ISB ~ Acts 8 v1

scattered:Persecution pushes Christianity out of Jerusalem and into the surrounding regions of Judea and Samaria (8:25, 40), and even beyond the northern border of Palestine as far as Phoenicia, Syria, and the Mediterranean island of Cyprus (11:19). Far from driving believers into hiding, the dispersion launches a new phase of missionary activity (8:4). See note on Acts 1:8.

except the apostles:Jerusalem remained the center of apostolic presence and authority in the earliest years. The exemption of the apostles from this first persecution is explained by Gamali-el’s advice to the Sanhedrin in 5:38 to leave the leaders of the movement alone.