Sapphira (Ananias' wife)

Deceivers in the Early Church

L’Église primitivec. 30 AD

Sapphira was married to Ananias and a member of the first Christian church in Jerusalem. She and her husband sold a property but withheld part of the money while claiming to give everything to the apostles. Both died as a result of lying to the Holy Spirit, and the event served as a warning about God's holiness within the church.

Famille

Événements clés

The Sale of the Property

Sapphira and Ananias sold a property but secretly agreed to keep back part of the sale price for themselves.

1Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property.
Ἀνὴρ δέ τις Ἁνανίας ὀνόματι σὺν Σαπφίρῃ τῇ γυναικὶ αὐτοῦ ἐπώλησεν κτῆμα
2With his wife's knowledge he held back part of the price, and brought only a portion of it and laid it at the apostles' feet.
καὶ ἐνοσφίσατο ἀπὸ τῆς τιμῆς, συνειδυίης καὶ τῆς ⸀γυναικός, καὶ ἐνέγκας μέρος τι παρὰ τοὺς πόδας τῶν ἀποστόλων ἔθηκεν.

Deception Against the Apostles

Together with her husband, Sapphira pretended that they were giving the full amount to the church, while in reality they kept back part of it.

2With his wife's knowledge he held back part of the price, and brought only a portion of it and laid it at the apostles' feet.
καὶ ἐνοσφίσατο ἀπὸ τῆς τιμῆς, συνειδυίης καὶ τῆς ⸀γυναικός, καὶ ἐνέγκας μέρος τι παρὰ τοὺς πόδας τῶν ἀποστόλων ἔθηκεν.
3But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart, that you should lie to the Holy Spirit and hold back part of the price of the land?
εἶπεν δὲ ⸀ὁ Πέτρος· Ἁνανία, διὰ τί ἐπλήρωσεν ὁ Σατανᾶς τὴν καρδίαν σου, ψεύσασθαί σε τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον καὶ ⸀νοσφίσασθαι ἀπὸ τῆς τιμῆς τοῦ χωρίου;

Peter's Confrontation

Three hours after her husband's death, Sapphira arrived at Peter's place, unaware of what had happened. Peter asked her about the sale price, and she lied.

7About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.
Ἐγένετο δὲ ὡς ὡρῶν τριῶν διάστημα καὶ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ μὴ εἰδυῖα τὸ γεγονὸς εἰσῆλθεν.
8Peter said to her, "Tell me, was this the price you got for the land?" "Yes," she said, "that was the price."
ἀπεκρίθη δὲ ⸂πρὸς αὐτὴν⸃ ⸀Πέτρος· Εἰπέ μοι, εἰ τοσούτου τὸ χωρίον ἀπέδοσθε; ἡ δὲ εἶπεν· Ναί, τοσούτου.

Sapphira's Death

Peter rebuked Sapphira for testing the Lord's Spirit. She immediately fell dead, was carried out, and buried beside her husband.

9Then Peter said to her, "How could you agree together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Look, the feet of those who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out."
ὁ δὲ ⸀Πέτρος πρὸς αὐτήν· Τί ὅτι συνεφωνήθη ὑμῖν πειράσαι τὸ πνεῦμα κυρίου; ἰδοὺ οἱ πόδες τῶν θαψάντων τὸν ἄνδρα σου ἐπὶ τῇ θύρᾳ καὶ ἐξοίσουσίν σε.
10At once she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came in, they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
ἔπεσεν δὲ παραχρῆμα ⸀πρὸς τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐξέψυξεν· εἰσελθόντες δὲ οἱ νεανίσκοι εὗρον αὐτὴν νεκράν, καὶ ἐξενέγκαντες ἔθαψαν πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα αὐτῆς.

Fear in the Church

The fate of Sapphira and Ananias brought great fear upon the whole church and all who heard about what had happened.

11And great fear came over the whole church and over all who heard of these things.
καὶ ἐγένετο φόβος μέγας ἐφʼ ὅλην τὴν ἐκκλησίαν καὶ ἐπὶ πάντας τοὺς ἀκούοντας ταῦτα.