Take your Bible NIV and let’s read Acts 8:26-31.
Question: According to God’s written, matchless Word, Philip heard the eunuch reading the scroll of Isaiah. Was this revelation to Philip so he would know what the eunuch was reading, or was the eunuch actually reading aloud?
Answer: Both context and cultural considerations indicate that Philip was literally hearing the eunuch read out loud. As F.F. Bruce points out in his study THE BOOK OF ACTS, because the ancient manuscripts had no punctuation and no divisions between the words, silent reading was extremely difficult. Therefore it was common to hear someone reading out loud in that culture. Remember, too, that the Word is to be taken literally whenever and wherever possible. There is nothing in this section to indicate that this should be taken as figurative. Amen.
Sidney Terhune
P.O. Box 6 Wash. Ct. Hs., OH
