Galatians 2:9

2:9 and when James, Cephas, ¹  and John, who had a reputation as ²  pillars, ³  recognized ⁴  the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me ⁵  the right hand of fellowship, agreeing ⁶  that we would go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. ⁷ 

Acts 21:18-25

21:18 The next day Paul went in with us to see James, and all the elders were there. ⁸  21:19 When Paul ⁹  had greeted them, he began to explain ¹⁰  in detail ¹¹  what God ¹²  had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 21:20 When they heard this, they praised ¹³  God. Then they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews ¹⁴  there are who have believed, and they are all ardent observers ¹⁵  of the law. ¹⁶  21:21 They have been informed about you – that you teach all the Jews now living ¹⁷  among the Gentiles to abandon ¹⁸  Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children ¹⁹  or live ²⁰  according to our customs. 21:22 What then should we do? They will no doubt ²¹  hear that you have come. 21:23 So do what ²²  we tell you: We have four men ²³  who have taken ²⁴  a vow; ²⁵  21:24 take them and purify ²⁶  yourself along with them and pay their expenses, ²⁷  so that they may have their heads shaved. ²⁸  Then ²⁹  everyone will know there is nothing in what they have been told ³⁰  about you, but that you yourself live in conformity with ³¹  the law. ³²  21:25 But regarding the Gentiles who have believed, we have written a letter, having decided ³³  that they should avoid ³⁴  meat that has been sacrificed to idols ³⁵  and blood and what has been strangled ³⁶  and sexual immorality.”

[2:9]  ¹ sn Cephas. This individual is generally identified with the Apostle Peter (L&N 93.211).

[2:9]  ² tn Or “who were influential as,” or “who were reputed to be.” See also the note on the word “influential” in 2:6.

[2:9]  ³ sn Pillars is figurative here for those like James, Peter, and John who were leaders in the Jerusalem church.

[2:9]  ⁴ tn The participle γνόντες (gnontes) has been taken temporally. It is structurally parallel to the participle translated “when they saw” in v. 7.

[2:9]  ⁵ tn Grk “me and Barnabas.”

[2:9]  ⁶ tn Grk “so,” with the ἵνα (Jina) indicating the result of the “pillars” extending the “right hand of fellowship,” but the translation “they gave…the right hand of fellowship so that we would go” could be misunderstood as purpose here. The implication of the scene is that an agreement, outlined at the end of v. 10, was reached between Paul and Barnabas on the one hand and the “pillars” of the Jerusalem church on the other.

[2:9]  ⁷ tn Grk “to the circumcision,” a collective reference to the Jewish people.

[21:18]  ⁸ tn BDAG 760 s.v. παραγίνομαι 1 has this use under the broad category of meaning “draw near, come, arrive, be present.”

[21:19]  ⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:19]  ¹⁰ tn Or “to report,” “to describe.” The imperfect verb ἐξηγεῖτο (exhgeito) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[21:19]  ¹¹ tn BDAG 293 s.v. εἷς 5.e has “καθ᾿ ἕν one after the other (hence τὸ καθ᾿ ἕν ‘a detailed list’: PLille 11, 8 [III bc]; PTebt. 47, 34; 332, 16) J 21:25. Also καθ᾿ ἕν ἕκαστον…Ac 21:19.”

[21:19]  ¹² sn Note how Paul credited God with the success of his ministry.

[21:20]  ¹³ tn Or “glorified.”

[21:20]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “how many thousands there are among the Jews.”

[21:20]  ¹⁵ tn Or “are all zealous for the law.” BDAG 427 s.v. ζηλωτής 1.a.β has “of thing…τοῦ νόμου an ardent observer of the law Ac 21:20.”

[21:20]  ¹⁶ sn That is, the law of Moses. These Jewish Christians had remained close to their Jewish practices after becoming believers (1 Cor 7:18-19; Acts 16:3).

[21:21]  ¹⁷ tn BDAG 511 s.v. κατά B.1.a has “τοὺς κ. τὰ ἔθνη ᾿Ιουδαίους the Judeans (dispersed) throughout the nations 21:21.” The Jews in view are not those in Palestine, but those who are scattered throughout the Gentile world.

[21:21]  ¹⁸ tn Or “to forsake,” “to rebel against.” BDAG 120 s.v. ἀποστασία has “ἀποστασίαν διδάσκεις ἀπὸ Μωϋσέως you teach (Judeans) to abandon Moses Ac 21:21.”

[21:21]  ¹⁹ sn That is, not to circumcise their male children. Biblical references to circumcision always refer to male circumcision.

[21:21]  ²⁰ tn Grk “or walk.”

[21:22]  ²¹ tn L&N 71.16 has “pertaining to being in every respect certain – ‘certainly, really, doubtless, no doubt.’…‘they will no doubt hear that you have come’ Ac 21:22.”

[21:23]  ²² tn Grk “do this that.”

[21:23]  ²³ tn Grk “There are four men here.”

[21:23]  ²⁴ tn L&N 33.469 has “‘there are four men here who have taken a vow’ or ‘we have four men who…’ Ac 21:23.”

[21:23]  ²⁵ tn On the term for “vow,” see BDAG 416 s.v. εὐχή 2.

[21:24]  ²⁶ sn That is, undergo ritual cleansing. Paul’s cleansing would be necessary because of his travels in “unclean” Gentile territory. This act would represent a conciliatory gesture. Paul would have supported a “law-free” mission to the Gentiles as an option, but this gesture would represent an attempt to be sensitive to the Jews (1 Cor 9:15-22).

[21:24]  ²⁷ tn L&N 57.146 has “δαπάνησον ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς ‘pay their expenses’ Ac 21:24.”

[21:24]  ²⁸ tn The future middle indicative has causative force here. BDAG 686 s.v. ξυράω has “mid. have oneself shaved…τὴν κεφαλήν have one’s head shaved…Ac 21:24.”

[21:24]  ²⁹ tn Grk “and.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation, and καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.

[21:24]  ³⁰ tn The verb here describes a report or some type of information (BDAG 534 s.v. κατηχέω 1).

[21:24]  ³¹ tn Grk “adhere to the keeping of the law.” L&N 41.12 has “στοιχέω: to live in conformity with some presumed standard or set of customs – ‘to live, to behave in accordance with.’”

[21:24]  ³² sn The law refers to the law of Moses.

[21:25]  ³³ tn L&N 13.154 has “‘having decided that they must keep themselves from food offered to idols, from blood, from an animal that has been strangled, and from sexual immorality’ Ac 21:25.”

[21:25]  ³⁴ tn This is a different Greek word than the one used in Acts 15:20, 29. BDAG 1068 s.v. φυλάσσω 3 has “to be on one’s guard against, look out for, avoid…w. acc. of pers. or thing avoided…Ac 21:25.” The Greek word used in Acts 15:20, 29 is ἀπέχω (apecw). The difference in meaning, although slight, has been maintained in the translation.

[21:25]  ³⁵ tn There is no specific semantic component in the Greek word εἰδωλόθυτος that means “meat” (see BDAG 280 s.v. εἰδωλόθυτος; L&N 5.15). The stem –θυτος means “sacrifice” (referring to an animal sacrificially killed) and thereby implies meat.

[21:25]  ³⁶ sn What has been strangled. That is, to refrain from eating animals that had been killed without having the blood drained from them. According to the Mosaic law (Lev 17:13-14) Jews were forbidden to eat flesh with the blood still in it (note the preceding provision in this verse, and blood).