Acts 12:17

12:17 He motioned to them ¹  with his hand to be quiet and then related ²  how the Lord had brought ³  him out of the prison. He said, “Tell James and the brothers these things,” and then he left and went to another place. ⁴ 

Acts 13:16

13:16 So Paul stood up, ⁵  gestured ⁶  with his hand and said,

“Men of Israel, ⁷  and you Gentiles who fear God, ⁸  listen:

Acts 19:33

19:33 Some of the crowd concluded ⁹  it was about ¹⁰  Alexander because the Jews had pushed him to the front. ¹¹  Alexander, gesturing ¹²  with his hand, was wanting to make a defense ¹³  before the public assembly. ¹⁴ 

Acts 21:40

21:40 When the commanding officer ¹⁵  had given him permission, ¹⁶  Paul stood ¹⁷  on the steps and gestured ¹⁸  to the people with his hand. When they had become silent, ¹⁹  he addressed ²⁰  them in Aramaic, ²¹ 

Acts 26:1

Paul Offers His Defense

26:1 So Agrippa ²²  said to Paul, “You have permission ²³  to speak for yourself.” Then Paul held out his hand ²⁴  and began his defense: ²⁵ 

[12:17]  ¹ tn Or “He gave them a signal.” Grk “Giving them a signal…he related to them.” The participle κατασείσας (kataseisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[12:17]  ² tc ‡ Most mss, including some of the most important ones (B D E Ψ Ï sy), read αὐτοῖς (autoi", “to them”) here, while some excellent and early witnesses (Ì^45vid,74vid א A 33 81 945 1739 pc) lack the pronoun. Although it is possible that the pronoun was deleted because it was seen as superfluous, it is also possible that it was added as a natural expansion on the text, strengthening the connection between Peter and his listeners. Although a decision is difficult, the shorter reading is slightly preferred. NA²⁷ puts the pronoun in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

[12:17]  ³ tn Or “led.”

[12:17]  ⁴ sn He…went to another place. This is Peter’s last appearance in Acts with the exception of the Jerusalem council in Acts 15.

[13:16]  ⁵ tn This participle, ἀναστάς (anasta"), and the following one, κατασείσας (kataseisa"), are both translated as adverbial participles of attendant circumstance.

[13:16]  ⁶ tn Or “motioned.”

[13:16]  ⁷ tn Or “Israelite men,” although this is less natural English. The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which only exceptionally is used in a generic sense of both males and females. In this context involving an address to a synagogue gathering, it is conceivable that this is a generic usage, although it can also be argued that Paul’s remarks were addressed primarily to the men present, even if women were there.

[13:16]  ⁸ tn Grk “and those who fear God,” but this is practically a technical term for the category called God-fearers, Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel and in many cases kept the Mosaic law, but did not take the final step of circumcision necessary to become a proselyte to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 743-44.

[19:33]  ⁹ tn Or “Some of the crowd gave instructions to.”

[19:33]  ¹⁰ tn The words “it was about” are not in the Greek text but are implied; ᾿Αλέξανδρον (Alexandron) is taken to be an accusative of general reference.

[19:33]  ¹¹ tn BDAG 865 s.v. προβάλλω 1 has “to cause to come forward, put forward…τινά someone…push someone forward to speak in the theater…Ac 19:33.”

[19:33]  ¹² tn Or “motioning.”

[19:33]  ¹³ sn The nature of Alexander’s defense is not clear. It appears he was going to explain, as a Jew, that the problem was not caused by Jews, but by those of “the Way.” However, he never got a chance to speak.

[19:33]  ¹⁴ tn Or “before the crowd.” According to BDAG 223 s.v. δῆμος 2, “in a Hellenistic city, a convocation of citizens called together for the purpose of transacting official business, popular assembly…ἀπολογεῖσθαι τῷ δ. make a defense before the assembly vs. 33.”

[21:40]  ¹⁵ tn The referent (the commanding officer) has been supplied here in the translation for clarity.

[21:40]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “Giving him permission.” The participle ἐπιτρέψαντος (epitreyanto") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:40]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “standing.” The participle ἑστώς (Jestws) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:40]  ¹⁸ tn Or “motioned.”

[21:40]  ¹⁹ tn γενομένης (genomenhs) has been taken temporally. BDAG 922 s.v. σιγή has “πολλῆς σιγῆς γενομένης when a great silence had fallen = when they had become silent Ac 21:40.”

[21:40]  ²⁰ tn Or “spoke out to.” L&N 33.27 has “to address an audience, with possible emphasis upon loudness – ‘to address, to speak out to.’ πολλῆς δέ σιγῆς γενομένης προσεφώνησεν τῇ ᾿Εβραίδι διαλέκτῳ ‘when they were quiet, he addressed them in Hebrew’ Ac 21:40.”

[21:40]  ²¹ tn Grk “in the Hebrew dialect, saying.” This refers to the Aramaic spoken in Palestine in the 1st century (BDAG 270 s.v. ῾Εβραΐς). The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[26:1]  ²² sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.

[26:1]  ²³ tn Grk “It is permitted for you.”

[26:1]  ²⁴ tn Or “extended his hand” (a speaker’s gesture).

[26:1]  ²⁵ tn Or “and began to speak in his own defense.”