Acts 12:8

12:8 The angel said to him, “Fasten your belt ¹  and put on your sandals.” Peter ²  did so. Then the angel ³  said to him, “Put on your cloak ⁴  and follow me.”

Acts 13:43

13:43 When the meeting of the synagogue ⁵  had broken up, ⁶  many of the Jews and God-fearing proselytes ⁷  followed Paul and Barnabas, who were speaking with them and were persuading ⁸  them ⁹  to continue ¹⁰  in the grace of God.

[12:8]  ¹ tn While ζώννυμι (zwnnumi) sometimes means “to dress,” referring to the fastening of the belt or sash as the final act of getting dressed, in this context it probably does mean “put on your belt” since in the conditions of a prison Peter had probably not changed into a different set of clothes to sleep. More likely he had merely removed his belt or sash, which the angel now told him to replace. The translation “put on your belt” is given by L&N 49.14 for this verse. The archaic English “girdle” for the sash or belt has an entirely different meaning today.

[12:8]  ² tn Grk “He”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:8]  ³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:8]  ⁴ tn Or “outer garment.”

[13:43]  ⁵ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[13:43]  ⁶ tn BDAG 607 s.v. λύω 3 has “λυθείσης τ. συναγωγῆς when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up Ac 13:43.”

[13:43]  ⁷ tn Normally the phrase σεβόμενοι τὸν θεόν (sebomenoi ton qeon) refers to Gentiles (“God-fearers”) who believed in God, attended the synagogue, and followed the Mosaic law to some extent, but stopped short of undergoing circumcision. BDAG 918 s.v. σέβω 1.b lists in this category references in Acts 16:14; 18:7; with σεβόμενοι alone, Acts 13:50; 17:4, 17; the phrase is also found in Josephus, Ant. 14.7.2 (14.110). Unique to this particular verse is the combination σεβόμενοι προσηλύτων (sebomenoi proshlutwn). Later rabbinic discussion suggests that to be regarded as a proper proselyte, a Gentile male had to submit to circumcision. If that is the case here, these Gentiles in the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch should be regarded as full proselytes who had converted completely to Judaism and undergone circumcision. It is probably more likely, however, that προσηλύτων is used here in a somewhat looser sense (note the use of σεβομένας [sebomena"] alone to refer to women in Acts 13:50) and that these Gentiles were still in the category commonly called “God-fearers” without being full, technical proselytes to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 743-44. Regardless, the point is that many Gentiles, as well as Jews, came to faith.

[13:43]  ⁸ tn This is the meaning given for ἔπειθον (epeiqon) in this verse by BDAG 791 s.v. πείθω 1.b.

[13:43]  ⁹ tn Grk “who, as they were speaking with them, were persuading them.”

[13:43]  ¹⁰ tn The verb προμένειν (promenein) is similar in force to the use of μένω (menw, “to reside/remain”) in the Gospel and Epistles of John.