Sapphira

Biblical Account

Sapphira appears only in Acts 5:1–11. Her name occurs just once, in Acts 5:1, and Scripture gives no other information about her family, age, or children.

Acts 4:32–37 relates that members of the early church sold their possessions and laid the proceeds at the apostles' feet, and that Barnabas likewise sold a field and did the same. Immediately afterward, Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, sold a possession and, with her knowledge, kept back part of the price, bringing only the remainder to the apostles (Acts 5:1–2). When Peter rebuked him, Ananias fell down and died on the spot.

About three hours later Sapphira came in, unaware of what had happened. Peter asked whether they had sold the land for that amount, and Sapphira said that they had. Peter told her that the two of them had agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord, and Sapphira also fell down at once and died; she was buried beside her husband. The text records that as a result "great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things" (Acts 5:11).

Significance Within Scripture

Set alongside the generosity of Barnabas, this episode depicts the first deception to surface within a community that shared its goods voluntarily. Peter states that the land was theirs both before and after it was sold (Acts 5:4). On the basis of this statement, the wrongdoing in the passage is understood to lie not in keeping back a portion but in pretending to have given the whole. Peter characterizes the deed as lying not to men but to God and to the Holy Spirit. Because Sapphira was questioned separately from her husband and answered for herself, the text portrays her not merely as someone who followed her husband's lead but as a person responsible for her own actions.

Interpretation and Issues

• Cause of death: The text says only that the two "died" and does not state who caused their deaths. Most interpreters regard their deaths as God's judgment and do not hold that Peter cursed them to death.
• Question of salvation: Some interpreters see the event as a discipline that purified the church and had no bearing on the loss of salvation. Others take it as an example of people who never had genuine faith. The text states neither view directly.
• Peter's question: Peter's question to Sapphira about the price is commonly read as giving her an opportunity to tell the truth.
• Name: Her name is commonly linked to an Aramaic word meaning "beautiful." Beyond this, stories about her character or background have no basis in the text.

In the Korean Church

Sapphira is usually treated together with her husband as Ananias and Sapphira. In preaching, the couple is frequently cited as a warning about honesty, hypocrisy (a faith that is merely an outward show), and spouses consenting together to wrongdoing. Sunday school lessons on the early church also use the story as a contrast to Barnabas. Some sermons use the passage to urge believers to fulfill their offerings and vows. Others respond that, since Peter acknowledged the couple's ownership of the property, the point of the passage lies not in the amount but in the lie.