Were the 7 in Acts really the first deacons of the Christian church?

Acts 6:1-6

Read it in the NRSV translation Greek interlinear

Cultural/historical considerations:

• First century Jewish congregations would have had men responsible for caring for those in need (e.g., widows and orphans).
  
• The Jerusalem congregation was composed of Palestinian Jews (Aramaic speaking) and HellenistJews (Greek speaking)
  
• The dispute in this passage arises over daily provision/care of the Hellenist widows. In the Greek, this is is diakonia ti kathemerinos.
  

In these passages, the word diakonia is used in three ways: