3:11 While the man 1 was hanging on to Peter and John, all the people, completely astounded, ran together to them in the covered walkway 2 called Solomon’s Portico. 3
7:30 “After 4 forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the desert 5 of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush. 6
15:1 Now some men came down from Judea 20 and began to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised 21 according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
16:6 They went through the region of Phrygia 22 and Galatia, 23 having been prevented 24 by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message 25 in the province of Asia. 26
1 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Or “portico,” “colonnade”; Grk “stoa.” The translation “covered walkway” (a descriptive translation) was used here because the architectural term “portico” or “colonnade” is less familiar. However, the more technical term “portico” was retained in the actual name that follows.
3 sn Solomon’s Portico was a covered walkway formed by rows of columns supporting a roof and open on the inner side facing the center of the temple complex. It was located on the east side of the temple (Josephus, Ant. 15.11.3-5 [15.391-420], 20.9.7 [20.221]) and was a place of commerce and conversation.
4 tn Grk “And after.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and contemporary English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
5 tn Or “wilderness.”
6 sn An allusion to Exod 3:2.
7 tn Or “What prevents me.” The rhetorical question means, “I should get baptized, right?”
10 tn BDAG 189 s.v. γάρ 2 indicates that under certain circumstances γάρ (gar) has the same meaning as δέ (de).
11 sn Note that the response to the gospel is rejoicing (joy, cf. Acts 11:23; 13:48).
13 tn Or “But arise.”
14 tn Literally a passive construction, “it will be told to you.” This has been converted to another form of passive construction in the translation.
16 tn This could be a reference to the Jewish people (so CEV) or to the Jewish leaders (so NLT). The statement in v. 4 that Herod intended to bring Peter “out to the people” (i.e., for a public trial) may suggest the former is somewhat more likely.
17 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
19 tn This term is frequently used in the LXX of the service performed by priests and Levites in the tabernacle (Exod 28:35, 43; 29:30; 30:20; 35:19; 39:26; Num 1:50; 3:6, 31) and the temple (2 Chr 31:2; 35:3; Joel 1:9, 13; 2:17, and many more examples). According to BDAG 591 s.v. λειτουργέω 1.b it is used “of other expression of religious devotion.” Since the previous verse described the prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch, it is probable that the term here describes two of them (Barnabas and Saul) as they were serving in that capacity. Since they were not in Jerusalem where the temple was located, general religious service is referred to here.
20 tn Or “Appoint.”
22 tn The participle ὑπηρετήσας (Juphrethsa") is taken temporally.
23 tn The verb κοιμάω (koimaw) literally means “sleep,” but it is often used in the Bible as a euphemism for the death of a believer.
24 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “was gathered to his fathers” (a Semitic idiom).
25 tn Grk “saw,” but the literal translation of the phrase “saw decay” could be misunderstood to mean simply “looked at decay,” while here “saw decay” is really figurative for “experienced decay.” This remark explains why David cannot fulfill the promise.
25 sn That is, they came down from Judea to Antioch in Syria.
26 tc Codex Bezae (D) and a few other witnesses have “and walk” here (i.e., instead of τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως [tw eqei tw Mwu>sew"] they read καὶ τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως περιπατῆτε [kai tw eqei tw Mwu>sew" peripathte]). This is a decidedly stronger focus on obedience to the Law. As well, D expands vv. 1-5 in various places with the overall effect of being “more sympathetic to the local tradition of the church at Jerusalem” while the Alexandrian witnesses are more sympathetic to Paul (TCGNT 377). Codex D is well known for having a significantly longer text in Acts, but modern scholarship is generally of the opinion that the text of D expands on the original wording of Acts, with a theological viewpoint that especially puts Peter in a more authoritarian light. The expansion in these five verses is in keeping with that motif even though Peter is not explicitly in view.
28 sn Phrygia was a district in central Asia Minor west of Pisidia.
29 sn Galatia refers to either (1) the region of the old kingdom of Galatia in the central part of Asia Minor (North Galatia), or (2) the Roman province of Galatia, whose principal cities in the 1st century were Ancyra and Pisidian Antioch (South Galatia). The exact extent and meaning of this area has been a subject of considerable controversy in modern NT studies.
30 tn Or “forbidden.”
31 tn Or “word.”
32 tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.
31 tn Or “had assembled.”
34 tn Grk “seeking.”
35 tn Or “information” (originally concerning a crime; BDAG 1050 s.v. φάσις).
36 tn Grk “went up”; this verb is used because the report went up to the Antonia Fortress where the Roman garrison was stationed.
37 tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). In Greek the term χιλίαρχος (ciliarco") literally described the “commander of a thousand,” but it was used as the standard translation for the Latin tribunus militum or tribunus militare, the military tribune who commanded a cohort of 600 men.
38 sn A cohort was a Roman military unit of about 600 soldiers, one-tenth of a legion.
39 tn BDAG 953 s.v. συγχέω has “Pass. w. act.force be in confusion…ὅλη συγχύννεται ᾿Ιερουσαλήμ 21:31.”
37 tn Or “necessary.” BDAG 873-74 s.v. πρός 1 has “πρ. τῆς σωτηρίας in the interest of safety Ac 27:34”; L&N 27.18 has “‘therefore, I urge you to take some food, for this is important for your deliverance’ or ‘…for your survival’ Ac 27:34.”
38 tn Or “deliverance” (‘salvation’ in a nontheological sense).