Acts 20:4-6

20:4 Paul ¹  was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, ²  Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, ³  Gaius ⁴  from Derbe, ⁵  and Timothy, as well as Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. ⁶  20:5 These had gone on ahead ⁷  and were waiting for us in Troas. ⁸  20:6 We ⁹  sailed away from Philippi ¹⁰  after the days of Unleavened Bread, ¹¹  and within five days ¹²  we came to the others ¹³  in Troas, ¹⁴  where we stayed for seven days.

[20:4]  ¹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:4]  ² sn Berea (alternate spelling in NRSV Beroea; Greek Beroia) was a very old city in Macedonia on the river Astraeus about 45 mi (75 km) from Thessalonica.

[20:4]  ³ tn Grk “of the Thessalonians.”

[20:4]  ⁴ tn Grk “and Gaius,” but this καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[20:4]  ⁵ sn Derbe was a city in Lycaonia about 30 mi (50 km) southeast of Lystra.

[20:4]  ⁶ tn Grk “the Asians Tychicus and Trophimus.” In the NT “Asia” always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[20:5]  ⁷ tn Grk “These, having gone on ahead, were waiting.” The participle προελθόντες (proelqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[20:5]  ⁸ sn Troas was a port city (and surrounding region) on the northwest coast of Asia Minor.

[20:6]  ⁹ sn This marks the beginning of another “we” section in Acts. These have been traditionally understood to mean that Luke was in the company of Paul for this part of the journey.

[20:6]  ¹⁰ map For location see JP1 C1; JP2 C1; JP3 C1; JP4 C1.

[20:6]  ¹¹ sn The days of Unleavened Bread refer to the week following Passover. Originally an agricultural festival commemorating the beginning of harvest, it was celebrated for seven days beginning on the fifteenth day of the month Nisan (March-April). It was later combined with Passover (Exod 12:1-20; Ezek 45:21-24; Matt 26:17; Luke 22:1).

[20:6]  ¹² tn BDAG 160 s.v. ἄχρι 1.a.α has “ἄ. ἡμερῶν πέντε within five days Ac 20:6.”

[20:6]  ¹³ tn Grk “to them”; the referent (the others mentioned in v. 4) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:6]  ¹⁴ sn Troas was a port city (and surrounding region) on the northwest coast of Asia Minor. From Philippi to Troas was about 125 mi (200 km).