Acts 11:22-25

11:22 A report ¹  about them came to the attention ²  of the church in Jerusalem, ³  and they sent Barnabas ⁴  to Antioch. ⁵  11:23 When ⁶  he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain true ⁷  to the Lord with devoted hearts, ⁸  11:24 because he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and a significant number of people ⁹  were brought to the Lord. 11:25 Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to look for Saul,

Acts 11:30

11:30 They did so, ¹⁰  sending their financial aid ¹¹  to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.

Acts 12:25--13:1

12:25 So Barnabas and Saul returned to ¹²  Jerusalem ¹³  when they had completed ¹⁴  their mission, ¹⁵  bringing along with them John Mark. ¹⁶ 

The Church at Antioch Commissions Barnabas and Saul

13:1 Now there were these prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch: ¹⁷  Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, ¹⁸  Lucius the Cyrenian, ¹⁹  Manaen (a close friend of Herod ²⁰  the tetrarch ²¹  from childhood ²² ) and Saul.

Acts 15:2

15:2 When Paul and Barnabas had a major argument and debate ²³  with them, the church ²⁴  appointed Paul and Barnabas and some others from among them to go up to meet with ²⁵  the apostles and elders in Jerusalem ²⁶  about this point of disagreement. ²⁷ 

Acts 15:12

15:12 The whole group kept quiet ²⁸  and listened to Barnabas and Paul while they explained all the miraculous signs ²⁹  and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.

Acts 15:37

15:37 Barnabas wanted to bring John called Mark along with them too,

Acts 15:1

The Jerusalem Council

15:1 Now some men came down from Judea ³⁰  and began to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised ³¹  according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Colossians 1:6

1:6 that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel ³²  is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing ³³  among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.

Galatians 2:1

Confirmation from the Jerusalem Apostles

2:1 Then after fourteen years I went up to Jerusalem ³⁴  again with Barnabas, taking Titus along too.

Galatians 2:9

2:9 and when James, Cephas, ³⁵  and John, who had a reputation as ³⁶  pillars, ³⁷  recognized ³⁸  the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me ³⁹  the right hand of fellowship, agreeing ⁴⁰  that we would go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. ⁴¹ 

Galatians 2:13

2:13 And the rest of the Jews also joined with him in this hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray with them ⁴²  by their hypocrisy.

¹ tn Grk “Word.”

² tn Grk “was heard in the ears,” an idiom. L&N 24.67 states that the idiom means “to hear in secret” (which it certainly does in Matt 10:27), but secrecy does not seem to be part of the context here, and there is no particular reason to suggest the report was made in secret.

³ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁴ tc ‡ Most mss read the infinitive “to travel” after “Barnabas.” διελθεῖν (dielqein) is found before ἕως (Jews) in D E Ψ 33 Ï and some versional mss. It is lacking in Ì⁷⁴ א A B 81 1739 pc and some versional mss. Although the infinitive with ἕως fits Lukan style, it has the appearance of a scribal clarification. The infinitive has the earmarks of a Western expansion on the text and thus is unlikely to be original. NA²⁷ has the infinitive in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.

⁵ sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19. Again the Jerusalem church exercised an oversight role.

⁶ tn Grk “Antioch, who when.” The relative pronoun was omitted and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek.

⁷ tn BDAG 883 s.v. προσμένω 1.a.β has “remain true to the Lord” for προσμένειν (prosmenein) in this verse.

⁸ tn Grk “with purpose of heart”; BDAG 869 s.v. πρόθεσις 2.a translates this phrase “purpose of heart, i.e. devotion” here.

⁹ tn Grk “a significant crowd.”

¹⁰ tn Grk “Judea, which they did.” The relative pronoun was omitted and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek.

¹¹ tn The words “their financial aid” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

¹² tc There are a number of variants at this point in the text: εἰς (eis, “to”) in א B Ï sa^ms sy^hmg; ἀπό (apo, “from”) in D E Ψ 36 323 453 614 1175 al; ἐξ (ex, “from”) in Ì⁷⁴ A 33 945 1739 al; ἐξ ᾿Ιερουσαλήμ εἰς ᾿Αντιόχειαν (ex Ierousalhm ei" Antioceian, “from Jerusalem to Antioch”) in {a few later manuscripts and part of the Itala}. A decision on this problem is very difficult, but for several reasons εἰς can be preferred. It is the most difficult reading by far in light of the context, since Paul and Barnabas were going to Jerusalem in 11:30. It is found in better witnesses, א and B being very strong evidence. The other readings, ἐξ and ἀπό, are different from εἰς yet bear essentially the same meaning as each other; this seems to suggest that scribes had problems with εἰς and tried to choose an acceptable revision. If εἰς is the earliest reading, ἀπό may be a clarification of ἐξ, and ἐξ could have arisen through confusion of letters. Or ἐξ and ἀπό could both have independently arisen from εἰς as a more acceptable preposition. Despite such arguments, however, the case for εἰς is not airtight: either ἐξ or ἀπό could be preferred on other lines of reasoning. The reading ἐξ enjoys the earliest support, and εἰς could have arisen through the same confusion of letters mentioned above. The immediate and wider context seems to mitigate against εἰς as the original reading: The aorist participle πληρώσαντες (plhrwsante", “when they had completed”) seems to signal the end of the mission to Jerusalem with the famine relief, so it would make sense in the context for the team to be coming from Jerusalem (to Antioch) rather than to Jerusalem, and 13:1 certainly presents the scene at Antioch. The later addition εἰς ᾿Αντιόχειαν after ᾿Ιερουσαλήμ in some mss seems to be a clarification in light of 13:1 (notice that some of the mss that read ἐξ add εἰς ᾿Αντιόχειαν [945 1739], and some that read ἀπό also add εἰς ᾿Αντιόχειαν [E 323 1175]). Thus, the idea of spatial separation from Jerusalem is strongly implied by the context. This problem is so difficult that some scholars resort to conjectural emendation to determine the original reading. All in all, the reading εἰς should be preferred as original, recognizing that there is a good measure of uncertainty with this solution. For additional discussion, see TCGNT 350-52.

¹³ sn That is, from Jerusalem to Antioch (see Acts 11:29-30).

¹⁴ tn Grk “fulfilled.”

¹⁵ tn Grk “ministry” or “service.”

¹⁶ tn Grk “John who was also called Mark.”

¹⁷ sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia).

¹⁸ sn Simeon may well have been from North Africa, since the Latin loanword Niger refers to someone as “dark-complexioned.”

¹⁹ sn The Cyrenian refers to a native of the city of Cyrene, on the coast of northern Africa west of Egypt.

²⁰ sn Herod is generally taken as a reference to Herod Antipas, who governed Galilee from 4 b.c. to a.d. 39, who had John the Baptist beheaded, and who is mentioned a number of times in the gospels.

²¹ tn Or “the governor.”

²² 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.”

²³ tn Grk “no little argument and debate” (an idiom).

²⁴ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the church, or the rest of the believers at Antioch) has been specified to avoid confusion with the Judaizers mentioned in the preceding clause.

²⁵ tn Grk “go up to,” but in this context a meeting is implied.

²⁶ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

²⁷ tn Or “point of controversy.” It is unclear whether this event parallels Gal 2:1-10 or that Gal 2 fits with Acts 11:30. More than likely Gal 2:1-10 is to be related to Acts 11:30.

²⁸ tn BDAG 922 s.v. σιγάω 1.a lists this passage under the meaning “say nothing, keep still, keep silent.”

²⁹ tn Here in connection with τέρατα (terata) the miraculous nature of these signs is indicated.

³⁰ sn That is, they came down from Judea to Antioch in Syria.

³¹ 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.

³² tn Grk “just as in the entire world it is bearing fruit.” The antecedent (“the gospel”) of the implied subject (“it”) of ἐστιν (estin) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³³ tn Though the participles are periphrastic with the present tense verb ἐστίν (estin), the presence of the temporal indicator “from the day” in the next clause indicates that this is a present tense that reaches into the past and should be translated as “has been bearing fruit and growing.” For a discussion of this use of the present tense, see ExSyn 519-20.

³⁴ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

³⁵ sn Cephas. This individual is generally identified with the Apostle Peter (L&N 93.211).

³⁶ tn Or “who were influential as,” or “who were reputed to be.” See also the note on the word “influential” in 2:6.

³⁷ sn Pillars is figurative here for those like James, Peter, and John who were leaders in the Jerusalem church.

³⁸ tn The participle γνόντες (gnontes) has been taken temporally. It is structurally parallel to the participle translated “when they saw” in v. 7.

³⁹ tn Grk “me and Barnabas.”

⁴⁰ tn Grk “so,” with the ἵνα (Jina) indicating the result of the “pillars” extending the “right hand of fellowship,” but the translation “they gave…the right hand of fellowship so that we would go” could be misunderstood as purpose here. The implication of the scene is that an agreement, outlined at the end of v. 10, was reached between Paul and Barnabas on the one hand and the “pillars” of the Jerusalem church on the other.

⁴¹ tn Grk “to the circumcision,” a collective reference to the Jewish people.

⁴² tn The words “with them” are a reflection of the σύν- (sun-) prefix on the verb συναπήχθη (sunaphcqh; see L&N 31.76).