Acts 12:17

12:17 He motioned to them ¹  with his hand to be quiet and then related ²  how the Lord had brought ³  him out of the prison. He said, “Tell James and the brothers these things,” and then he left and went to another place. ⁴ 

Acts 21:18

21:18 The next day Paul went in with us to see James, and all the elders were there. ⁵ 

Mark 15:40

15:40 There were also women, watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, ⁶  and Salome.

Galatians 1:19

1:19 But I saw none of the other apostles ⁷  except James the Lord’s brother.

Galatians 2:9

2:9 and when James, Cephas, ⁸  and John, who had a reputation as ⁹  pillars, ¹⁰  recognized ¹¹  the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me ¹²  the right hand of fellowship, agreeing ¹³  that we would go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. ¹⁴ 

Galatians 2:12

2:12 Until ¹⁵  certain people came from James, he had been eating with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he stopped doing this ¹⁶  and separated himself ¹⁷  because he was afraid of those who were pro-circumcision. ¹⁸ 

James 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From James, ¹⁹  a slave ²⁰  of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. ²¹  Greetings!

¹ tn Or “He gave them a signal.” Grk “Giving them a signal…he related to them.” The participle κατασείσας (kataseisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

² tc ‡ Most mss, including some of the most important ones (B D E Ψ Ï sy), read αὐτοῖς (autoi", “to them”) here, while some excellent and early witnesses (Ì^45vid,74vid א A 33 81 945 1739 pc) lack the pronoun. Although it is possible that the pronoun was deleted because it was seen as superfluous, it is also possible that it was added as a natural expansion on the text, strengthening the connection between Peter and his listeners. Although a decision is difficult, the shorter reading is slightly preferred. NA²⁷ puts the pronoun in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

³ tn Or “led.”

⁴ sn He…went to another place. This is Peter’s last appearance in Acts with the exception of the Jerusalem council in Acts 15.

⁵ tn BDAG 760 s.v. παραγίνομαι 1 has this use under the broad category of meaning “draw near, come, arrive, be present.”

⁶ sn In Matt 27:56 the name Joses is written as Joseph.

⁷ tn Grk “But another of the apostles I did not see, except…” with “another” in emphatic position in the Greek text. Paul is determined to make the point that his contacts with the original twelve apostles and other leaders of the Jerusalem church were limited, thus asserting his independence from them.

⁸ sn Cephas. This individual is generally identified with the Apostle Peter (L&N 93.211).

⁹ tn Or “who were influential as,” or “who were reputed to be.” See also the note on the word “influential” in 2:6.

¹⁰ sn Pillars is figurative here for those like James, Peter, and John who were leaders in the Jerusalem church.

¹¹ tn The participle γνόντες (gnontes) has been taken temporally. It is structurally parallel to the participle translated “when they saw” in v. 7.

¹² tn Grk “me and Barnabas.”

¹³ 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.

¹⁴ tn Grk “to the circumcision,” a collective reference to the Jewish people.

¹⁵ tn The conjunction γάρ has not been translated here.

¹⁶ tn Grk “he drew back.” If ἑαυτόν (Jeauton) goes with both ὑπέστελλεν (Jupestellen) and ἀφώριζεν (afwrizen) rather than only the latter, the meaning would be “he drew himself back” (see BDAG 1041 s.v. ὑποστέλλω 1.a).

¹⁷ tn Or “and held himself aloof.”

¹⁸ tn Grk “the [ones] of the circumcision,” that is, the group of Jewish Christians who insisted on circumcision of Gentiles before they could become Christians.

¹⁹ tn Grk “James.” The word “From” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

²⁰ tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

²¹ tn Grk “to the twelve tribes in the Diaspora.” The Greek term διασπορά (diaspora, “dispersion”) refers to Jews not living in Palestine but “dispersed” or scattered among the Gentiles.