15:1 Now some men came down from Judea 6 and began to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised 7 according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 15:2 When Paul and Barnabas had a major argument and debate 8 with them, the church 9 appointed Paul and Barnabas and some others from among them to go up to meet with 10 the apostles and elders in Jerusalem 11 about this point of disagreement. 12
1 tn Or “announced.”
2 sn Note that God is the subject of the activity. The outcome of this mission is seen as a confirmation of the mission to the Gentiles.
3 sn On the image of opening, or of the door, see 1 Cor 16:9; 2 Cor 2:12; Col 4:3.
4 tn BDAG 238 s.v. διατρίβω gives the meaning as “spend” when followed by an accusative τὸν χρόνον (ton cronon) which is the case here.
5 tn Grk “no little (time)” (an idiom).
6 sn That is, they came down from Judea to Antioch in Syria.
7 tc Codex Bezae (D) and a few other witnesses have “and walk” here (i.e., instead of τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως [tw eqei tw Mwu>sew"] they read καὶ τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως περιπατῆτε [kai tw eqei tw Mwu>sew" peripathte]). This is a decidedly stronger focus on obedience to the Law. As well, D expands vv. 1-5 in various places with the overall effect of being “more sympathetic to the local tradition of the church at Jerusalem” while the Alexandrian witnesses are more sympathetic to Paul (TCGNT 377). Codex D is well known for having a significantly longer text in Acts, but modern scholarship is generally of the opinion that the text of D expands on the original wording of Acts, with a theological viewpoint that especially puts Peter in a more authoritarian light. The expansion in these five verses is in keeping with that motif even though Peter is not explicitly in view.
8 tn Grk “no little argument and debate” (an idiom).
9 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.
10 tn Grk “go up to,” but in this context a meeting is implied.
11 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
12 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.