Acts 18:23-24

18:23 After he spent ¹  some time there, Paul left and went through the region of Galatia ²  and Phrygia, ³  strengthening all the disciples.

Apollos Begins His Ministry

18:24 Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, arrived in Ephesus. ⁴  He was an eloquent speaker, ⁵  well-versed ⁶  in the scriptures.

[18:23]  ¹ tn Grk “Having spent”; the participle ποιήσας (poihsas) is taken temporally.

[18:23]  ² sn Galatia refers to either (1) the region of the old kingdom of Galatia in the central part of Asia Minor, or (2) the Roman province of Galatia, whose principal cities in the 1st century were Ancyra and Pisidian Antioch. The exact extent and meaning of this area has been a subject of considerable controversy in modern NT studies.

[18:23]  ³ sn Phrygia was a district in central Asia Minor west of Pisidia. See Acts 16:6.

[18:24]  ⁴ map For location see JP1 D2; JP2 D2; JP3 D2; JP4 D2.

[18:24]  ⁵ tn Or “was a learned man.” In this verse λόγιος (logios) can refer to someone who was an attractive and convincing speaker, a rhetorician (L&N 33.32), or it can refer to the person who has acquired a large part of the intellectual heritage of a given culture (“learned” or “cultured,” L&N 27.20, see also BDAG 598 s.v. λόγιος which lists both meanings as possible here). The description of Apollos’ fervent speaking in the following verses, as well as implications from 1 Cor 1-4, where Paul apparently compares his style and speaking ability with that of Apollos, suggests that eloquent speaking ability or formal rhetorical skill are in view here. This clause has been moved from its order in the Greek text (Grk “a certain Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, an eloquent speaker, arrived in Ephesus, who was powerful in the scriptures”) and paired with the last element (“powerful in the scriptures”) due to the demands of clarity and contemporary English style.

[18:24]  ⁶ tn Grk “powerful.” BDAG 264 s.v. δυνατός 1.b has “in the Scriptures = well-versed 18:24.”