Discovery BoxActs 6:13
Context6:13 They brought forward false witnesses who said, “This man does not stop saying things against this holy place 1 and the law. 2
Acts 21:28
Context21:28 shouting, “Men of Israel, 3 help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people, our law, 4 and this sanctuary! 5 Furthermore 6 he has brought Greeks into the inner courts of the temple 7 and made this holy place ritually unclean!” 8
[6:13] 1 sn This holy place is a reference to the temple.
[6:13] 2 sn The law refers to the law of Moses. It elaborates the nature of the blasphemy in v. 11. To speak against God’s law in Torah was to blaspheme God (Deut 28:15-19). On the Jewish view of false witnesses, see Exod 19:16-18; 20:16; m. Sanhedrin 3.6; 5.1-5. Stephen’s speech in Acts 7 may indicate why the temple was mentioned.
[21:28] 3 tn Or “Israelite men,” although this is less natural English. The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which only exceptionally is used in a generic sense of both males and females. In this context, it is conceivable that this is a generic usage since “the whole crowd” is mentioned in v. 27, although it can also be argued that these remarks were addressed primarily to the men present, even if women were there.
[21:28] 4 sn The law refers to the law of Moses.
[21:28] 5 tn Grk “this place.”
[21:28] 6 tn BDAG 400 s.v. ἔτι 2.b has “ἔ. δὲ καί furthermore…al. ἔ. τε καί…Lk 14:26; Ac 21:28.” This is a continuation of the same sentence in Greek, but due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, a new sentence was begun here in the translation.
[21:28] 7 tn Grk “into the temple.” The specific reference is to the Court of the Sons of Israel (see the note following the term “unclean” at the end of this verse). To avoid giving the modern reader the impression that they entered the temple building itself, the phrase “the inner courts of the temple” has been used in the translation.
