Acts 9:20

9:20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, ¹  saying, “This man is the Son of God.” ² 

Acts 17:1

Paul and Silas at Thessalonica

17:1 After they traveled through ³  Amphipolis ⁴  and Apollonia, ⁵  they came to Thessalonica, ⁶  where there was a Jewish synagogue. ⁷ 

Acts 18:19

18:19 When they reached Ephesus, ⁸  Paul ⁹  left Priscilla and Aquila ¹⁰  behind there, but he himself went ¹¹  into the synagogue ¹²  and addressed ¹³  the Jews.

[9:20]  ¹ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[9:20]  ² tn The ὅτι (Joti) is understood to introduce direct (“This man is the Son of God”) rather than indirect discourse (“that this man is the Son of God”) because the pronoun οὗτος (Jouto") combined with the present tense verb ἐστιν (estin) suggests the contents of what was proclaimed are a direct (albeit summarized) quotation.

[17:1]  ³ tn BDAG 250 s.v. διοδεύω 1 has “go, travel through” for this verse.

[17:1]  ⁴ sn Amphipolis. The capital city of the southeastern district of Macedonia (BDAG 55 s.v. ᾿Αμφίπολις). It was a military post. From Philippi this was about 33 mi (53 km).

[17:1]  ⁵ sn Apollonia was a city in Macedonia about 27 mi (43 km) west southwest of Amphipolis.

[17:1]  ⁶ sn Thessalonica (modern Salonica) was a city in Macedonia about 33 mi (53 km) west of Apollonia. It was the capital of Macedonia. The road they traveled over was called the Via Egnatia. It is likely they rode horses, given their condition in Philippi. The implication of v. 1 is that the two previously mentioned cities lacked a synagogue.

[17:1]  ⁷ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[18:19]  ⁵ sn Ephesus was an influential city in Asia Minor. It was the location of the famous temple of Artemis. In 334 b.c. control of the city had passed to Alexander the Great, who contributed a large sum to the building of a new and more elaborate temple of Artemis, which became one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and lasted until destroyed by the Goths in a.d. 263. This major port city would be reached from Corinth by ship. It was 250 mi (400 km) east of Corinth by sea.

[18:19]  ⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:19]  ⁷ tn Grk “left them”; the referents (Priscilla and Aquila) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:19]  ⁸ tn Grk “going”; the participle εἰσελθών (eiselqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[18:19]  ⁹ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[18:19]  ¹⁰ 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 18:19. 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.