Where was Peter’s speech given?

The question of the exact place where the events of Acts 2.1-41 occurred has been much discussed. The text does not state it explicitly, but several hypotheses can be considered.

1. The house mentioned in Acts 2.2

Luke says that “they were all together in one place” and that “it filled the whole house where they were sitting” (Acts 2.1-2). The phenomenon of the wind and the tongues of fire therefore seems to have occurred in a house.

However, it seems hard to imagine that a private house could hold:

• the hundred and twenty disciples (Acts 1.15);
• the huge crowd drawn by the noise (Acts 2.6);
• and then about three thousand converts (Acts 2.41).

It is therefore highly probable that the initial phenomenon took place in a house, but that the disciples quickly moved to a larger space.

2. The Temple courts: the most plausible hypothesis

Several factors argue in favor of the Temple Mount esplanade.

1. a) A large crowd could gather there

At Pentecost (Shavuot), Jerusalem welcomed tens of thousands of pilgrims from all over the Empire (Acts 2.5-11). The vast Temple courts were precisely meant to receive such crowds.

1. b) The first Christians frequented the Temple daily

A few verses further on, Luke states:

"Day by day, attending the Temple together" (Acts 2.46).

This habit is found on several occasions:

• Peter and John go up to the Temple at the hour of prayer — show definition INF328 (Acts 3.1);
• the believers gather under Solomon’s Porch (Acts 5.12);
• the apostles teach daily in the Temple (Acts 5.42).

The Temple was therefore the main gathering place of the first disciples.

1. c) Solomon’s Porch

John mentions this vast portico located on the eastern side of the Temple (John 10.23). After the healing of the lame man — show definition INF330, the crowd gathers around Peter there (Acts 3.11).

Later:

“All the people ran together to them in Solomon’s Porch” (Acts 5.12).

Several exegetes think that Peter may have delivered his speech in this part of the Temple.

3. The “upper place” of Acts 1?

Some authors have proposed that the events took place in the large room mentioned in Acts 1.13, perhaps the same place as the upper room of the last meal (Mark 14.15).

However, this hypothesis raises difficulties:

• the space seems insufficient to hold several thousand people;
• it would have been difficult to baptize three thousand people in that setting;
• Peter and the apostles seem to be addressing a crowd already gathered in a public place.

4. The pools around the Temple

The baptism of about three thousand people (Acts 2.41) presupposes the existence of many water sources. Now, archaeological excavations have uncovered dozens of mikvaot (Jewish ritual baths) around the Temple Mount. These installations were used by pilgrims for ceremonial purifications and could easily have served for baptisms.

Conclusion

The most coherent hypothesis is the following:

1. The hundred and twenty disciples are gathered in a house when the outpouring of the Holy Spirit occurs (Acts 2.1-4).
2. The noise draws the population (Acts 2.6).
3. The disciples head toward the Temple courts, probably in the region of Solomon’s Porch or the Court of the Gentiles.
4. It is there that Peter delivers his speech before several thousand pilgrims (Acts 2.14-40).
5. The new believers are then baptized in the many ritual pools located around the Temple (Acts 2.41).

This reconstruction, though it cannot be demonstrated with certainty, is today the one accepted by many historians and exegetes, because it accounts for all the data provided by Luke and for the archaeological discoveries made in Jerusalem.