Acts 9:2

9:2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues ¹  in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, ²  either men or women, he could bring them as prisoners ³  to Jerusalem. ⁴ 

Acts 19:9

19:9 But when ⁵  some were stubborn ⁶  and refused to believe, reviling ⁷  the Way ⁸  before the congregation, he left ⁹  them and took the disciples with him, ¹⁰  addressing ¹¹  them every day ¹²  in the lecture hall ¹³  of Tyrannus.

Acts 19:23

19:23 At ¹⁴  that time ¹⁵  a great disturbance ¹⁶  took place concerning the Way. ¹⁷ 

Amos 8:14

8:14 These are the ones who now take oaths ¹⁸  in the name of the sinful idol goddess ¹⁹  of Samaria.

They vow, ²⁰  ‘As surely as your god ²¹  lives, O Dan,’ or ‘As surely as your beloved one ²²  lives, O Beer Sheba!’

But they will fall down and not get up again.”

Amos 8:2

8:2 He said, “What do you see, Amos?” I replied, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me, “The end ²³  has come for my people Israel! I will no longer overlook their sins. ²⁴ 

Amos 2:2

2:2 So I will set Moab on fire, ²⁵ 

and it will consume Kerioth’s ²⁶  fortresses.

Moab will perish ²⁷  in the heat of battle ²⁸ 

amid war cries and the blaring ²⁹  of the ram’s horn. ³⁰ 

[9:2]  ¹ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[9:2]  ² sn The expression “the way” in ancient religious literature refers at times to “the whole way of life fr. a moral and spiritual viewpoint” (BDAG 692 s.v. ὁδός 3.c), and it has been so used of Christianity and its teachings in the book of Acts (see also 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). It is a variation of Judaism’s idea of two ways, the true and the false, where “the Way” is the true one (1 En. 91:18; 2 En. 30:15).

[9:2]  ³ tn Grk “bring them bound”; the translation “bring someone as prisoner” for δεδεμένον ἄγειν τινά (dedemenon agein tina) is given by BDAG 221 s.v. δέω 1.b.

[9:2]  ⁴ sn From Damascus to Jerusalem was a six-day journey. Christianity had now expanded into Syria.

[19:9]  ⁵ tn BDAG 1105-6 s.v. ὡς 8.b lists this use as a temporal conjunction.

[19:9]  ⁶ tn Or “some became hardened.” See BDAG 930 s.v. σκληρύνω b and Acts 7:51-53.

[19:9]  ⁷ tn Or “speaking evil of.” BDAG 500 s.v. κακολογέω has “speak evil of, revile, insult…τὶ someth. τὴν ὁδόν the Way (i.e. Christian way of life) Ac 19:9.”

[19:9]  ⁸ sn The Way refers to the Christian movement (Christianity). Luke frequently refers to it as “the Way” (Acts 9:2; 18:25-26; 19:23; 22:4; 24:14, 22).

[19:9]  ⁹ tn Grk “leaving them, he took.” The participle ἀποστάς (apostas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[19:9]  ¹⁰ tn The words “with him” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[19:9]  ¹¹ tn Although the word διελέξατο (dielexato; from διαλέγομαι, dialegomai) is frequently translated “reasoned,” “disputed,” or “argued,” this sense comes from its classical meaning where it was used of philosophical disputation, including the Socratic method of questions and answers. However, there does not seem to be contextual evidence for this kind of debate in Acts 19:9. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21.

[19:9]  ¹² tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase in this verse.

[19:9]  ¹³ tn The “lecture hall” was a place where teachers and pupils met. The term is a NT hapax legomenon (BDAG 982 s.v. σχολή). L&N 7.14 notes, “it is better to use a translation such as ‘lecture hall’ rather than ‘school,’ since one does not wish to give the impression of the typical classroom situation characteristic of present-day schools.”

[19:23]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “There happened at that time.” 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. Instead the verb “took place” has been supplied in the translation.

[19:23]  ¹⁵ tn BDAG 512 s.v. κατά B.2.a, “in definite indications of time…Of the past: κ. ἐκεῖνον τὸν καιρόν at that time, then…Ac 12:1; 19:23.”

[19:23]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “no little disturbance” (an idiom; see BDAG 991 s.v. τάραχος 2).

[19:23]  ¹⁷ sn The Way refers to the Christian movement (Christianity).

[8:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “those who swear.”

[8:14]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the sin [or “guilt”] of Samaria.” This could be a derogatory reference to an idol-goddess popular in the northern kingdom, perhaps Asherah (cf. 2 Chr 24:18, where this worship is labeled “their guilt”), or to the golden calf at the national sanctuary in Bethel (Hos 8:6, 10:8). Some English versions (e.g., NEB, NRSV, CEV) repoint the word and read “Ashimah,” the name of a goddess worshiped in Hamath in Syria (see 2 Kgs 17:30).

[8:14]  ²⁰ tn Heb “say.”

[8:14]  ²¹ sn Your god is not identified. It may refer to another patron deity who was not the God of Israel, a local manifestation of the Lord that was worshiped by the people there, or, more specifically, the golden calf image erected in Dan by Jeroboam I (see 1 Kgs 12:28-30).

[8:14]  ²² tc The MT reads, “As surely as the way [to] Beer Sheba lives,” or “As surely as the way lives, O Beer Sheba.” Perhaps the term דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, “the way”) refers to the pilgrimage route to Beersheba (see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 272) or it may be a title for a god. The notion of pilgrimage appears elsewhere in the book (cf. 4:4-5; 5:4-5; 8:12). The translation above assumes an emendation to דֹּדְךְ (dodÿkh, “your beloved” or “relative”; the term also is used in 6:10) and understands this as referring either to the Lord (since other kinship terms are used of him, such as “Father”) or to another deity that was particularly popular in Beer Sheba. Besides the commentaries, see S. M. Olyan, “The Oaths of Amos 8:14” Priesthood and Cult in Ancient Israel, 121-49.

[8:2]  ²³ tn There is a wordplay here. The Hebrew word קֵץ (qets, “end”) sounds like קָיִץ (qayits, “summer fruit”). The summer fruit arrived toward the end of Israel’s agricultural year; Israel’s national existence was similarly at an end.

[8:2]  ²⁴ tn Heb “I will no longer pass over him.”

[2:2]  ²⁵ sn The destruction of Moab by fire is an example of a judgment in kind – as the Moabites committed the crime of “burning,” so the Lord will punish them by setting them on fire.

[2:2]  ²⁶ sn Kerioth was an important Moabite city. See Jer 48:24, 41.

[2:2]  ²⁷ tn Or “die” (KJV, NASB, NRSV, TEV); NAB “shall meet death.”

[2:2]  ²⁸ tn Or “in the tumult.” This word refers to the harsh confusion of sounds that characterized an ancient battle – a mixture of war cries, shouts, shrieks of pain, clashes of weapons, etc.

[2:2]  ²⁹ tn Heb “sound” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[2:2]  ³⁰ sn The ram’s horn (used as a trumpet) was blown to signal the approaching battle.