Everyone thought this was a good idea
(it pleased all those gathered).
[The apostles make a suggestion that the whole congregation, both the Greek-speaking and Hebrew-speaking Jews, approve of.] They chose:
Stephen
[which means "crowned"],
a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit.
Philip
[meaning "one who loves horses"].
Prochorus [literally meaning "in front of the choir," i.e., a choir director; may have been the title "choir director" rather than his real name].
Nicanor
[meaning "victor"].
Timon
[meaning "honorable"].
Parmenas
[meaning "one who stands firm"].
Nicholas
[meaning "victor of the people"],
a proselyte from
Antioch [in Syria].
[As a proselyte, he had first converted to Judaism from a pagan faith. He was then saved and converted from Judaism to become a Christian.] [All seven men had Greek names and probably belonged to the Greek-speaking Jewish group. Caring for orphans and widows is an important task, see ; . These seven men also served in other areas. In the next paragraph, we read how Stephen prays for the sick. When he is killed and severe persecution breaks out, Philip moves north to Samaria. There he works as an evangelist and many come to faith, see . He is often called the evangelist Philip so as not to be confused with the apostle of the same name who was one of the twelve, see .]
