Acts 15:2

15:2 When Paul and Barnabas had a major argument and debate ¹  with them, the church ²  appointed Paul and Barnabas and some others from among them to go up to meet with ³  the apostles and elders in Jerusalem ⁴  about this point of disagreement. ⁵ 

Acts 15:35

15:35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, ⁶  teaching and proclaiming (along with many others) ⁷  the word of the Lord. ⁸ 

Galatians 2:9

2:9 and when James, Cephas, ⁹  and John, who had a reputation as ¹⁰  pillars, ¹¹  recognized ¹²  the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me ¹³  the right hand of fellowship, agreeing ¹⁴  that we would go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. ¹⁵ 

¹ tn Grk “no little argument and debate” (an idiom).

² 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.

³ tn Grk “go up to,” but in this context a meeting is implied.

⁴ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁵ 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.

⁶ sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia).

⁷ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

⁸ sn The word of the Lord is a technical expression in OT literature, often referring to a divine prophetic utterance (e.g., Gen 15:1, Isa 1:10, Jonah 1:1). In the NT it occurs 15 times: 3 times as ῥῆμα τοῦ κυρίου (rJhma tou kuriou; Luke 22:61, Acts 11:16, 1 Pet 1:25) and 12 times as λόγος τοῦ κυρίου (logo" tou kuriou; here and in v. 36; Acts 8:25; 13:44, 48, 49; 16:32; 19:10, 20; 1 Thess 1:8, 4:15; 2 Thess 3:1). As in the OT, this phrase focuses on the prophetic nature and divine origin of what has been said.

⁹ sn Cephas. This individual is generally identified with the Apostle Peter (L&N 93.211).

¹⁰ tn Or “who were influential as,” or “who were reputed to be.” See also the note on the word “influential” in 2:6.

¹¹ sn Pillars is figurative here for those like James, Peter, and John who were leaders in the Jerusalem church.

¹² tn The participle γνόντες (gnontes) has been taken temporally. It is structurally parallel to the participle translated “when they saw” in v. 7.

¹³ tn Grk “me and Barnabas.”

¹⁴ 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.

¹⁵ tn Grk “to the circumcision,” a collective reference to the Jewish people.