11:19 Now those who had been scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen 1 went as far as 2 Phoenicia, 3 Cyprus, 4 and Antioch, 5 speaking the message 6 to no one but Jews. 11:20 But there were some men from Cyprus 7 and Cyrene 8 among them who came 9 to Antioch 10 and began to speak to the Greeks 11 too, proclaiming the good news of the Lord Jesus.
1 sn The phrase over Stephen means in connection with Stephen’s death. See Acts 8:1b-3.
2 tn Or “finally reached.” The translations “went as far as” and “finally reached” for διῆλθον (dihlqon) in this verse are given in L&N 15.17.
3 sn Phoenicia was an area along the Mediterranean coast north of Palestine.
4 tn Grk “and Cyprus,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
sn Cyprus was a large island in the Mediterranean off the south coast of Asia Minor.
5 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). This was probably the third largest city in the Greco-Roman world (Alexandria in Egypt was the second largest, and Rome the largest) and was the seat of government in Syria. Five miles away was a major temple to Artemis, Apollo, and Astarte, major pagan deities.
map For location see JP1-F2; JP2-F2; JP3-F2; JP4-F2.
6 tn Grk “word.”
7 sn Cyprus was a large island in the Mediterranean off the south coast of Asia Minor.
8 sn Cyrene was a city on the northern African coast west of Egypt.
9 tn Grk “among them, coming to Antioch began to speak.” The participle ἐλθόντες (elqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
10 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19.
11 sn The statement that some men from Cyprus and Cyrene…began to speak to the Greeks shows that Peter’s experience of reaching out to the Gentiles was not unique.