Holy community of life and property amongst the poor:

Abstract

This article explores the origins of the earliest Jerusalem believers’ communal lifestyle (Acts 1:13-14; 2:42-47; 4:32-5:11; cf. 6.1-6). Jesus’ example and authority sanctioned community of life and property. Wealthy supporters made benefactions (Luke 8:1-3) to his travelling party’s shared purse. Jesus’ group financed from their common purse support for the poor, common meals and other needs (John 6.5-7; 12:4-6; 13:29). Ideals of holiness and complete consecration dominated ancient Judaea more than Galilee. Highly dedicated service to God in common life amongst the poor had originated as a Judaean response, amongst the Essenes, to the harshness of agrarian subsistence economy. The verb nosphizomai, used of Ananias’ crime in Acts 5:2-3, means ‘embezzle, misappropriate’; Peter’s reference to Ananias’ sale of property (5:4) may reflect the Hebrew verb makar in its root sense ‘hand over’. Ananias’ property-surrender, which was only provisional, reflected both the Essene novitiate (1QS 6.13-23, cf. Josephus, Jewish War 2.8.7 §§137-142) and the nascent Church’s associations with Jerusalem Essenism.