Discovery BoxActs 18:5-17
Context18:5 Now when Silas and Timothy arrived 1 from Macedonia, 2 Paul became wholly absorbed with proclaiming 3 the word, testifying 4 to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. 5 18:6 When they opposed him 6 and reviled him, 7 he protested by shaking out his clothes 8 and said to them, “Your blood 9 be on your own heads! I am guiltless! 10 From now on I will go to the Gentiles!” 18:7 Then Paul 11 left 12 the synagogue 13 and went to the house of a person named Titius Justus, a Gentile who worshiped God, 14 whose house was next door to the synagogue. 18:8 Crispus, the president of the synagogue, 15 believed in the Lord together with his entire household, and many of the Corinthians who heard about it 16 believed and were baptized. 18:9 The Lord said to Paul by a vision 17 in the night, 18 “Do not be afraid, 19 but speak and do not be silent, 18:10 because I am with you, and no one will assault 20 you to harm 21 you, because I have many people in this city.” 18:11 So he stayed there 22 a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. 23
18:12 Now while Gallio 24 was proconsul 25 of Achaia, 26 the Jews attacked Paul together 27 and brought him before the judgment seat, 28 18:13 saying, “This man is persuading 29 people to worship God in a way contrary to 30 the law!” 18:14 But just as Paul was about to speak, 31 Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of some crime or serious piece of villainy, 32 I would have been justified in accepting the complaint 33 of you Jews, 34 18:15 but since it concerns points of disagreement 35 about words and names and your own law, settle 36 it yourselves. I will not be 37 a judge of these things!” 18:16 Then he had them forced away 38 from the judgment seat. 39 18:17 So they all seized Sosthenes, the president of the synagogue, 40 and began to beat 41 him in front of the judgment seat. 42 Yet none of these things were of any concern 43 to Gallio.
[18:5] 2 sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.
[18:5] 3 tn BDAG 971 s.v. συνέχω 6 states, “συνείχετο τῷ λόγῳ (Paul) was wholly absorbed in preaching Ac 18:5…in contrast to the activity cited in vs. 3.” The imperfect συνείχετο (suneiceto) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect (“became wholly absorbed…”), stressing the change in Paul’s activity once Silas and Timothy arrived. At this point Paul apparently began to work less and preach more.
[18:5] 4 tn BDAG 233 s.v. διαμαρτύρομαι 2 has “testify of, bear witness to solemnly (orig. under oath)…W. acc. and inf. foll. Ac 18:5.”
[18:5] 5 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
[18:6] 6 tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.
[18:6] 7 tn The participle βλασφημούντων (blasfhmountwn) has been taken temporally. The direct object (“him”) is implied rather than expressed and could be impersonal (“it,” referring to what Paul was saying rather than Paul himself), but the verb occurs more often in contexts involving defamation or slander against personal beings (not always God). For a very similar context to this one, compare Acts 13:45. The translation “blaspheme” is not used because in contemporary English its meaning is more narrowly defined and normally refers to blasphemy against God (not what Paul’s opponents were doing here). What they were doing was more like slander or defamation of character.
[18:6] 8 tn Grk “shaking out his clothes, he said to them.” L&N 16:8 translates Acts 18:6 “when they opposed him and said evil things about him, he protested by shaking the dust from his clothes.” The addition of the verb “protested by” in the translation is necessary to clarify for the modern reader that this is a symbolic action. It is similar but not identical to the phrase in Acts 13:51, where the dust from the feet is shaken off. The participle ἐκτιναξάμενος (ektinaxameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
[18:6] 9 sn Your blood be on your own heads! By invoking this epithet Paul declared himself not responsible for their actions in rejecting Jesus whom Paul preached (cf. Ezek 33:4; 3:6-21; Matt 23:35; 27:25).
[18:6] 10 tn Or “innocent.” BDAG 489 s.v. καθαρός 3.a has “guiltless Ac 18:6.”
[18:7] 11 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:7] 12 tn Grk “Then leaving from there he went.” The participle μεταβάς (metabas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
[18:7] 13 tn Grk “from there”; the referent (the synagogue) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:7] 14 tn Grk “a worshiper of God.” The clarifying phrase “a Gentile” has been supplied for clarity, and is indicated by the context, since Paul had parted company with the Jews in the previous verse. The participle σεβομένου (sebomenou) is practically a technical term for the category called God-fearers, Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel and in many cases kept the Mosaic law, but did not take the final step of circumcision necessary to become a proselyte to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 743-44.
[18:8] 16 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).
[18:8] 17 tn Or “who heard him,” or “who heard Paul.” The ambiguity here results from the tendency of Greek to omit direct objects, which must be supplied from the context. The problem is that no less than three different ones may be supplied here: (1) “him,” referring to Crispus, but this is not likely because there is no indication in the context that Crispus began to speak out about the Lord; this is certainly possible and even likely, but more than the text here affirms; (2) “Paul,” who had been speaking in the synagogue and presumably, now that he had moved to Titius Justus’ house, continued speaking to the Gentiles; or (3) “about it,” that is, the Corinthians who heard about Crispus’ conversion became believers. In the immediate context this last is most probable, since the two incidents are juxtaposed. Other, less obvious direct objects could also be supplied, such as “heard the word of God,” “heard the word of the Lord,” etc., but none of these are obvious in the immediate context.
[18:9] 21 sn Frequently in Acts such a vision will tell the reader where events are headed. See Acts 10:9-16 and 16:9-10 for other accounts of visions.
[18:9] 22 tn BDAG 682 s.v. νύξ 1.c has “W. prep. ἐν ν. at night, in the night…Ac 18:9.”
[18:9] 23 tn The present imperative here (with negation) is used (as it normally is) of a general condition (BDF §335).
[18:10] 26 tn BDAG 384 s.v. ἐπιτίθημι 2 has “to set upon, attack, lay a hand on” here, but “assault” is a contemporary English equivalent very close to the meaning of the original.
[18:11] 31 tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
[18:11] 32 tn See BDAG 326-27 s.v. ἐν 1.d. However, it is also possible that ἐν (en) followed by the dative here stands for the ordinary dative (“to them”).
[18:12] 36 sn Gallio was proconsul of Achaia from
[18:12] 37 sn The proconsul was the Roman official who ruled over a province traditionally under the control of the Roman senate.
[18:12] 38 sn Achaia was a Roman province created in 146
[18:12] 39 tn Grk “with one accord.”
[18:12] 40 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.
[18:13] 42 tn Grk “worship God contrary to.” BDAG 758 s.v. παρά C.6 has “against, contrary to” for Acts 18:13. The words “in a way” are not in the Greek text, but are a necessary clarification to prevent the misunderstanding in the English translation that worshiping God was in itself contrary to the law. What is under dispute is the manner in which God was being worshiped, that is, whether Gentiles were being required to follow all aspects of the Mosaic law, including male circumcision. There is a hint of creating public chaos or disturbing Jewish custom here since Jews were the ones making the complaint. Luke often portrays the dispute between Christians and Jews as within Judaism.
[18:14] 46 tn Grk “about to open his mouth” (an idiom).
[18:14] 47 tn BDAG 902 s.v. ῥᾳδιούργημα states, “From the sense ‘prank, knavery, roguish trick, slick deed’ it is but a short step to that of a serious misdeed, crime, villainy…a serious piece of villainy Ac 18:14 (w. ἀδίκημα).”
[18:14] 48 tn According to BDAG 78 s.v. ἀνέχω 3 this is a legal technical term: “Legal t.t. κατὰ λόγον ἂν ἀνεσχόμην ὑμῶν I would have been justified in accepting your complaint Ac 18:14.”
[18:14] 49 tn Grk “accepting your complaint, O Jews.”
[18:15] 52 tn Grk “see to it” (an idiom).
[18:15] 53 tn Or “I am not willing to be.” Gallio would not adjudicate their religious dispute.
[18:16] 56 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] 57 sn See the note on the term judgment seat in 18:12.
[18:17] 61 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] 62 tn The imperfect verb ἔτυπτον (etupton) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.
[18:17] 63 sn See the note on the term judgment seat in 18:12.
[18:17] 64 tn L&N 25.223 has “‘none of these things were of any concern to Gallio’ Ac 18:17.”
