QUICK WORD STUDY – FELLOWSHIP שׁותפ
Acts 2:42: “And they devoted themselves in the apostle’s doctrine and fellowship.”
The disciples spoke Aramaic and the Aramaic word they used for fellowship is shauteph which is closely related to the Hebrew word asephah. It is an agricultural word used for the swarming of insects that would devour a crop. Insects swarm for protection. When the Nile River in the Middle East would overflow, it would kill off a single fire ant. However, in time of flood thousands of fire ants link themselves together to form a raft. By doing this they do would drown. That is why Luke used the word shauteph for fellowship as we swarm and link ourselves together with other believers so when the storms and floods of life come we are not swept away.
Thank you for the comment. I have made the correction.
Sorry, Chaim. Do you mean the ants wouldn’t drown? If they drowned I don’t know how encouraging this word study would be! :D