3:14 God said to Moses, “I am that I am.” 1 And he said, “You must say this 2 to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
36:9 For you are the one who gives
and sustains life. 3
90:2 Even before the mountains came into existence, 4
or you brought the world into being, 5
you were the eternal God. 6
10:10 The Lord is the only true God.
He is the living God and the everlasting King.
When he shows his anger the earth shakes.
None of the nations can stand up to his fury.
17:1 After they traveled through 9 Amphipolis 10 and Apollonia, 11 they came to Thessalonica, 12 where there was a Jewish synagogue. 13
6:1 Now in those 15 days, when the disciples were growing in number, 16 a complaint arose on the part of the Greek-speaking Jews 17 against the native Hebraic Jews, 18 because their widows 19 were being overlooked 20 in the daily distribution of food. 21
1 tn The verb form used here is אֶהְיֶה (’ehyeh), the Qal imperfect, first person common singular, of the verb הָיָה (haya, “to be”). It forms an excellent paronomasia with the name. So when God used the verb to express his name, he used this form saying, “
2 tn Or “Thus you shall say” (also in the following verse). The word “must” in the translation conveys the instructional and imperatival force of the statement.
3 tn Heb “for with you is the fountain of life, in your light we see light.” Water (note “fountain”) and light are here metaphors for life.
4 tn Heb “were born.”
5 tn Heb “and you gave birth to the earth and world.” The Polel verbal form in the Hebrew text pictures God giving birth to the world. The LXX and some other ancient textual witnesses assume a polal (passive) verbal form here. In this case the earth becomes the subject of the verb and the verb is understood as third feminine singular rather than second masculine singular.
6 tn Heb “and from everlasting to everlasting you [are] God.” Instead of אֵל (’el, “God”) the LXX reads אַל (’al, “not”) and joins the negative particle to the following verse, making the verb תָּשֵׁב (tashev) a jussive. In this case v. 3a reads as a prayer, “do not turn man back to a low place.” However, taking תָּשֵׁב as a jussive is problematic in light of the following following wayyiqtol form וַתֹּאמֶר (vato’mer, “and you said/say”).
7 tn L&N 57.45 has “nor does he need anything more that people can supply by working for him.”
8 tn Grk “he himself gives to all [people] life and breath and all things.”
9 tn BDAG 250 s.v. διοδεύω 1 has “go, travel through” for this verse.
10 sn Amphipolis. The capital city of the southeastern district of Macedonia (BDAG 55 s.v. ᾿Αμφίπολις). It was a military post. From Philippi this was about 33 mi (53 km).
11 sn Apollonia was a city in Macedonia about 27 mi (43 km) west southwest of Amphipolis.
12 sn Thessalonica (modern Salonica) was a city in Macedonia about 33 mi (53 km) west of Apollonia. It was the capital of Macedonia. The road they traveled over was called the Via Egnatia. It is likely they rode horses, given their condition in Philippi. The implication of v. 1 is that the two previously mentioned cities lacked a synagogue.
13 sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.
14 tn Or “and was chosen to have a share in this ministry.” The term λαγχάνω (lancanw) here and in 2 Pet 1:1 can be understood as referring to the process of divine choice and thus be translated, “was chosen to have.”
15 tn Grk “these.” The translation uses “those” for stylistic reasons.
16 tn Grk “were multiplying.”
17 tn Grk “the Hellenists,” but this descriptive term is largely unknown to the modern English reader. The translation “Greek-speaking Jews” attempts to convey something of who these were, but it was more than a matter of language spoken; it involved a degree of adoption of Greek culture as well.
18 tn Grk “against the Hebrews,” but as with “Hellenists” this needs further explanation for the modern reader.
19 sn The care of widows is a major biblical theme: Deut 10:18; 16:11, 14; 24:17, 19-21; 26:12-13; 27:19; Isa 1:17-23; Jer 7:6; Mal 3:5.
20 tn Or “neglected.”
21 tn Grk “in the daily serving.”