Acts 15:1

The Jerusalem Council

15:1 Now some men came down from Judea ¹  and began to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised ²  according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Acts 5:21

5:21 When they heard this, they entered the temple courts ³  at daybreak and began teaching. ⁴ 

Now when the high priest and those who were with him arrived, they summoned the Sanhedrin ⁵  – that is, the whole high council ⁶  of the Israelites ⁷  – and sent to the jail to have the apostles ⁸  brought before them. ⁹ 

[15:1]  ¹ sn That is, they came down from Judea to Antioch in Syria.

[15:1]  ² 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.

[5:21]  ³ tn Grk “the temple.” See the note on the same phrase in the preceding verse.

[5:21]  ⁴ tn The imperfect verb ἐδίδασκον (edidaskon) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[5:21]  ⁵ tn Or “the council” (the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[5:21]  ⁶ tn A hendiadys (two different terms referring to a single thing) is likely here (a reference to a single legislative body rather than two separate ones) because the term γερουσίαν (gerousian) is used in both 1 Macc 12:6 and Josephus, Ant. 13.5.8 (13.166) to refer to the Sanhedrin.

[5:21]  ⁷ tn Grk “sons of Israel.”

[5:21]  ⁸ tn Grk “have them”; the referent (the apostles) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:21]  ⁹ tn The words “before them” are not in the Greek text but are implied.