Acts 18:16

18:16 Then he had them forced away ¹  from the judgment seat. ² 

Acts 12:21

12:21 On a day determined in advance, Herod ³  put on his royal robes, ⁴  sat down on the judgment seat, ⁵  and made a speech ⁶  to them.

Acts 18:17

18:17 So they all seized Sosthenes, the president of the synagogue, ⁷  and began to beat ⁸  him in front of the judgment seat. ⁹  Yet none of these things were of any concern ¹⁰  to Gallio.

Acts 25:17

25:17 So after they came back here with me, ¹¹  I did not postpone the case, ¹²  but the next day I sat ¹³  on the judgment seat ¹⁴  and ordered the man to be brought.

Acts 18:12

Paul Before the Proconsul Gallio

18:12 Now while Gallio ¹⁵  was proconsul ¹⁶  of Achaia, ¹⁷  the Jews attacked Paul together ¹⁸  and brought him before the judgment seat, ¹⁹ 

Acts 7:5

7:5 He ²⁰  did not give any of it to him for an inheritance, ²¹  not even a foot of ground, ²²  yet God ²³  promised to give it to him as his possession, and to his descendants after him, ²⁴  even though Abraham ²⁵  as yet had no child.

Acts 25:6

25:6 After Festus ²⁶  had stayed ²⁷  not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea, ²⁸  and the next day he sat ²⁹  on the judgment seat ³⁰  and ordered Paul to be brought.

Acts 25:10

25:10 Paul replied, ³¹  “I am standing before Caesar’s ³²  judgment seat, ³³  where I should be tried. ³⁴  I have done nothing wrong ³⁵  to the Jews, as you also know very well. ³⁶ 

[18:16]  ¹ tn Grk “driven away,” but this could result in a misunderstanding in English (“driven” as in a cart or wagon?). “Forced away” conveys the idea; Gallio rejected their complaint. In contemporary English terminology the case was “thrown out of court.” The verb ἀπήλασεν (aphlasen) has been translated as a causative since Gallio probably did not perform this action in person, but ordered his aides or officers to remove the plaintiffs.

[18:16]  ² sn See the note on the term judgment seat in 18:12.

[12:21]  ³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:21]  ⁴ tn Or “apparel.” On Herod’s robes see Josephus, Ant. 19.8.2 (19.344), summarized in the note at the end of v. 23.

[12:21]  ⁵ tn Although BDAG 175 s.v. βῆμα 3 gives the meaning “speaker’s platform” for this verse, and a number of modern translations use similar terms (“rostrum,” NASB; “platform,” NRSV), since the bema was a standard feature in Greco-Roman cities of the time, there is no need for an alternative translation here.

[12:21]  ⁶ tn Or “delivered a public address.”

[18:17]  ⁵ tn That is, “the official in charge of the synagogue”; ἀρχισυνάγωγος (arcisunagwgo") refers to the “leader/president of a synagogue” (so BDAG 139 s.v. and L&N 53.93).

[18:17]  ⁶ tn The imperfect verb ἔτυπτον (etupton) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[18:17]  ⁷ sn See the note on the term judgment seat in 18:12.

[18:17]  ⁸ tn L&N 25.223 has “‘none of these things were of any concern to Gallio’ Ac 18:17.”

[25:17]  ⁷ tn BDAG 969-70 s.v. συνέρχομαι 2 states, “συνελθόντων ἐνθάδε prob. means (because of συνκαταβάντες 25:5) they came back here with (me) 25:17.”

[25:17]  ⁸ tn BDAG 59 s.v. ἀναβολή states, “‘delay’…legal t.t. postponement…ἀ. μηδεμίαν ποιησάμενος I did not postpone the matter Ac 25:17.” “Case” has been supplied instead of “matter” since it is more specific to the context. The participle ποιησάμενος (poihsameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[25:17]  ⁹ tn Grk “sitting…I ordered.” The participle καθίσας (kaqisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[25:17]  ¹⁰ tn Although BDAG 175 s.v. βῆμα 3 gives the meaning “tribunal” for this verse, and a number of modern translations use similar terms (“court,” NIV; “tribunal,” NRSV), since the bema was a standard feature in Greco-Roman cities of the time, there is no need for an alternative translation here.

[18:12]  ⁹ sn Gallio was proconsul of Achaia from a.d. 51-52. This date is one of the firmly established dates in Acts. Lucius Junius Gallio was the son of the rhetorician Seneca and the brother of Seneca the philosopher. The date of Gallio’s rule is established from an inscription (W. Dittenberger, ed., Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum 2.3 no. 8). Thus the event mentioned here is probably to be dated July-October a.d. 51.

[18:12]  ¹⁰ sn The proconsul was the Roman official who ruled over a province traditionally under the control of the Roman senate.

[18:12]  ¹¹ sn Achaia was a Roman province created in 146 b.c. that included the most important parts of Greece (Attica, Boeotia, and the Peloponnesus).

[18:12]  ¹² tn Grk “with one accord.”

[18:12]  ¹³ tn Although BDAG 175 s.v. βῆμα 3 gives the meaning “tribunal” for this verse and a number of modern translations use similar terms (“court,” NIV; “tribunal,” NRSV), there is no need for an alternative translation here since the bema was a standard feature in Greco-Roman cities of the time.

[7:5]  ¹¹ tn Grk “And he.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[7:5]  ¹² tn Grk “He did not give him an inheritance in it.” This could be understood to mean that God did not give something else to Abraham as an inheritance while he was living there. The point of the text is that God did not give any of the land to him as an inheritance, and the translation makes this clear.

[7:5]  ¹³ tn Grk “a step of a foot” (cf. Deut 2:5).

[7:5]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:5]  ¹⁵ sn An allusion to Gen 12:7; 13:15; 15:2, 18; 17:8; 24:7; 48:4. On the theological importance of the promise and to his descendants after him, see Rom 4 and Gal 3.

[7:5]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:6]  ¹³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Festus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:6]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “Having stayed.” The participle διατρίψας (diatriya") has been taken temporally.

[25:6]  ¹⁵ 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.

[25:6]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “sitting down…he ordered.” The participle καθίσας (kaqisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[25:6]  ¹⁷ tn Although BDAG 175 s.v. βῆμα 3 gives the meaning “tribunal” for this verse, and a number of modern translations use similar terms (“court,” NIV; “tribunal,” NRSV), since the bhma was a standard feature in Greco-Roman cities of the time, there is no need for an alternative translation here.

[25:10]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “said.”

[25:10]  ¹⁶ tn Or “before the emperor’s” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[25:10]  ¹⁷ tn Although BDAG 175 s.v. βῆμα 3 gives the meaning “tribunal” for this verse, and a number of modern translations use similar terms (“court,” NIV; “tribunal,” NRSV), since the bema was a standard feature in Greco-Roman cities of the time, there is no need for an alternative translation here. Here of course Paul’s reference to “Caesar’s judgment seat” is a form of metonymy; since Festus is Caesar’s representative, Festus’ judgment seat represents Caesar’s own.

[25:10]  ¹⁸ tn That is, tried by an imperial representative and subject to Roman law.

[25:10]  ¹⁹ sn “I have done nothing wrong.” Here is yet another declaration of total innocence on Paul’s part.

[25:10]  ²⁰ tn BDAG 506 s.v. καλῶς 7 states, “comp. κάλλιον (for the superl., as Galen, Protr. 8 p. 24, 19J.=p. 10, 31 Kaibel; s. B-D-F §244, 2) ὡς καί σὺ κ. ἐπιγινώσκεις as also you know very well Ac 25:10.”