On the next day he got up and set out 17 with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa 18 accompanied him.
18:18 Paul, after staying 21 many more days in Corinth, 22 said farewell to 23 the brothers and sailed away to Syria accompanied by 24 Priscilla and Aquila. 25 He 26 had his hair cut off 27 at Cenchrea 28 because he had made a vow. 29
1 tn Grk “And the.” 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.
2 tn Or “The Jewish Christians”; Grk “The believers from the circumcision.”
3 sn The Jewish Christians who were with Peter were greatly astonished because they thought the promise of the Spirit would be limited only to those of Israel. God’s plan was taking on fresh dimensions even as it was a reflection of what the prophets had promised.
4 tn Or “because.”
5 tn That is, the gift consisting of the Holy Spirit. Here τοῦ πνεύματος (tou pneumato") is a genitive of apposition; the gift consists of the Spirit.
6 sn The gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out. Compare the account in Acts 2, especially 2:33. Note also Joel 2:17-21 and Acts 11:15-18.
7 tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun (“who”) was replaced by the conjunction “and” and the pronoun “he” at this point to improve the English style.
8 sn Those who had accompanied him refers to the disciples, who knew Jesus in ministry. Luke is aware of resurrection appearances in Galilee though he did not relate any of them in Luke 24.
9 tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun (“who”) was replaced by the demonstrative pronoun “these” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek and the awkwardness of two relative clauses (“who for many days appeared” and “who are now his witnesses”) following one another.
10 tn BDAG 94 s.v. ἀξιόω 2.a has “he insisted (impf.) that they should not take him along” for this phrase.
11 sn Pamphylia was a province in the southern part of Asia Minor. See Acts 13:13, where it was mentioned previously.
12 tn Or “pained.”
13 tn Grk “by the word that he had said.”
14 tn Grk “to see his face” (an idiom for seeing someone in person).
15 tn BDAG 873 s.v. προπέμπω 1 has “they accompanied him to the ship Ac 20:38.”
16 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
sn When Peter entertained them as guests, he performed a culturally significant act denoting acceptance.
17 tn Or “went forth.”
18 sn Some of the brothers from Joppa. As v. 45 makes clear, there were Jewish Christians in this group of witnesses.
19 map For location see JP1-C2; JP2-C2; JP3-C2; JP4-C2.
20 sn They left. See 1 Thess 3:1-2, which shows they went from here to Thessalonica.
21 tn The participle προσμείνας (prosmeina") is taken temporally.
22 map For location see JP1-C2; JP2-C2; JP3-C2; JP4-C2.
23 tn Or “Corinth, took leave of.” Grk “saying farewell to”; the participle ἀποταξάμενος (apotaxameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
24 tn Grk “Syria, and with him.”
25 sn See the note on Aquila in 18:2.
26 tn Or “Aquila, who.” The relationship of the participle κειράμενος (keirameno") is difficult to determine. Traditionally it is taken to refer to Paul, meaning that Paul had his hair cut off because of the vow. However, due to the proximity of the noun ᾿Ακύλας (Akula") and the reversal of the normal order (Aquila and Priscilla, Acts 17:34), the participle is taken as adjectival referring to Aquila by H. Greeven, TDNT 2:777, n. 11. The later references to Paul in Jerusalem (Acts 21:23) do not resolve the problem, because the cutting of Paul’s own hair, while it may be implied, is not specifically mentioned in connection with the completion of the vows made by the other four.
27 tn The word “off” is supplied in the translation to indicate that this was not a normal haircut, but the shaving of the head connected with taking the vow (see Acts 21:24).
28 tn That is, “before he sailed from Cenchrea.”
sn Cenchrea was one of the seaports for the city of Corinth, on the eastern side of the Isthmus of Corinth, on the Aegean Sea. It was 7 mi (11 km) east of Corinth.
29 sn He had made a vow. It is debated whether this vow is a private vow of thanksgiving or the Nazirite vow, because it is not clear whether the Nazirite vow could be taken outside Jerusalem. Some have cited the Mishnah (m. Nazir 3:6, 5:4) to argue that the shaving of the hair can occur outside Jerusalem, and Josephus, J. W. 2.15.1 (2.313) is sometimes suggested as a parallel, but these references are not clear. H. Greeven, TDNT 2:777, is certain that this refers to the Nazirite vow. Regardless, it is clear that Paul reflected his pious dependence on God.
30 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
31 sn Berea (alternate spelling in NRSV Beroea; Greek Beroia) was a very old city in Macedonia on the river Astraeus about 45 mi (75 km) from Thessalonica.
map For location see JP1-C1; JP2-C1; JP3-C1; JP4-C1.
32 tn Grk “of the Thessalonians.”
map For location see JP1-C1; JP2-C1; JP3-C1; JP4-C1.
33 tn Grk “and Gaius,” but this 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.
34 sn Derbe was a city in Lycaonia about 30 mi (50 km) southeast of Lystra.
map For location see JP1-E2; JP2-E2; JP3-E2.
35 tn Grk “the Asians Tychicus and Trophimus.” In the NT “Asia” always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.
36 tn Grk “It happened that when.” 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.
37 tn Grk “When our days were over.” L&N 67.71 has “ὅτε δὲ ἐγένετο ἡμᾶς ἐξαρτίσαι τὰς ἡμέρας ‘when we brought that time to an end’ or ‘when our time with them was over’ Ac 21:5.”
38 tn Grk “accompanying.” Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation and the participle προπεμπόντων (propempontwn) translated as a finite verb.
39 tn Grk “city, and after.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.
40 sn On praying in Acts, see 1:14, 24; 2:47; 4:23; 6:6; 10:2; 12:5, 12; 13:3; 16:25.
41 tn Grk “Going on board.” The participle ἐπιβάντες (epibante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
42 sn Adramyttium was a seaport in Mysia on the western coast of Asia Minor.
43 tn Grk “places.”
44 tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.
45 tn BDAG 62 s.v. ἀνάγω 4 states, “as a nautical t.t. (ἀ. τὴν ναῦν put a ship to sea), mid. or pass. ἀνάγεσθαι to begin to go by boat, put out to sea.”
sn Although not explicitly stated, the ship put out to sea from the port of Caesarea (where the previous events had taken place (cf. 25:13) and then sailed along the Asiatic coast (the first stop was Sidon, v. 3).
46 sn A Macedonian. The city of Thessalonica (modern Salonica) was in the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.
47 map For location see JP1-C1; JP2-C1; JP3-C1; JP4-C1.