Joshua 2:15

2:15 Then Rahab ¹  let them down by a rope ²  through the window. (Her ³  house was built as part of the city wall; she lived in the wall.) ⁴ 

Acts 9:24-25

9:24 but Saul learned of their plot against him. ⁵  They were also watching ⁶  the city gates ⁷  day and night so that they could kill him. 9:25 But his disciples took him at night and let him down through an opening ⁸  in the wall by lowering him in a basket. ⁹ 

Acts 9:2

9:2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues ¹⁰  in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, ¹¹  either men or women, he could bring them as prisoners ¹²  to Jerusalem. ¹³ 

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹⁴  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹⁵  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

¹ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Rahab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tc The phrase “by a rope” is omitted in the LXX. It may be a later clarifying addition. If original, the omission in the LXX is likely due to an error of homoioarcton. A scribe’s or translator’s eye could have jumped from the initial ב (bet) in the phrase בַּחֶבֶל (bakhevel, “with a rope”) to the initial ב on the immediately following בְּעַד (bÿ’ad, “through”) and accidentally omitted the intervening letters.

³ tn Heb “For her house.”

⁴ tc These explanatory statements are omitted in the LXX and probably represent a later scribal addition.

⁵ tn The words “against him” are implied, as suggested by L&N 30.71.

⁶ tn Or “guarding.” This is a negative term in Luke-Acts (Luke 6:7; 14:1; 20:20).

⁷ tn The word πύλη (pulh) may refer to a house door or gate, or to the large gates used in a palace, temple, or city wall. Here the context clearly indicates a reference to the latter, so the translation “city gates” is used.

⁸ tn The opening in the wall is not specifically mentioned here, but the parallel account in 2 Cor 11:33 mentions a “window” or “opening” (θυρίς, quris) in the city wall through which Paul was lowered. One alternative to introducing mention of the opening is to translate Acts 9:25 “they let him down over the wall,” as suggested in L&N 7.61. This option is not employed by many translations, however, because for the English reader it creates an (apparent) contradiction between Acts 9:25 and 2 Cor 11:33. In reality the account here is simply more general, omitting the detail about the window.

⁹ tn On the term for “basket” used here, see BDAG 940 s.v. σπυρίς.

¹⁰ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

¹¹ sn The expression “the way” in ancient religious literature refers at times to “the whole way of life fr. a moral and spiritual viewpoint” (BDAG 692 s.v. ὁδός 3.c), and it has been so used of Christianity and its teachings in the book of Acts (see also 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). It is a variation of Judaism’s idea of two ways, the true and the false, where “the Way” is the true one (1 En. 91:18; 2 En. 30:15).

¹² tn Grk “bring them bound”; the translation “bring someone as prisoner” for δεδεμένον ἄγειν τινά (dedemenon agein tina) is given by BDAG 221 s.v. δέω 1.b.

¹³ sn From Damascus to Jerusalem was a six-day journey. Christianity had now expanded into Syria.

¹⁴ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

¹⁵ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.