13:1 Now there were these prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch: 1 Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, 2 Lucius the Cyrenian, 3 Manaen (a close friend of Herod 4 the tetrarch 5 from childhood 6 ) and Saul.
1 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia).
2 sn Simeon may well have been from North Africa, since the Latin loanword Niger refers to someone as “dark-complexioned.”
3 sn The Cyrenian refers to a native of the city of Cyrene, on the coast of northern Africa west of Egypt.
4 sn Herod is generally taken as a reference to Herod Antipas, who governed Galilee from 4
5 tn Or “the governor.”
6 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.”
7 tn Or “clerk.” The “scribe” (γραμματεύς, grammateu") was the keeper of the city’s records.
8 tn This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo").
9 tn See BDAG 670 s.v. νεωκόρος. The city is described as the “warden” or “guardian” of the goddess and her temple.
10 sn Artemis was a Greek goddess worshiped particularly in Asia Minor, whose temple, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, was located just outside the city of Ephesus.
11 tn Or “from the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).