Acts 18:2-3

18:2 There he ¹  found ²  a Jew named Aquila, ³  a native of Pontus, ⁴  who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius ⁵  had ordered all the Jews to depart from ⁶  Rome. ⁷  Paul approached ⁸  them, 18:3 and because he worked at the same trade, he stayed with them and worked with them ⁹  (for they were tentmakers ¹⁰  by trade). ¹¹ 

Acts 18:26

18:26 He began to speak out fearlessly ¹²  in the synagogue, ¹³  but when Priscilla and Aquila ¹⁴  heard him, they took him aside ¹⁵  and explained the way of God to him more accurately.

[18:2]  ¹ 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. The word “there” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[18:2]  ² tn Grk “finding.” The participle εὑρών (Jeurwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[18:2]  ³ sn On Aquila and his wife Priscilla see also Acts 18:18, 26; Rom 16:3-4; 1 Cor 16:19; 2 Tim 4:19. In the NT “Priscilla” and “Prisca” are the same person. This author uses the full name Priscilla, while Paul uses the diminutive form Prisca.

[18:2]  ⁴ sn Pontus was a region in the northeastern part of Asia Minor. It was a Roman province.

[18:2]  ⁵ sn Claudius refers to the Roman emperor Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus, known as Claudius, who ruled from a.d. 41-54. The edict expelling the Jews from Rome was issued in a.d. 49 (Suetonius, Claudius 25.4).

[18:2]  ⁶ tn Or “to leave.”

[18:2]  ⁷ map For location see JP4 A1.

[18:2]  ⁸ tn Or “went to.”

[18:3]  ⁹ tn The prepositional phrase “with them” occurs only once in the Greek text, but since it occurs between the two finite verbs (ἔμενεν, emenen, and ἠργάζετο, hrgazeto) it relates (by implication) to both of them.

[18:3]  ¹⁰ tn On the term translated “tentmakers,” see BDAG 928-29 s.v. σκνηοποιός. Paul apparently manufactured tents. In contrast to the Cynic philosophers, Paul at times labored to support himself (see also v. 5).

[18:3]  ¹¹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[18:26]  ¹⁷ tn Or “boldly.” This is a frequent term in Acts (9:27-28; 13:46; 14:3; 19:8; 26:26).

[18:26]  ¹⁸ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[18:26]  ¹⁹ sn Priscilla and Aquila. This key couple, of which Priscilla was an important enough figure to be mentioned by name, instructed Apollos about the most recent work of God. See also the note on Aquila in 18:2.

[18:26]  ²⁰ tn BDAG 883 s.v. προσλαμβάνω 3 has “take aside, mid. τινά someone…So prob. also Ac 18:26: Priscilla and Aquila take Apollos aside to teach him undisturbed.”