Acts 16:1

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

16:1 He also came to Derbe ¹  and to Lystra. ²  A disciple ³  named Timothy was there, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, ⁴  but whose father was a Greek. ⁵ 

Acts 17:14-15

17:14 Then the brothers sent Paul away to the coast ⁶  at once, but Silas and Timothy remained in Berea. ⁷  17:15 Those who accompanied Paul escorted him as far as Athens, ⁸  and after receiving an order for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left. ⁹ 

Acts 18:5

18:5 Now when Silas and Timothy arrived ¹⁰  from Macedonia, ¹¹  Paul became wholly absorbed with proclaiming ¹²  the word, testifying ¹³  to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. ¹⁴ 

¹ sn Derbe was a city in Lycaonia about 35 mi (60 km) southeast of Lystra. It was about 90 mi (145 km) from Tarsus.

² sn Lystra was a city in Lycaonia about 25 mi (40 km) south of Iconium.

³ tn Grk “And behold, a disciple.” Here ἰδού (idou) has not been translated.

⁴ tn L&N 31.103 translates this phrase “the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer.”

⁵ sn His father was a Greek. Timothy was the offspring of a mixed marriage between a Jewish woman (see 2 Tim 1:5) and a Gentile man. On mixed marriages in Judaism, see Neh 13:23-27; Ezra 9:1-10:44; Mal 2:10-16; Jub. 30:7-17; m. Qiddushin 3.12; m. Yevamot 7.5.

⁶ tn Grk “to the sea.” Here ἕως ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν ({ew" epi thn qalassan) must mean “to the edge of the sea,” that is, “to the coast.” Since there is no mention of Paul taking a ship to Athens, he presumably traveled overland. The journey would have been about 340 mi (550 km).

⁷ tn Grk “remained there”; the referent (Berea) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸ map For location see JP1-C2; JP2-C2; JP3-C2; JP4-C2.

⁹ sn They left. See 1 Thess 3:1-2, which shows they went from here to Thessalonica.

¹⁰ tn Grk “came down.”

¹¹ sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.

¹² tn BDAG 971 s.v. συνέχω 6 states, “συνείχετο τῷ λόγῳ (Paul) was wholly absorbed in preaching Ac 18:5…in contrast to the activity cited in vs. 3.” The imperfect συνείχετο (suneiceto) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect (“became wholly absorbed…”), stressing the change in Paul’s activity once Silas and Timothy arrived. At this point Paul apparently began to work less and preach more.

¹³ tn BDAG 233 s.v. διαμαρτύρομαι 2 has “testify of, bear witness to solemnly (orig. under oath)…W. acc. and inf. foll. Ac 18:5.”

¹⁴ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”