Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 3:2

"And a certain man that was lame from his mother`s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the door of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;" — Acts 3:2 (ASV)

The man is described as “crippled from birth” and having to be carried daily “to the temple gate called Beautiful” to beg for his living. Since almsgiving was classed in Judaism as a meritorious act, this man was placed at the gate so that those coming to the temple could gain merit by giving him a coin.

Just which gate is referred to as “Beautiful” is not easy to determine. Neither Josephus nor the Talmud refers to such a temple gate. We do not know whether it had to do with the outer court or one of the inner courts. Most scholars today believe it is the Nicanor Gate, which led from the eastern part of the outer court (Court of the Gentiles) into the first of the inner courts (Court of the Women).