Discovery BoxActs 10:37
Context10:37 you know what happened throughout Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John announced: 1
Acts 12:19
Context12:19 When Herod 2 had searched 3 for him and did not find him, he questioned 4 the guards and commanded that they be led away to execution. 5 Then 6 Herod 7 went down from Judea to Caesarea 8 and stayed there.
Acts 15:1
Context15:1 Now some men came down from Judea 9 and began to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised 10 according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
Acts 16:1
Context16:1 He also came to Derbe 11 and to Lystra. 12 A disciple 13 named Timothy was there, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, 14 but whose father was a Greek. 15
[12:19] 2 sn King Herod was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod I (Herod the Great).
[12:19] 3 tn Or “had instigated a search” (Herod would have ordered the search rather than conducting it himself).
[12:19] 4 tn “Questioned” is used to translate ἀνακρίνας (anakrina") here because a possible translation offered by BDAG 66 s.v. ἀνακρίνω for this verse is “examined,” which could be understood to mean Herod inspected the guards rather than questioned them. The translation used by the NIV, “cross-examined,” also avoids this possible misunderstanding.
[12:19] 5 tn The meaning “led away to execution” for ἀπαχθῆναι (apacqhnai) in this verse is given by BDAG 95 s.v. ἀπάγω 2.c. Although an explicit reference to execution is lacking here, it is what would usually occur in such a case (Acts 16:27; 27:42; Code of Justinian 9.4.4). “Led away to torture” is a less likely option (Pliny the Younger, Letters 10, 96, 8).
[12:19] 6 tn Grk “and,” but the sequence of events is better expressed in English by “then.” A new sentence is begun in the translation because of the length of the sentence in Greek, which exceeds normal English sentence length.
[12:19] 7 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Since Herod has been the subject of the preceding material, and the circumstances of his death are the subject of the following verses (20-23), it is best to understand Herod as the subject here. This is especially true since according to Josephus, Ant. 19.8.2 [19.343-352], Herod Agrippa I died at Caesarea in
[12:19] 8 sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1.
[15:1] 3 sn That is, they came down from Judea to Antioch in Syria.
[15:1] 4 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.
[16:1] 4 sn Derbe was a city in Lycaonia about 35 mi (60 km) southeast of Lystra. It was about 90 mi (145 km) from Tarsus.
[16:1] 5 sn Lystra was a city in Lycaonia about 25 mi (40 km) south of Iconium.
[16:1] 6 tn Grk “And behold, a disciple.” Here ἰδού (idou) has not been translated.
[16:1] 7 tn L&N 31.103 translates this phrase “the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer.”
[16:1] 8 sn His father was a Greek. Timothy was the offspring of a mixed marriage between a Jewish woman (see 2 Tim 1:5) and a Gentile man. On mixed marriages in Judaism, see Neh 13:23-27; Ezra 9:1-10:44; Mal 2:10-16; Jub. 30:7-17; m. Qiddushin 3.12; m. Yevamot 7.5.
