Acts 21:35-40

Context
21:35 When he came to the steps, Paul¹ had to be carried² by the soldiers because of the violence³ of the mob, 21:36 for a crowd of people⁴ followed them,⁵ screaming, “Away with him!” 21:37 As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks,⁶ he said⁷ to the commanding officer,⁸ “May I say⁹ something to you?” The officer¹⁰ replied,¹¹ “Do you know Greek?¹² 21:38 Then you’re not that Egyptian who started a rebellion¹³ and led the four thousand men of the ‘Assassins’¹⁴ into the wilderness¹⁵ some time ago?”¹⁶ 21:39 Paul answered,¹⁷ “I am a Jew¹⁸ from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city.¹⁹ Please²⁰ allow me to speak to the people.” 21:40 When the commanding officer²¹ had given him permission,²² Paul stood²³ on the steps and gestured²⁴ to the people with his hand. When they had become silent,²⁵ he addressed²⁶ them in Aramaic,²⁷

[21:35] ¹tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:35] ²sn Paul had to be carried. Note how the arrest really ended up protecting Paul. The crowd is portrayed as irrational at this point.

[21:35] ³tn This refers to mob violence (BDAG 175 s.v. βία b).

[21:36] ⁴tn Grk “the multitude of people.” While πλῆθος (plhqo") is articular, it has been translated “a crowd” since it was probably a subset of the larger mob that gathered in v. 30.

[21:36] ⁵tn The word “them” 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.

[21:37] ⁶tn Or “the headquarters.” BDAG 775 s.v. παρεμβολή 2 has “barracks/headquarters of the Roman troops in Jerusalem Ac 21:34, 37; 22:24; 23:10, 16, 32.”

[21:37] ⁷tn Grk “says” (a historical present).

[21:37] ⁸tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers) See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 31.

[21:37] ⁹tn Grk “Is it permitted for me to say” (an idiom).

[21:37] ¹⁰tn Grk “He”; the referent (the officer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:37] ¹¹tn Grk “said.”

[21:37] ¹²sn “Do you know Greek?” Paul as an educated rabbi was bilingual. Paul’s request in Greek allowed the officer to recognize that Paul was not the violent insurrectionist he thought he had arrested (see following verse). The confusion of identities reveals the degree of confusion dominating these events.

[21:38] ¹³tn L&N 39.41 has “οὐκ ἄρα σὺ εἶ ὁ Αἰγύπτιος ὁ πρὸ τούτων τῶν ἡμερῶν ἀναστατώσας ‘then you are not that Egyptian who some time ago started a rebellion’ Ac 21:38.”

[21:38] ¹⁴tn Grk “of the Sicarii.”

[21:38] ¹⁵tn Or “desert.”

[21:38] ¹⁶tn Grk “before these days.”

[21:39] ¹⁷tn Grk “said.”

[21:39] ¹⁸tn Grk “a Jewish man.”

[21:39] ¹⁹tn Grk “of a not insignificant city.” The double negative, common in Greek, is awkward in English and has been replaced by a corresponding positive expression (BDAG 142 s.v. ἄσημος 1).

[21:39] ²⁰tn Grk “I beg you.”

[21:40] ²¹tn The referent (the commanding officer) has been supplied here in the translation for clarity.

[21:40] ²²tn Grk “Giving him permission.” The participle ἐπιτρέψαντος (epitreyanto") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:40] ²³tn Grk “standing.” The participle ἑστώς (Jestws) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:40] ²⁴tn Or “motioned.”

[21:40] ²⁵tn γενομένης (genomenhs) has been taken temporally. BDAG 922 s.v. σιγή has “πολλῆς σιγῆς γενομένης when a great silence had fallen = when they had become silent Ac 21:40.”

[21:40] ²⁶tn Or “spoke out to.” L&N 33.27 has “to address an audience, with possible emphasis upon loudness – ‘to address, to speak out to.’ πολλῆς δέ σιγῆς γενομένης προσεφώνησεν τῇ ᾿Εβραίδι διαλέκτῳ ‘when they were quiet, he addressed them in Hebrew’ Ac 21:40.”

[21:40] ²⁷tn Grk “in the Hebrew dialect, saying.” This refers to the Aramaic spoken in Palestine in the 1st century (BDAG 270 s.v. ῾Εβραΐς). The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.