Acts 9:2

9:2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues ¹  in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, ²  either men or women, he could bring them as prisoners ³  to Jerusalem. ⁴ 

Acts 18:25

18:25 He had been instructed in ⁵  the way of the Lord, and with great enthusiasm ⁶  he spoke and taught accurately the facts ⁷  about Jesus, although he knew ⁸  only the baptism of John.

Acts 19:9

19:9 But when ⁹  some were stubborn ¹⁰  and refused to believe, reviling ¹¹  the Way ¹²  before the congregation, he left ¹³  them and took the disciples with him, ¹⁴  addressing ¹⁵  them every day ¹⁶  in the lecture hall ¹⁷  of Tyrannus.

Acts 19:23

19:23 At ¹⁸  that time ¹⁹  a great disturbance ²⁰  took place concerning the Way. ²¹ 

Acts 24:14

24:14 But I confess this to you, that I worship ²²  the God of our ancestors ²³  according to the Way (which they call a sect), believing everything that is according to the law ²⁴  and that is written in the prophets.

[9:2]  ¹ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[9:2]  ² 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).

[9:2]  ³ 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.

[9:2]  ⁴ sn From Damascus to Jerusalem was a six-day journey. Christianity had now expanded into Syria.

[18:25]  ⁵ tn Or “had been taught.”

[18:25]  ⁶ tn Grk “and boiling in spirit” (an idiom for great eagerness or enthusiasm; BDAG 426 s.v. ζέω).

[18:25]  ⁷ tn Grk “the things.”

[18:25]  ⁸ tn Grk “knowing”; the participle ἐπιστάμενος (epistameno") has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.

[19:9]  ⁹ tn BDAG 1105-6 s.v. ὡς 8.b lists this use as a temporal conjunction.

[19:9]  ¹⁰ tn Or “some became hardened.” See BDAG 930 s.v. σκληρύνω b and Acts 7:51-53.

[19:9]  ¹¹ tn Or “speaking evil of.” BDAG 500 s.v. κακολογέω has “speak evil of, revile, insult…τὶ someth. τὴν ὁδόν the Way (i.e. Christian way of life) Ac 19:9.”

[19:9]  ¹² sn The Way refers to the Christian movement (Christianity). Luke frequently refers to it as “the Way” (Acts 9:2; 18:25-26; 19:23; 22:4; 24:14, 22).

[19:9]  ¹³ tn Grk “leaving them, he took.” The participle ἀποστάς (apostas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[19:9]  ¹⁴ tn The words “with him” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[19:9]  ¹⁵ tn Although the word διελέξατο (dielexato; from διαλέγομαι, dialegomai) is frequently translated “reasoned,” “disputed,” or “argued,” this sense comes from its classical meaning where it was used of philosophical disputation, including the Socratic method of questions and answers. However, there does not seem to be contextual evidence for this kind of debate in Acts 19:9. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21.

[19:9]  ¹⁶ tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase in this verse.

[19:9]  ¹⁷ tn The “lecture hall” was a place where teachers and pupils met. The term is a NT hapax legomenon (BDAG 982 s.v. σχολή). L&N 7.14 notes, “it is better to use a translation such as ‘lecture hall’ rather than ‘school,’ since one does not wish to give the impression of the typical classroom situation characteristic of present-day schools.”

[19:23]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “There happened at that time.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Instead the verb “took place” has been supplied in the translation.

[19:23]  ¹⁹ tn BDAG 512 s.v. κατά B.2.a, “in definite indications of time…Of the past: κ. ἐκεῖνον τὸν καιρόν at that time, then…Ac 12:1; 19:23.”

[19:23]  ²⁰ tn Grk “no little disturbance” (an idiom; see BDAG 991 s.v. τάραχος 2).

[19:23]  ²¹ sn The Way refers to the Christian movement (Christianity).

[24:14]  ²² tn Or “serve.”

[24:14]  ²³ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[24:14]  ²⁴ sn That is, the law of Moses. Paul was claiming that he legitimately worshiped the God of Israel. He was arguing that this amounted to a religious dispute rather than a political one, so that the Roman authorities need not concern themselves with it.