Acts 25:1

Paul Appeals to Caesar

25:1 Now ¹  three days after Festus ²  arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem ³  from Caesarea. ⁴ 

Esther 1:1

The King Throws a Lavish Party

1:1 ⁵ The following events happened ⁶  in the days of Ahasuerus. ⁷  (I am referring to ⁸  that Ahasuerus who used to rule over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces ⁹  extending all the way from India to Ethiopia. ¹⁰ )

Esther 8:9

8:9 The king’s scribes were quickly ¹¹  summoned – in the third month (that is, the month of Sivan), on the twenty-third day. ¹²  They wrote out ¹³  everything that Mordecai instructed to the Jews and to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces all the way from India to Ethiopia ¹⁴  – a hundred and twenty-seven provinces in all – to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, and to the Jews according to their own script and their own language.

Daniel 2:49

2:49 And at Daniel’s request, the king ¹⁵  appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the administration of the province of Babylon. Daniel himself served in the king’s court. ¹⁶ 

Daniel 6:1

Daniel is Thrown into a Lions’ Den

6:1 It seemed like a good idea to Darius ¹⁷  to appoint over the kingdom 120 satraps ¹⁸  who would be in charge of the entire kingdom.

Luke 23:6

Jesus Brought Before Herod

23:6 Now when Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean.

¹ tn BDAG 736-37 s.v. οὖν 2.b states, “οὖν serves to indicate a transition to someth. new…now, then, well…Ac 25:1.”

² sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.

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

⁴ sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1. This was a journey of 65 mi (just over 100 km).

⁵ sn In the English Bible Esther appears adjacent to Ezra-Nehemiah and with the historical books, but in the Hebrew Bible it is one of five short books (the so-called Megillot) that appear toward the end of the biblical writings. The canonicity of the book was questioned by some in ancient Judaism and early Christianity. It is one of five OT books that were at one time regarded as antilegomena (i.e., books “spoken against”). The problem with Esther was the absence of any direct mention of God. Some questioned whether a book that did not mention God could be considered sacred scripture. Attempts to resolve this by discovering the tetragrammaton (YHWH) encoded in the Hebrew text (e.g., in the initial letters of four consecutive words in the Hebrew text of Esth 5:4) are unconvincing, although they do illustrate how keenly the problem was felt by some. Martin Luther also questioned the canonicity of this book, objecting to certain parts of its content. Although no copy of Esther was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, this does not necessarily mean that the Qumran community did not regard it as canonical. It is possible that the absence of Esther from what has survived at Qumran is merely a coincidence. Although the book does not directly mention God, it would be difficult to read it without sensing the providence of God working in powerful, though at times subtle, ways to rescue his people from danger and possible extermination. The absence of mention of the name of God may be a deliberate part of the literary strategy of the writer.

⁶ tn Heb “it came about”; KJV, ASV “Now it came to pass.”

⁷ tn Where the Hebrew text has “Ahasuerus” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV) in this book the LXX has “Artaxerxes.” The ruler mentioned in the Hebrew text is Xerxes I (ca. 486-465 B.C.), and a number of modern English versions use “Xerxes” (e.g., NIV, NCV, CEV, NLT).

⁸ tn Heb “in the days of Ahasuerus, that Ahasuerus who used to rule…” The phrase “I am referring to” has been supplied to clarify the force of the third person masculine singular pronoun, which is functioning like a demonstrative pronoun.

⁹ sn The geographical extent of the Persian empire was vast. The division of Xerxes’ empire into 127 smaller provinces was apparently done for purposes of administrative efficiency.

¹⁰ tn Heb “Cush” (so NIV, NCV; KJV “Ethiopia”) referring to the region of the upper Nile in Africa. India and Cush (i.e., Ethiopia) are both mentioned in a tablet taken from the foundation of Xerxes’ palace in Persepolis that describes the extent of this empire. See ANET 316-17.

¹¹ tn Heb “in that time”; NIV “At once.”

¹² sn Cf. 3:12. Two months and ten days have passed since Haman’s edict to wipe out the Jews.

¹³ tn Heb “it was written”; this passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

¹⁴ tn Heb “Cush” (so NIV), referring to the region of the upper Nile in Africa. Cf. KJV and most other English versions “Ethiopia.”

¹⁵ tn Aram “and Daniel sought from the king and he appointed.”

¹⁶ tn Aram “was at the gate of the king.”

¹⁷ tn Aram “It was pleasing before Darius.”

¹⁸ tn This is a technical term for an official placed in charge of a region of the empire (cf. KJV, NLT “prince[s]”; NCV, TEV “governors”). These satraps were answerable to a supervisor, who in turn answered to Darius.