Nú ea beè naaá tṍó e nyómá káí bã́vá m kà lèlà deè péntikọ̀st
1. Baatẽ́ bé e dìtõ̀ò beè mèà naa deè Péntikọ̀st.
1 Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè
JERUSALEM—THE CENTER OF JUDAISM Much of the action of the first chapters of Acts takes place in Jerusalem. This city stands among the hills of Judea’s central mountain range, about 34 miles (55 km) east of the Mediterranean Sea. In 1070 B.C.E., King David conquered the hilltop fortress of Mount Zion, located here, and the city that grew up around it became the capital of the ancient nation of Israel.
Close by Mount Zion stands Mount Moriah, where, according to ancient Jewish tradition, Abraham attempted to sacrifice Isaac, some 1,900 years before the events described in Acts. Mount Moriah became part of the city when Solomon built the first temple of Jehovah atop it. This edifice came to be the focal point of Jewish public life and worship.
It was to Jehovah’s temple that all devout Jews regularly gathered from all over the inhabited earth to sacrifice, worship, and observe seasonal festivals. They did so in obedience to God’s command: “Three times a year, all your males should appear before Jehovah your God in the place that he chooses.” (Deut. 16:16) Jerusalem was also the seat of the Great Sanhedrin, the Jewish high court and national administrative council.
2. Mókà nu bọ̀ọ̀ ló ní ea beè naaá deè Péntikọ̀st 33 C.E. e?
2 Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè
3. (a) Éé ní ea náa èé láá kọọ̀ Péntikọ̀st 33 C.E. dú dee ea palàge bọọ mm̀ nòòtẽ́ nómá ea kil ló kà-kà fã̀ ẽ? (b) Mósĩ́ deè ní e bel e Pítà ló deè Péntikọ̀sta zógè kọọ̀ à tú ene kà zẹ̀ẹ̀ gbò “ííla” nù tọọ̀ Boǹ Méné Bàrì siimá tóm ẽ́?
3 Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè
“Dénè . . . [Ọ̀và] Beè Di Bṍóná Tẽ̀ènè Ke Tõ̀ò” ( Tóm 2:1-4 ) 4. Mósĩ́ deè ní e bõ̀ònatõ̀ò Kráìst deè nieí dì e bà gé kilsĩ́ gè sí tóm e bõ̀ònatõ̀ò ea ba beè nvee kẽ mm̀ gbáá 33 C.E. a beè sìe?
4 Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè
5. Mókà tã́áná dee bá ní ea di ló gè gbaaá ló bõ̀ònatõ̀ò Kráìst mm̀ túá gbò gbááá, nè deè nieí é?
5 Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè
ROME—CAPITAL OF AN EMPIRE During the period of time covered by the book of Acts, Rome was the largest and politically the most important city in the then-known world. It was the capital of an empire that at its peak dominated lands stretching from Britain to North Africa and from the Atlantic Ocean to the Persian Gulf.
Rome was a melting pot of cultures, races, languages, and superstitions. A network of well-maintained roads brought travelers and merchandise from every corner of the empire. At the nearby port of Ostia, ships that plied busy trade routes unloaded foodstuffs and luxury goods destined for the city.
By the first century C.E., well over a million people lived in Rome. Perhaps half of the population were slaves—condemned criminals, children sold or abandoned by their parents, and prisoners captured during campaigns by the Roman legions. Among those brought to Rome as slaves were Jews from Jerusalem, following the conquest of that city by Roman General Pompey in 63 B.C.E.
Most of the free population were paupers, who lived in crowded multistory housing and depended on government subsidies. The emperors, however, adorned their capital with some of the most magnificent public buildings ever seen. Among them were theaters and great stadiums that offered such spectacles as stage performances, gladiatorial contests, and chariot racing—all free for the entertainment of the masses.
6, 7. Mósĩ́ deè ní e bõ̀ònatõ̀ò Kráìst deè nieí gé ḿm̀-mè tóm gè kọ́ kpẹ̀a e Jíízọ̀s beè nèva nvee dénè dóé?
6 Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè
7 Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè
8. Bõ̀ònatõ̀ò Kráìst ólò nvèè bá nèi naa vàẹ?
8 Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè
“Ba Beè “Dã Gági Buù Kà Ba Dém Bel Gã́ Gbòa” ( Tóm 2:5-13 )
“We hear them speaking in our languages about the magnificent things of God.”—Acts 2:11
9, 10. Mósĩ́ deè ní e sìgà gbò a ne lóó gè kọ́ kpẹ̀a nè gbò e bà ólò ló dõona kà dém belé?
9 Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè
10 Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè
11. Éé ní eé láá naa kọbé è láá kọ́ kpẹ̀a nè gbò e bà ólò ló dõona kà dém belé?
11 Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè
JEWS IN MESOPOTAMIA AND EGYPT The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ (175 B.C.–A.D. 135) states: “In Mesopotamia, Media and Babylonia lived the descendants of members of the kingdom of the ten tribes [of Israel], and of the kingdom of Judah, once deported there by the Assyrians and the Babylonians.” According to Ezra 2:64, only 42,360 Israelites returned to Jerusalem from their Babylonian exile. This took place in 537 B.C.E. Flavius Josephus remarks that in the first century C.E., the Jews who “dwelt about Babylonia” numbered into the tens of thousands. In the third to the fifth centuries C.E., these communities produced the work known as the Babylonian Talmud.
Documentary evidence exists of a Jewish presence in Egypt at least as early as the sixth century B.C.E. During that period, Jeremiah directed a message to Jews living in various localities of Egypt, including Memphis. (Jer. 44:1, ftn.) It is likely that large numbers immigrated to Egypt during the Hellenistic period. Josephus says that Jews were among the first settlers of Alexandria. In time, an entire section of this city was allotted to them. In the first century C.E., Jewish writer Philo asserted that a million of his fellow countrymen lived throughout Egypt, from “the side of Libya to the boundaries of Ethiopia.”
12. (a) Éé ní e neǹ kọ́ọ̀ bùlà Bàrì Jóẹ̀l beè kọ̀ ea gbááá ló nú ea beè naaá deè Pétikọ̀st 33 C.E. e? (b) Éé ní ea náa vaá gbò nyòòne nvéè Jíízọ̀s mm̀ túá gbò gbááá beè ẹ̀bmà dẽè mm̀-meè kọ́ọ̀ bùlà Bàrì Jóẹ̀l e?
12 Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè
13, 14. Mósĩ́ deè ní e Pítà beè pììgà ge ló bel ea é bã́ nyíè gbò e bà géè pãanée tṍ ló é, vaá mósĩ́ deè ní e beele é láá nóe ẽ́?
13 Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè
14 Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè
CHRISTIANITY IN PONTUS Among those who heard Peter’s speech at Pentecost 33 C.E. were Jews from Pontus, a district of northern Asia Minor. (Acts 2:9) Evidently, some of them took the good news back to their homeland, for those to whom Peter addressed his first letter included believers who were “scattered about” in such places as Pontus. (1 Pet. 1:1) His writing reveals that these Christians had been “distressed by various trials” because of their faith. (1 Pet. 1:6) Likely, this included opposition and persecution.
Further tests faced by Christians in Pontus are alluded to in correspondence between Pliny the Younger, governor of the Roman province of Bithynia and Pontus, and Emperor Trajan. Writing from Pontus in about 112 C.E., Pliny reported that the “contagion” of Christianity threatened everyone, regardless of gender, age, or rank. Pliny gave those accused of being Christians opportunity to deny it, and those who would not, he executed. Any who cursed Christ or recited a prayer to the gods or to Trajan’s statue were released. Pliny acknowledged that these were things that “those who are really Christians cannot be made to do.”
“Buù Bọ̀ì É Íè Ge . . . [Diiai] Múú” ( Tóm 2:38-47 ) 15. (a) Mókà bel ní e Pítà beè lòe, vaá éé ní ea beè sìlà aa m-mé? (b) Éé ní ea náa vaá gã́bug nen e ba beè dã́ lé kpẹ̀a deè Péntikọ̀sta à sìm tùlà ge dììa múú tẽ̀ènè deeá ẹ́?
15 Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè
WHO WERE THE PROSELYTES? “Both Jews and proselytes” heard Peter’s preaching at Pentecost 33 C.E.—Acts 2:10.
Among the qualified men appointed to care for the “necessary matter” of the daily distribution of food was Nicolaus, who is identified as “a proselyte of Antioch.” (Acts 6:3-5) Proselytes were Gentiles, that is, non-Jews, who had converted to Judaism. They were considered Jews in all respects, since they accepted the God and the Law of Israel, rejected all other gods, underwent circumcision (if male), and joined themselves to the nation of Israel.
After the Jews were released from exile in Babylon in 537 B.C.E., many settled far from the land of Israel but continued to practice Judaism. By this means, people throughout the ancient Near East and beyond became acquainted with the Jewish religion. Ancient writers, such as Horace and Seneca, testify that multitudes in different lands who were attracted to the Jews and their beliefs joined their communities and became proselytes.
16. Mósĩ́ deè ní e gbò níí Kráìst e ba beè di mm̀ túá gbòò gbááá beè zogè kọ bà íèè dùm ge tú lóó vaamá gyọ́ọ ẹ́?
16 Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè
17. Mókà gbò láb tọ ní e nen é tú kọbé à sim tùlà ge dììa múú ẽ́?
17 Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè
18. Mókà gbò nèà deè ní ea dì nè gbò níí Kráìst e ba beè dììa múú ẽ́?
18 Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè