Acts 18:1

Paul at Corinth

18:1 After this ¹  Paul ²  departed from ³  Athens ⁴  and went to Corinth. ⁵ 

Acts 18:19

18:19 When they reached Ephesus, ⁶  Paul ⁷  left Priscilla and Aquila ⁸  behind there, but he himself went ⁹  into the synagogue ¹⁰  and addressed ¹¹  the Jews.

¹ tn Grk “After these things.”

² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Or “Paul left.”

⁴ map For location see JP1-C2; JP2-C2; JP3-C2; JP4-C2.

⁵ sn Corinth was the capital city of the senatorial province of Achaia and the seat of the Roman proconsul. It was located 55 mi (88 km) west of Athens. Corinth was a major rival to Athens and was the largest city in Greece at the time.

⁶ sn Ephesus was an influential city in Asia Minor. It was the location of the famous temple of Artemis. In 334 b.c. control of the city had passed to Alexander the Great, who contributed a large sum to the building of a new and more elaborate temple of Artemis, which became one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and lasted until destroyed by the Goths in a.d. 263. This major port city would be reached from Corinth by ship. It was 250 mi (400 km) east of Corinth by sea.

⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸ tn Grk “left them”; the referents (Priscilla and Aquila) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁹ tn Grk “going”; the participle εἰσελθών (eiselqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

¹⁰ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

¹¹ tn Although the word διελέξατο (dielexato; from διαλέγομαι, dialegomai) is frequently translated “reasoned,” “disputed,” or “argued,” this sense comes from its classical meaning where it was used of philosophical disputation, including the Socratic method of questions and answers. However, there does not seem to be contextual evidence for this kind of debate in Acts 18:19. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21.