Acts 11:19

Context

Activity in the Church at Antioch

11:19 Now those who had been scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen¹ went as far as² Phoenicia,³ Cyprus,⁴ and Antioch,⁵ speaking the message⁶ to no one but Jews.

Acts 11:26

Context
11:26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch.⁷ So⁸ for a whole year Barnabas and Saul⁹ met with the church and taught a significant number of people.¹⁰ Now it was in Antioch¹¹ that the disciples were first called Christians.¹²

[11:19] ¹sn The phrase over Stephen means in connection with Stephen’s death. See Acts 8:1b-3.

[11:19] ²tn Or “finally reached.” The translations “went as far as” and “finally reached” for διῆλθον (dihlqon) in this verse are given in L&N 15.17.

[11:19] ³sn Phoenicia was an area along the Mediterranean coast north of Palestine.

[11:19] ⁴tn Grk “and Cyprus,” but 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.

[11:19] ⁵sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). This was probably the third largest city in the Greco-Roman world (Alexandria in Egypt was the second largest, and Rome the largest) and was the seat of government in Syria. Five miles away was a major temple to Artemis, Apollo, and Astarte, major pagan deities.

[11:19] ⁶tn Grk “word.”

[11:26] ⁷sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19.

[11:26] ⁸tn Grk “So it happened that” 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.

[11:26] ⁹tn Grk “year they”; the referents (Barnabas and Saul) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:26] ¹⁰tn Grk “a significant crowd.”

[11:26] ¹¹sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19.

[11:26] ¹²sn The term Christians appears only here, in Acts 26:28, and 1 Pet 4:16 in the NT.