Acts 8:34

Context

8:34 Then the eunuch said¹ to Philip, “Please tell me,² who is the prophet saying this about – himself or someone else?”³

Acts 8:36

Context
8:36 Now as they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, there is water! What is to stop me⁴ from being baptized?”

Acts 8:38

Context
8:38 So he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water,⁵ and Philip baptized⁶ him.

Acts 8:27

Context
8:27 So⁷ he got up⁸ and went. There⁹ he met¹⁰ an Ethiopian eunuch,¹¹ a court official of Candace,¹² queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasury. He¹³ had come to Jerusalem to worship,¹⁴

Acts 8:39

Context
8:39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any more, but¹⁵ went on his way rejoicing.¹⁶

[8:34] ¹tn Grk “answered and said.” The redundant participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqei") has not been translated.

[8:34] ²tn Grk “I beg you,” “I ask you.”

[8:34] ³sn About himself, or about someone else? It is likely in 1st century Judaism this would have been understood as either Israel or Isaiah.

[8:36] ⁴tn Or “What prevents me.” The rhetorical question means, “I should get baptized, right?”

[8:38] ⁷tn Grk “and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch.” Since this is somewhat redundant in English, it was simplified to “and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water.”

[8:38] ⁸sn Philip baptized. Again, someone beyond the Twelve has ministered an ordinance of faith.

[8:27] ¹⁰tn Grk “And,” but καί (kai) carries something of a resultative force in this context because what follows describes Philip’s response to the angel’s command.

[8:27] ¹¹tn Grk “So getting up he went.” The aorist participle ἀναστάς (anastas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[8:27] ¹²tn Grk “And there.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[8:27] ¹³tn Grk “and behold.” This expression is used to portray Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian in a vivid way. In the English translation this vividness is difficult to convey; it is necessary to supply the words “he met.”

[8:27] ¹⁴sn The term eunuch normally referred to a man who had been castrated, but this was not always the case (see Gen 39:1 LXX, where Potiphar is called a eunuch). Such castrated individuals were preferred as court officials in the East, although Judaism opposed the practice. The Mosaic law excluded eunuchs from Israel (Deut 23:1), although God certainly accepted them (Isa 56:3-5; Wis 3:14). This individual was a high official, since he was said to be in charge of all her treasury. He may or may not have been a eunuch physically. He appears to be the first fully Gentile convert to Christianity, since the Samaritans mentioned previously (Acts 8:4-25) were regarded as half-breeds.

[8:27] ¹⁵tn Or “the Candace” (the title of the queen of the Ethiopians). The term Κανδάκης (Kandakh") is much more likely a title rather than a proper name (like Pharaoh, which is a title); see L&N 37.77. A few, however, still take the word to be the name of the queen (L&N 93.209). BDAG 507 s.v. Κανδάκη, treats the term as a title and lists classical usage by Strabo (Geography 17.1.54) and others.

[8:27] ¹⁶tn Grk “who was over all her treasury, who.” The two consecutive relative clauses make for awkward English style, so the second was begun as a new sentence with the pronoun “he” supplied in place of the Greek relative pronoun to make a complete sentence in English.

[8:27] ¹⁷sn Since this man had come to Jerusalem to worship, he may have been a proselyte to Judaism. This event is a precursor to Acts 10.

[8:39] ¹³tn BDAG 189 s.v. γάρ 2 indicates that under certain circumstances γάρ (gar) has the same meaning as δέ (de).

[8:39] ¹⁴sn Note that the response to the gospel is rejoicing (joy, cf. Acts 11:23; 13:48).