Acts 6:9

6:9 But some men from the Synagogue ¹  of the Freedmen (as it was called), ²  both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, as well as some from Cilicia and the province of Asia, ³  stood up and argued with Stephen.

Acts 11:20

11:20 But there were some men from Cyprus ⁴  and Cyrene ⁵  among them who came ⁶  to Antioch ⁷  and began to speak to the Greeks ⁸  too, proclaiming the good news of the Lord Jesus.

Acts 13:1

The Church at Antioch Commissions Barnabas and Saul

13:1 Now there were these prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch: ⁹  Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, ¹⁰  Lucius the Cyrenian, ¹¹  Manaen (a close friend of Herod ¹²  the tetrarch ¹³  from childhood ¹⁴ ) and Saul.

Mark 15:21

The Crucifixion

15:21 The soldiers ¹⁵  forced ¹⁶  a passerby to carry his cross, ¹⁷  Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country ¹⁸  (he was the father of Alexander and Rufus).

[6:9]  ¹ sn A synagogue was a place for Jewish prayer and worship, with recognized leadership (cf. Luke 8:41). Though the origin of the synagogue is not entirely clear, it seems to have arisen in the postexilic community during the intertestamental period. A town could establish a synagogue if there were at least ten men. In normative Judaism of the NT period, the OT scripture was read and discussed in the synagogue by the men who were present (see the Mishnah, m. Megillah 3-4; m. Berakhot 2).

[6:9]  ² tn Grk “the so-called Synagogue of the Freedmen.” The translation of the participle λεγομένης (legomenh") by the phrase “as it was called” is given by L&N 87.86. “Freedmen” would be slaves who had gained their freedom, or the descendants of such people (BDAG 594-95 s.v. Λιβερτῖνος).

[6:9]  ³ tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[11:20]  ⁴ sn Cyprus was a large island in the Mediterranean off the south coast of Asia Minor.

[11:20]  ⁵ sn Cyrene was a city on the northern African coast west of Egypt.

[11:20]  ⁶ tn Grk “among them, coming to Antioch began to speak.” The participle ἐλθόντες (elqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[11:20]  ⁷ sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19.

[11:20]  ⁸ sn The statement that some men from Cyprus and Cyrene…began to speak to the Greeks shows that Peter’s experience of reaching out to the Gentiles was not unique.

[13:1]  ⁹ sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia).

[13:1]  ¹⁰ sn Simeon may well have been from North Africa, since the Latin loanword Niger refers to someone as “dark-complexioned.”

[13:1]  ¹¹ sn The Cyrenian refers to a native of the city of Cyrene, on the coast of northern Africa west of Egypt.

[13:1]  ¹² sn Herod is generally taken as a reference to Herod Antipas, who governed Galilee from 4 b.c. to a.d. 39, who had John the Baptist beheaded, and who is mentioned a number of times in the gospels.

[13:1]  ¹³ tn Or “the governor.”

[13:1]  ¹⁴ tn Or “(a foster brother of Herod the tetrarch).” The meaning “close friend from childhood” is given by L&N 34.15, but the word can also mean “foster brother” (L&N 10.51). BDAG 976 s.v. σύντροφας states, “pert. to being brought up with someone, either as a foster-brother or as a companion/friend,” which covers both alternatives. Context does not given enough information to be certain which is the case here, although many modern translations prefer the meaning “close friend from childhood.”

[15:21]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “They”; the referent (the soldiers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:21]  ¹⁶ tn Or “conscripted”; or “pressed into service.”

[15:21]  ¹⁷ sn Jesus was beaten severely with a whip before this (the prelude to crucifixion, known to the Romans as verberatio, mentioned in Matt 27:26; Mark 15:15; John 19:1), so he would have been weak from trauma and loss of blood. Apparently he was unable to bear the cross himself, so Simon was conscripted to help (in all probability this was only the crossbeam, called in Latin the patibulum, since the upright beam usually remained in the ground at the place of execution). Cyrene was located in North Africa where Tripoli is today. Nothing more is known about this Simon.

[15:21]  ¹⁸ tn Or perhaps, “was coming in from his field” outside the city (BDAG 15-16 s.v. ἀγρός 1).