Bible Dictionary
DETERMINATE
Determinate means fixed, appointed, or settled. In Acts 2:23, Christ’s death was both within God’s determined purpose and carried out by morally responsible people.
Definition
Determinate means fixed, settled, appointed, or marked out. It describes something established within a definite purpose or counsel, rather than left undetermined.
Biblical Usage
Acts 2:23 speaks of Christ’s death as occurring according to God’s determinate counsel and foreknowledge, while also declaring that lawless men crucified and slew Him. Thus the passage presents divine purpose and human responsibility together.
Historical Background
The Greek word means determined or fixed and is related to setting boundaries or marking out. The same term is used of Christ’s betrayal as something determined.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>de-tur'-mi-nat (horismenos, "determined," "fixed"): Only in Ac 2:23, "by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of. God," Greek horismenos, from horizo, "to set boundaries," "determine," "settle" (compare English word "horizon"--literally, "that which bounds"). It is remarkable that Peter in one and the same sentence speaks of the death of Christ from two quite distinct points of view.</p><p>(1) From the historical standpoint, it was a crime perpetrated by men who were morally responsible for their deed ("him .... ye by the hand of lawless men did crucify and slay").</p><p>(2) From the standpoint of Divine teleology, it was part of an eternal plan ("by the determinate," etc.). No effort is made to demonstrate the logical consistency of the two ideas. They represent two aspects of the one fact. The same Greek word is used in Lu 22:22, where Christ speaks of His betrayal as taking place "as it was (the Revised Version (British and American) "hath been") determined" (kata to horismenon). Compare Lu 24:26.</p><p>D. Miall Edwards</p>