Acts 25:13

Festus Asks King Agrippa for Advice

25:13 After several days had passed, King Agrippa ¹  and Bernice arrived at Caesarea ²  to pay their respects ³  to Festus. ⁴ 

Acts 24:1

The Accusations Against Paul

24:1 After five days the high priest Ananias ⁵  came down with some elders and an attorney ⁶  named ⁷  Tertullus, and they ⁸  brought formal charges ⁹  against Paul to the governor.

Acts 27:44

27:44 and the rest were to follow, ¹⁰  some on planks ¹¹  and some on pieces of the ship. ¹²  And in this way ¹³  all were brought safely to land.

[25:13]  ¹ sn King Agrippa was Herod Agrippa II (a.d. 27-92/93), son of Herod Agrippa I (see Acts 12:1). He ruled over parts of Palestine from a.d. 53 until his death. His sister Bernice was widowed when her second husband, Herod King of Chalcis, died in a.d. 48. From then she lived with her brother. In an attempt to quiet rumors of an incestuous relationship between them, she resolved to marry Polemo of Cilicia, but she soon left him and returned to Herod Agrippa II. Their incestuous relationship became the gossip of Rome according to Josephus (Ant. 20.7.3 [20.145-147]). The visit of Agrippa and Bernice gave Festus the opportunity to get some internal Jewish advice. Herod Agrippa II was a trusted adviser because he was known to be very loyal to Rome (Josephus, J. W. 2.16.4 [2.345-401]).

[25:13]  ² sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1.

[25:13]  ³ tn BDAG 144 s.v. ἀσπάζομαι 1.b states, “Of official visits pay one’s respects to…Ac 25:13.”

[25:13]  ⁴ sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.

[24:1]  ⁵ sn Ananias was in office from a.d. 47-59.

[24:1]  ⁶ tn The term refers to a professional advocate (BDAG 905 s.v. ῥήτωρ).

[24:1]  ⁷ tn Grk “an attorney, a certain Tertullus.”

[24:1]  ⁸ tn Grk “who” (plural). Because in English the relative pronoun “who” could be understood to refer only to the attorney Tertullus and not to the entire group, it has been replaced with the third person plural pronoun “they.” “And” has been supplied to provide the connection to the preceding clause.

[24:1]  ⁹ tn BDAG 326 s.v. ἐμφανίζω 3 has “ἐ. τινὶ κατά τινος bring formal charges against someone…Ac 24:1; 25:2.”

[27:44]  ⁹ tn The words “were to follow” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. They must be supplied to clarify the sense in contemporary English.

[27:44]  ¹⁰ tn Or “boards” according to BDAG 913 s.v. σανίς.

[27:44]  ¹¹ tn Grk “on pieces from the ship”; that is, pieces of wreckage from the ship.

[27:44]  ¹² tn Grk “And in this way it happened that.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.