Sapphira
Sapphira was the wife of Ananias, a member of the early Christian community in Jerusalem who, along with her husband, sold a piece of property but secretly withheld part of the proceeds while claiming to donate the full amount to the apostles. When confronted separately by Peter about their deception, both fell dead on the spot, an event that instilled great fear among the believers and underscored the power of the Holy Spirit. This account in Acts 5 serves as a sobering reminder of the importance of honesty and integrity within the church, demonstrating that God values truthfulness in communal sharing. The incident also illustrates the apostolic authority exercised by Peter during the formative period of Christianity.
Biography
- Died
- c. AD 34, Jerusalem
- Spouse
- Ananias
- Era
- New Testament (c. AD 34)
- Nationality
- Jewish
Family
Did You Know?
Sapphira's name, derived from the Aramaic term for sapphire, appears only once in the New Testament and may reflect a common practice of naming women after precious stones in first-century Judea, though the text offers no physical description of her.
Three hours after Ananias's death, Peter deliberately questioned Sapphira separately about the sale price, providing an explicit opportunity for her to diverge from her husband's lie before pronouncing judgment.
The couple's deception unfolded against the immediate backdrop of Barnabas's full donation of field proceeds in Acts 4, positioning their partial gift and falsehood as a direct narrative contrast within the earliest Jerusalem church's economic practices.
No burial or mourning details are recorded for Sapphira, unlike many other biblical death accounts, underscoring the narrative's emphasis on communal fear rather than individual aftermath in Acts 5:11.
Scholarly analysis of the Greek text shows Peterโs question to Sapphira uses the same verb for testing or tempting employed elsewhere for Satan, framing her lie as an act of spiritual opposition within the fledgling community.
Key Passages
Sapphira Lies and Dies
Acts 5:7-10
This passage reminds us that God deeply values honesty, calling believers to live with sincere integrity before Him and one another.
7nd it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.