dwelt in them would be brought within the fold of which he was one of the chief appointed shepherds. The place, we may add, could not fail to recall the memory of the great prophet who had taken ship from thence, and who was conspicuous alike as a preacher of a gospel of repentance to the Gentiles, and, in our Lord’s own teaching, as a type of the Resurrection (Mat_12:40-41). The Apostle was to be taught, as the prophet had been of old, that the thoughts of God were not as his thoughts (Jon_4:10-11).
A great sheet knit at the four corners.—Better, bound by four ends—i.e., those of the ropes by which it seemed to Peter’s gaze to be let down from the opened firmament. The Greek word, literally beginnings, is used as we use “ends.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv11, 12, 14 He beholdeth the for saw, A.V.; descending for descending…
He beholdeth the for saw, A.V.; descending for descending unto him, A.V. and T.R.; were for had been, A.V.; let down by four corners upon the earth for knit at the four corners and let down to the earth, A.V. and T.R. The vessel coming down from the open heavens implied that the command to eat what was contained in it was given by revelation. The things sent were from God, and the command to eat was from God. Peter"s hunger had prepared the way for the particular form of the vision.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On v11 11–15. Saw heaven opened. The meaning of the vision…
11–15. Saw heaven opened. The meaning of the vision is plain. Peter was hungry. He saw, let down from heaven, all kinds of animals, those ceremonially unclean and prohibited by the Mosaic law, as well as others, and was told to kill and eat. When he answered that he had never eaten anything common (as opposed to holy) and unclean, that is, forbidden by Moses, he was told that what God had cleansed was not common or unclean. This could only mean that the ceremonial distinctions of the law (Lev. chap. 11, and Deut. chap. 14) were abrogated. It was at this time that the messengers from a Gentile, one of a class, with which even Peter would not eat, yet for which Christ had died, presented themselves. The object of the vision was to show Peter that it was the will of the Lord that he should go.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On vv11–12 11. “And he saw heaven open and a certain…
PETER’S VISION
11. “And he saw heaven open and a certain vessel, like a great sheet, sitting down on the ground with four rope’s ends,
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv11–14 See notes on verse 9
See notes on verse 9
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v13 a voice spoke to him
a voice spoke to him
The person speaking is not specified. The "voice" was probably God, although it could possibly have been an angel from God. (See: Synecdoche)
Read full note →
Not so
"I will not do that"
I have never eaten anything that was defiled and unclean
It is implied that some the animals in the container were unclean as defined by the law of Moses and were not to be eaten by believers who lived before Christ died. (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
What God has cleansed
If God is the speaker, he is referring to himself in the third person. AT: "What I, God, have cleansed" (See: First, Second, or Third Person)
This happened three times
It is not likely that everything Peter saw happened three times. This probably means that the phrase, "What God has cleansed, do not call it defiled," was repeated three times. However, it may be best to simply say "This happened three times" instead of trying to explain in detail.
translationWords
Peter
defile
clean
clean
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v14 10:14 See Lev 11 for a description of animals…
10:14 See Lev 11 for a description of animals that Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.