Acts 11:27

Famine Relief for Judea

11:27 At that time 1  some 2  prophets 3  came down 4  from Jerusalem 5  to Antioch. 6 

Acts 11:22

11:22 A report 7  about them came to the attention 8  of the church in Jerusalem, 9  and they sent Barnabas 10  to Antioch. 11 

Acts 15:35

15:35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, 12  teaching and proclaiming (along with many others) 13  the word of the Lord. 14 

1 tn Grk “In these days,” but the dative generally indicates a specific time.

2 tn The word “some” is not in the Greek text, but is usually used in English when an unspecified number is mentioned.

3 sn Prophets are mentioned only here and in 13:1 and 21:10 in Acts.

4 sn Came down from Jerusalem. Antioch in Syria lies due north of Jerusalem. In Western languages it is common to speak of north as “up” and south as “down,” but the NT maintains the Hebrew idiom which speaks of any direction away from Jerusalem as down (since Mount Zion was thought of in terms of altitude).

5 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

6 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19.

map For location see JP1-F2; JP2-F2; JP3-F2; JP4-F2

7 tn Grk “Word.”

8 tn Grk “was heard in the ears,” an idiom. L&N 24.67 states that the idiom means “to hear in secret” (which it certainly does in Matt 10:27), but secrecy does not seem to be part of the context here, and there is no particular reason to suggest the report was made in secret.

9 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

10 tc ‡ Most mss read the infinitive “to travel” after “Barnabas.” διελθεῖν (dielqein) is found before ἕως (Jews) in D E Ψ 33 Ï and some versional mss. It is lacking in Ì74 א A B 81 1739 pc and some versional mss. Although the infinitive with ἕως fits Lukan style, it has the appearance of a scribal clarification. The infinitive has the earmarks of a Western expansion on the text and thus is unlikely to be original. NA27 has the infinitive in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.

11 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19. Again the Jerusalem church exercised an oversight role.

12 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia).

13 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

14 sn The word of the Lord is a technical expression in OT literature, often referring to a divine prophetic utterance (e.g., Gen 15:1, Isa 1:10, Jonah 1:1). In the NT it occurs 15 times: 3 times as ῥῆμα τοῦ κυρίου (rJhma tou kuriou; Luke 22:61, Acts 11:16, 1 Pet 1:25) and 12 times as λόγος τοῦ κυρίου (logo" tou kuriou; here and in v. 36; Acts 8:25; 13:44, 48, 49; 16:32; 19:10, 20; 1 Thess 1:8, 4:15; 2 Thess 3:1). As in the OT, this phrase focuses on the prophetic nature and divine origin of what has been said.