Word Pictures in the New Testament - David Cox

Word Pictures in the NT [Acts: Chapter 2]
11:17f.). So middle here would mean, parting themselves asunder
or distributing themselves. The passive voice would be "being
distributed." The middle is probably correct and means that "the
fire-like appearance presented itself at first, as it were, in a
single body, and then suddenly parted in this direction and that;
so that a portion of it rested on each of those present"
(Hackett). The idea is not that each tongue was cloven, but each
separate tongue looked like fire, not real fire, but looking like
(\h•sei\, as if) fire. The audible sign is followed by a visible
one (Knowling). "Fire had always been, with the Jews, the symbol
of the Divine presence (cf. Ex 3:2; De 5:4). No symbol could be
more fitting to express the Spirit's purifying energy and
refining energy" (Furneaux). The Baptist had predicted a
baptizing by the Messiah in the Holy Spirit and in fire (Mt
3:11). {It sat} (\ekathisen\). Singular verb here, though plural
\•pth•san\ with tongues (\gl•ssai\). A tongue that looked like
fire sat upon each one.
2:4 {With other tongues} (\heterais gl•ssais\). Other than their
native tongues. Each one began to speak in a language that he had
not acquired and yet it was a real language and understood by
those from various lands familiar with them. It was not jargon,
but intelligible language. Jesus had said that the gospel was to
go to all the nations and here the various tongues of earth were
spoken. One might conclude that this was the way in which the
message was to be carried to the nations, but future developments
disprove it. This is a third miracle (the sound, the tongues like
fire, the untaught languages). There is no blinking the fact that
Luke so pictures them. One need not be surprised if this occasion
marks the fulfilment of the Promise of the Father. But one is not
to confound these miraculous signs with the Holy Spirit. They are
merely proof that he has come to carry on the work of his
dispensation. The gift of tongues came also on the house of
Cornelius at Caesarea (Ac 10:44-47; 11:15-17), the disciples of
John at Ephesus (Ac 19:6), the disciples at Corinth (1Co
14:1-33). It is possible that the gift appeared also at Samaria
(Ac 8:18). But it was not a general or a permanent gift. Paul
explains in 1Co 14:22 that "tongues" were a sign to unbelievers
and were not to be exercised unless one was present who
understood them and could translate them. This restriction
disposes at once of the modern so-called tongues which are
nothing but jargon and hysteria. It so happened that here on this
occasion at Pentecost there were Jews from all parts of the
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