15:22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided 22 to send men chosen from among them, Judas called Barsabbas and Silas, 23 leaders among the brothers, to Antioch 24 with Paul and Barnabas.
1 tn Here ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).
2 tn Or “it will be put to an end.”
3 sn Six witnesses is three times more than what would normally be required. They could confirm the events were not misrepresented by Peter.
5 tn Grk “getting up, predicted.” The participle ἀναστάς (anasta") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
6 tn Or “made clear”; Grk “indicated beforehand” (BDAG 920 s.v. σημαίνω 2).
7 tn Grk “great.”
8 sn This famine is one of the firmly fixed dates in Acts. It took place from
9 tn Or “whole Roman Empire.” While the word οἰκουμένη (oikoumenh) does occasionally refer specifically to the Roman Empire, BDAG 699 s.v. οἰκουνένη 2 does not list this passage (only Acts 24:5 and 17:6).
10 tn Grk “world, which.” The relative pronoun (“which”) was replaced by the demonstrative pronoun “this” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek.
11 sn This is best taken as a parenthetical note by the author. Claudius was the Roman emperor Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus, known as Claudius, who ruled from
7 tn Or “people of Israel.”
8 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
9 tn That is, in both numbers and in power. The implication of greatness in both numbers and in power is found in BDAG 1046 s.v. ὑψόω 2.
10 tn Or “as resident aliens.”
11 tn Or “land.”
12 sn Here uplifted arm is a metaphor for God’s power by which he delivered the Israelites from Egypt. See Exod 6:1, 6; 32:11; Deut 3:24; 4:34; Ps 136:11-12.
9 tn Grk “no little argument and debate” (an idiom).
10 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.
11 tn Grk “go up to,” but in this context a meeting is implied.
12 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
13 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.
11 tn BDAG 255 s.v. δοκέω 2.b.β lists this verse under the meaning “it seems best to me, I decide, I resolve.”
12 sn Silas. See 2 Cor 1:19; 1 Thess 1:1; 2 Thess 1:1 (= Silvanus).
13 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia).
13 tn Or “convinced.”
14 tn Or “a large crowd.”
15 tn Or “of devout Greeks,” but this is practically a technical term for the category called God-fearers, Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel and in many cases kept the Mosaic law, but did not take the final step of circumcision necessary to become a proselyte to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 743-44. Luke frequently mentions such people (Acts 13:43, 50; 16:14; 17:17; 18:7).
16 tn Grk “not a few”; this use of negation could be misleading to the modern English reader, however, and so has been translated as “quite a few” (which is the actual meaning of the expression).