9:33 Nor is there an arbiter 1 between us,
who 2 might lay 3 his hand on us both, 4
12:20 Now Herod 5 was having an angry quarrel 6 with the people of Tyre 7 and Sidon. 8 So they joined together 9 and presented themselves before him. And after convincing 10 Blastus, the king’s personal assistant, 11 to help them, 12 they asked for peace, 13 because their country’s food supply was provided by the king’s country.
12:1 About that time King Herod 14 laid hands on 15 some from the church to harm them. 16
2:5 Now there were devout Jews 17 from every nation under heaven residing in Jerusalem. 18
1 tn The participle מוֹכִיחַ (mokhiakh) is the “arbiter” or “mediator.” The word comes from the verb יָכַח (yakhakh, “decide, judge”), which is concerned with legal and nonlegal disputes. The verbal forms can be used to describe the beginning of a dispute, the disputation in progress, or the settling of it (here, and in Isa 1:18).
2 tn The relative pronoun is understood in this clause.
3 tn The jussive in conditional sentences retains its voluntative sense: let something be so, and this must happen as a consequence (see GKC 323 §109.i).
4 sn The idiom of “lay his hand on the two of us” may come from a custom of a judge putting his hands on the two in order to show that he is taking them both under his jurisdiction. The expression can also be used for protection (see Ps 139:5). Job, however, has a problem in that the other party is God, who himself will be arbiter in judgment.
5 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Or “was extremely angry.” L&N 33.453 gives the meaning “be angry and quarrel, quarrel angrily” here. However, in L&N 88.180 the alternative “to be violently angry, to be furious” is given. The term is used only once in the NT (BDAG 461 s.v. θυμομαχέω).
7 sn Tyre was a city and seaport on the coast of Phoenicia.
8 sn Sidon was an ancient Phoenician royal city on the coast between Berytus (Beirut) and Tyre (BDAG 923 s.v. Σιδών).
9 tn Or “with one accord.”
10 tn Or “persuading.”
11 tn On the term translated “personal assistant” BDAG 554 s.v. κοιτῶν states, “used as part of a title: ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ κοιτῶνος the one in charge of the bed-chamber, the chamberlain.” This individual was not just a domestic servant or butler, but a highly respected person who had considerable responsibility for the king’s living quarters and personal affairs. The English word “chamberlain” corresponds very closely to this meaning but is not in common use today. The term “personal assistant,” while it might convey more business associations than management of personal affairs, nevertheless communicates the concept well in contemporary English.
12 tn The words “to help them” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
13 tn Or “for a reconciliation.” There were grave political risks in having Herod angry at them. The detail shows the ruler’s power.
14 sn King Herod was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod I (Herod the Great). His mediocre career is summarized in Josephus, Ant. 18-19. This event took place in
15 tn Or “King Herod had some from the church arrested.”
16 tn Or “to cause them injury.”
17 tn Grk “Jews, devout men.” It is possible that only men are in view here in light of OT commands for Jewish men to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem at various times during the year (cf. Exod 23:17, 34:23; Deut 16:16). However, other evidence seems to indicate that both men and women might be in view. Luke 2:41-52 shows that whole families would make the temporary trip to Jerusalem. In addition, it is probable that the audience consisted of families who had taken up permanent residence in Jerusalem. The verb κατοικέω (katoikew) normally means “reside” or “dwell,” and archaeological evidence from tombs in Jerusalem does indicate that many families immigrated to Jerusalem permanently (see B. Witherington, Acts, 135); this would naturally include women. Also, the word ἀνήρ (ajnhr), which usually does mean “male” or “man” (as opposed to woman), sometimes is used generically to mean “a person” (BDAG 79 s.v. 2; cf. Matt 12:41). Given this evidence, then, it is conceivable that the audience in view here is not individual male pilgrims but a mixed group of men and women.
18 tn Grk “Now there were residing in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.”