13:1 Now there were these prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch: 11 Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, 12 Lucius the Cyrenian, 13 Manaen (a close friend of Herod 14 the tetrarch 15 from childhood 16 ) and Saul.
1:6 So when they had gathered together, they began to ask him, 23 “Lord, is this the time when you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”
1 tn Grk “And praying, they said.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
2 tn Grk “on them”; the referent (the Samaritans) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 sn They received the Holy Spirit. It is likely this special distribution of the Spirit took place because a key ethnic boundary was being crossed. Here are some of “those far off” of Acts 2:38-40.
4 tn Grk “and placing his hands on Saul, he said.” The participle ἐπιθείς (epiqei") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. For the same reason καί (kai) has not been translated before the participle.
5 tn Grk “on him”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Grk “on the road in which you came,” but the relative clause makes for awkward English style, so it was translated as a temporal clause (“as you came here”).
7 sn Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Here someone who is not an apostle (Ananias) commissions another person with the Spirit.
8 tn The three aorist participles νηστεύσαντες (nhsteusante"), προσευξάμενοι (proseuxamenoi), and ἐπιθέντες (epiqente") are translated as temporal participles. Although they could indicate contemporaneous time when used with an aorist main verb, logically here they are antecedent. On fasting and prayer, see Matt 6:5, 16; Luke 2:37; 5:33; Acts 14:23.
9 tn Normally English style, which uses a coordinating conjunction between only the last two elements of a series of three or more, would call for omission of “and” here. However, since the terms “fasting and prayer” are something of a unit, often linked together, the conjunction has been retained here.
10 sn The placing of hands on Barnabas and Saul (traditionally known as “the laying on of hands”) refers to an act picturing the commission of God and the church for the task at hand.
11 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia).
12 sn Simeon may well have been from North Africa, since the Latin loanword Niger refers to someone as “dark-complexioned.”
13 sn The Cyrenian refers to a native of the city of Cyrene, on the coast of northern Africa west of Egypt.
14 sn Herod is generally taken as a reference to Herod Antipas, who governed Galilee from 4
15 tn Or “the governor.”
16 tn Or “(a foster brother of Herod the tetrarch).” The meaning “close friend from childhood” is given by L&N 34.15, but the word can also mean “foster brother” (L&N 10.51). BDAG 976 s.v. σύντροφας states, “pert. to being brought up with someone, either as a foster-brother or as a companion/friend,” which covers both alternatives. Context does not given enough information to be certain which is the case here, although many modern translations prefer the meaning “close friend from childhood.”
17 tn Or “nothing to say in opposition.”
18 tn The Greek term ὑπηρέτης (Juphreth") generally means “servant,” but in the NT is used for many different types of servants, like attendants to a king, the officers of the Sanhedrin (as here), assistants to magistrates, and (especially in the Gospel of John) Jewish guards in the Jerusalem temple (see L&N 35.20).
19 tn The words “for them” are not in the Greek text but are implied.
20 tn Grk “reported, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in English and has not been translated.
21 tn Grk “And he.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
22 tn The participle ἐνέγκας (enenka") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
23 tn Grk “they began to ask him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. The imperfect tense of the Greek verb ἠρώτων (hrwtwn) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.