Acts 8:26

Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

8:26 Then an angel of the Lord ¹  said to Philip, ²  “Get up and go south ³  on the road that goes down from Jerusalem ⁴  to Gaza.” (This is a desert ⁵  road.) ⁶ 

Acts 8:40

8:40 Philip, however, found himself ⁷  at Azotus, ⁸  and as he passed through the area, ⁹  he proclaimed the good news ¹⁰  to all the towns ¹¹  until he came to Caesarea. ¹² 

[8:26]  ¹ tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 5:19.

[8:26]  ² tn Grk “Lord spoke to Philip, saying.” The redundant participle λέγων (legwn) has not been translated.

[8:26]  ³ tn Or “Get up and go about noon.” The phrase κατὰ μεσημβρίαν (kata meshmbrian) can be translated either “about noon” (L&N 67.74) or “toward the south” (L&N 82.4). Since the angel’s command appears to call for immediate action (“Get up”) and would not therefore need a time indicator, a directional reference (“toward the south”) is more likely here.

[8:26]  ⁴ map For the location of Jerusalem see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[8:26]  ⁵ tn Or “wilderness.”

[8:26]  ⁶ tn The words “This is a desert road” are probably best understood as a comment by the author of Acts, but it is possible they form part of the angel’s speech to Philip, in which case the verse would read: “Get up and go south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza – the desert road.”

[8:40]  ⁷ tn Or “appeared.”

[8:40]  ⁸ sn Azotus was a city on the coast of southern Palestine, known as Ashdod in OT times.

[8:40]  ⁹ tn The words “the area” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

[8:40]  ¹⁰ tn Or “he preached the gospel.”

[8:40]  ¹¹ tn Or “cities.”

[8:40]  ¹² 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.