Acts 18:2

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,

Acts 19:34

19:34 But when they recognized ⁹  that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison, ¹⁰  “Great is Artemis ¹¹  of the Ephesians!” for about two hours. ¹² 

Ezra 4:12-15

4:12 Now ¹³  let the king be aware that the Jews who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and odious city. ¹⁴  They are completing its walls and repairing its foundations. 4:13 Let the king also be aware that if this city is built and its walls are completed, no more tax, custom, or toll will be paid, and the royal treasury ¹⁵  will suffer loss. 4:14 In light of the fact that we are loyal to the king, ¹⁶  and since it does not seem appropriate to us that the king should sustain damage, ¹⁷  we are sending the king this information ¹⁸  4:15 so that he may initiate a search of the records ¹⁹  of his predecessors ²⁰  and discover in those records ²¹  that this city is rebellious ²²  and injurious to both kings and provinces, producing internal revolts ²³  from long ago. ²⁴  It is for this very reason that this city was destroyed.

Esther 3:8-9

3:8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a particular people ²⁵  that is dispersed and spread among the inhabitants ²⁶  throughout all the provinces of your kingdom whose laws differ from those of all other peoples. Furthermore, they do not observe the king’s laws. It is not appropriate for the king to provide a haven for them. ²⁷  3:9 If the king is so inclined, ²⁸  let an edict be issued ²⁹  to destroy them. I will pay ten thousand talents of silver ³⁰  to be conveyed to the king’s treasuries for the officials who carry out this business.”

[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.”

[19:34]  ⁹ tn Grk “But recognizing.” The participle ἐπιγνόντες (epignonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[19:34]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “[they shouted] with one voice from all of them” (an idiom).

[19:34]  ¹¹ sn Artemis was a Greek goddess worshiped particularly in Asia Minor, whose temple, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, was located just outside the city of Ephesus, 1.25 mi (2 km) northeast of the Grand Theater. Dimensions were 418 ft by 239 ft (125 m by 72 m) for the platform; the temple proper was 377 ft by 180 ft (113 m by 54 m). The roof was supported by 117 columns, each 60 ft (18 m) high by 6 ft (1.8 m) in diameter. The Emperor Justinian of Byzantium later took these columns for use in construction of the Hagia Sophia, where they still exist (in modern day Istanbul).

[19:34]  ¹² sn They all shouted…for about two hours. The extent of the tumult shows the racial and social tensions of a cosmopolitan city like Ephesus, indicating what the Christians in such locations had to face.

[4:12]  ¹³ tn The MT takes this word with the latter part of v. 11, but in English style it fits better with v. 12.

[4:12]  ¹⁴ sn Management of the provinces that were distantly removed from the capital was difficult, and insurrection in such places was a perennial problem. The language used in this report about Jerusalem (i.e., “rebellious,” “odious”) is intentionally inflammatory. It is calculated to draw immediate attention to the perceived problem.

[4:13]  ¹⁵ tn Aram “the treasury of kings.” The plural “kings” is Hebrew, not Aramaic. If the plural is intended in a numerical sense the reference is not just to Artaxerxes but to his successors as well. Some scholars understand this to be the plural of majesty, referring to Artaxerxes. See F. C. Fensham, Ezra and Nehemiah (NICOT), 74.

[4:14]  ¹⁶ tn Aram “we eat the salt of the palace.”

[4:14]  ¹⁷ tn Aram “the dishonor of the king is not fitting for us to see.”

[4:14]  ¹⁸ tn Aram “and we have made known.”

[4:15]  ¹⁹ tn Aram “the book of the minutes.”

[4:15]  ²⁰ tn Aram “of your fathers.”

[4:15]  ²¹ tn Aram “discover…and learn.” For stylistic reasons this has been translated as a single concept.

[4:15]  ²² tn Aram “is a rebellious city.”

[4:15]  ²³ tn Aram “revolts they are making in its midst.”

[4:15]  ²⁴ tn Aram “from olden days.” So also in v. 19.

[3:8]  ²⁵ tn Heb “one people.” Note the subtle absence at this point of a specific mention of the Jewish people by name.

[3:8]  ²⁶ tn Heb “peoples” (so NASB, NIV); NAB “nations”

[3:8]  ²⁷ tn Heb “to cause them to rest”; NASB “to let them remain”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “to tolerate them.”

[3:9]  ²⁸ tn Heb “If upon the king it is good”; KJV “If it please the king.”

[3:9]  ²⁹ tn Heb “let it be written” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “let it be decreed.”

[3:9]  ³⁰ sn The enormity of the monetary sum referred to here can be grasped by comparing this amount (10,000 talents of silver) to the annual income of the empire, which according to Herodotus (Histories 3.95) was 14,500 Euboic talents. In other words Haman is offering the king a bribe equal to two-thirds of the royal income. Doubtless this huge sum of money was to come (in large measure) from the anticipated confiscation of Jewish property and assets once the Jews had been destroyed. That such a large sum of money is mentioned may indicate something of the economic standing of the Jewish population in the empire of King Ahasuerus.