Discovery BoxActs 2:24
Context2:24 But God raised him up, 1 having released 2 him from the pains 3 of death, because it was not possible for him to be held in its power. 4
Acts 7:33
Context7:33 But the Lord said to him, ‘Take the sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 5
Acts 27:41
Context27:41 But they encountered a patch of crosscurrents 6 and ran the ship aground; the bow stuck fast and could not be moved, but the stern was being broken up by the force 7 of the waves.
[2:24] 1 tn Grk “Whom God raised up.”
[2:24] 2 tn Or “having freed.”
[2:24] 3 sn The term translated pains is frequently used to describe pains associated with giving birth (see Rev 12:2). So there is irony here in the mixed metaphor.
[2:24] 4 tn Or “for him to be held by it” (in either case, “it” refers to death’s power).
[7:33] 5 sn A quotation from Exod 3:5. The phrase holy ground points to the fact that God is not limited to a particular locale. The place where he is active in revealing himself is a holy place.
[27:41] 9 tn Grk “fell upon a place of two seas.” The most common explanation for this term is that it refers to a reef or sandbar with the sea on both sides, as noted in BDAG 245 s.v. διθάλασσος: the “τόπος δ. Ac 27:41 is a semantic unit signifying a point (of land jutting out with water on both sides).” However, Greek had terms for a “sandbank” (θῖς [qis], ταινία [tainia]), a “reef” (ἑρμα [Jerma]), “strait” (στενόν [stenon]), “promontory” (ἀρωτήρον [arwthron]), and other nautical hazards, none of which are used by the author here. NEB here translates τόπον διθάλασσον (topon diqalasson) as “cross-currents,” a proposal close to that advanced by J. M. Gilchrist, “The Historicity of Paul’s Shipwreck,” JSNT 61 (1996): 29-51, who suggests the meaning is “a patch of cross-seas,” where the waves are set at an angle to the wind, a particular hazard for sailors. Thus the term most likely refers to some sort of adverse sea conditions rather than a topographical feature like a reef or sandbar.
