2:29 “Brothers, 3 I can speak confidently 4 to you about our forefather 5 David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
15:1 Now some men came down from Judea 11 and began to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised 12 according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
1 tn Grk “Men brothers.” In light of the compound phrase ἄνδρες ἀδελφοί (andre" adelfoi, “Men brothers”) Peter’s words are best understood as directly addressed to the males present, possibly referring specifically to the twelve (really ten at this point – eleven minus the speaker, Peter) mentioned by name in v. 13.
2 tn Grk “foretold by the mouth of.”
3 tn Since this represents a continuation of the address beginning in v.14 and continued in v. 22, “brothers” has been used here rather than a generic expression like “brothers and sisters.”
4 sn Peter’s certainty is based on well-known facts.
5 tn Or “about our noted ancestor,” “about the patriarch.”
5 tn Grk “Men brothers,” but this is both awkward and unnecessary in English.
6 tn Grk “sons”
7 tn Or “race.”
8 tn Grk “and those among you who fear God,” but this is practically a technical term for the category called God-fearers, Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel and in many cases kept the Mosaic law, but did not take the final step of circumcision necessary to become a proselyte to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 743-44. Note how Paul includes God-fearing Gentiles as recipients of this promise.
9 tn Grk “word.”
7 sn That is, they came down from Judea to Antioch in Syria.
8 tc Codex Bezae (D) and a few other witnesses have “and walk” here (i.e., instead of τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως [tw eqei tw Mwu>sew"] they read καὶ τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως περιπατῆτε [kai tw eqei tw Mwu>sew" peripathte]). This is a decidedly stronger focus on obedience to the Law. As well, D expands vv. 1-5 in various places with the overall effect of being “more sympathetic to the local tradition of the church at Jerusalem” while the Alexandrian witnesses are more sympathetic to Paul (TCGNT 377). Codex D is well known for having a significantly longer text in Acts, but modern scholarship is generally of the opinion that the text of D expands on the original wording of Acts, with a theological viewpoint that especially puts Peter in a more authoritarian light. The expansion in these five verses is in keeping with that motif even though Peter is not explicitly in view.
9 tn “Then” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to clarify the logical sequence in the translation.
11 sn Tyre was a city and seaport on the coast of Phoenicia.
12 sn Ptolemais was a seaport on the coast of Palestine about 30 mi (48 km) south of Tyre.
13 tn Grk “they said to him.”
14 tn Or “arrived”; Grk “come” (“from there” is implied). Grk “coming.” The participle παραγενόμενος (paragenomeno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.