2 Samuel 14:17

14:17 So your servant said, ‘May the word of my lord the king be my security, for my lord the king is like the angel of God when it comes to deciding between right and wrong! May the Lord your God be with you!’”

2 Samuel 14:20

14:20 Your servant Joab did this so as to change this situation. But my lord has wisdom like that of the angel of God, and knows everything that is happening in the land.” ¹ 

Acts 12:22-23

12:22 But the crowd ²  began to shout, ³  “The voice of a god, ⁴  and not of a man!” 12:23 Immediately an angel of the Lord ⁵  struck ⁶  Herod ⁷  down because he did not give the glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and died. ⁸ 

Acts 24:2-3

24:2 When Paul ⁹  had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, ¹⁰  saying, “We have experienced a lengthy time ¹¹  of peace through your rule, ¹²  and reforms ¹³  are being made in this nation ¹⁴  through your foresight. ¹⁵  24:3 Most excellent Felix, ¹⁶  we acknowledge this everywhere and in every way ¹⁷  with all gratitude. ¹⁸ 

¹ tn Heb “to know all that is in the land.”

² tn The translation “crowd” is given by BDAG 223 s.v. δῆμος; the word often means a gathering of citizens to conduct public business. Here it is simply the group of people gathered to hear the king’s speech.

³ tn The imperfect verb ἐπεφώνει (epefwnei) is taken ingressively in the sequence of events. Presumably the king had started his speech when the crowd began shouting.

⁴ sn The voice of a god. Contrast the response of Paul and Barnabas in Acts 14:13-15.

⁵ tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 5:19.

⁶ sn On being struck…down by an angel, see Acts 23:3; 1 Sam 25:28; 2 Sam 12:15; 2 Kgs 19:35; 2 Chr 13:20; 2 Macc 9:5.

⁷ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸ sn He was eaten by worms and died. Josephus, Ant. 19.8.2 (19.343-352), states that Herod Agrippa I died at Caesarea in a.d. 44. The account by Josephus, while not identical to Luke’s account, is similar in many respects: On the second day of a festival, Herod Agrippa appeared in the theater with a robe made of silver. When it sparkled in the sun, the people cried out flatteries and declared him to be a god. The king, carried away by the flattery, saw an owl (an omen of death) sitting on a nearby rope, and immediately was struck with severe stomach pains. He was carried off to his house and died five days later. The two accounts can be reconciled without difficulty, since while Luke states that Herod was immediately struck down by an angel, his death could have come several days later. The mention of worms with death adds a humiliating note to the scene. The formerly powerful ruler had been thoroughly reduced to nothing (cf. Jdt 16:17; 2 Macc 9:9; cf. also Josephus, Ant. 17.6.5 [17.168-170], which details the sickness which led to Herod the Great’s death).

⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰ tn Or “began to bring charges, saying.”

¹¹ tn Grk “experienced much peace.”

¹² tn Grk “through you” (“rule” is implied).

¹³ tn This term is used only once in the NT (a hapax legomenon). It refers to improvements in internal administration (BDAG 251 s.v. διόρθωμα).

¹⁴ tn Or “being made for this people.”

¹⁵ sn References to peaceful rule, reforms, and the governor’s foresight in the opening address by Tertullus represent an attempt to praise the governor and thus make him favorable to the case. Actual descriptions of his rule portray him as inept (Tacitus, Annals 12.54; Josephus, J. W. 2.13.2-7 [2.253-270]).

¹⁶ sn Most excellent Felix. See the note on Felix in 23:24.

¹⁷ tn Grk “in every way and everywhere.”

¹⁸ tn Or “with complete thankfulness.” BDAG 416 s.v. εὐχαριστία 1 has “μετὰ πάσης εὐ.…with all gratitude Ac 24:3.” L&N 31.26 has “‘we acknowledge this anywhere and everywhere with complete thankfulness’ Ac 24:3.”