ACTS 21:7-14

 Q: This passage notes they reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip and called him one of “the Seven.” “Seven” is capitalized as if we should know who they are. Who are the Seven?

Although there was no capitalization in the original Greek, it is obvious that Luke is designating a particular group of people. In this case, it refers to the seven men appointed by the Twelve in Acts 6:5 to distribute food to the needy in the community. They all have Greek names so they were probably specifically chosen to make sure that the Hellenists' complaints about discrimination were addressed (see Acts 6:1).

The overriding reason for appointing these men was so that the Apostles could devote more time to spiritual matters. That did not mean, however, that the Seven limited their ministry to food distribution. From the examples of Philip and Stephen, we know that they had larger roles to play in the early Church.

The Seven have often been identified as the first deacons, but it should be pointed out that this term is not applied to them in the Acts 6 passage.