12:20 Now Herod 8 was having an angry quarrel 9 with the people of Tyre 10 and Sidon. 11 So they joined together 12 and presented themselves before him. And after convincing 13 Blastus, the king’s personal assistant, 14 to help them, 15 they asked for peace, 16 because their country’s food supply was provided by the king’s country.
1 tn Grk “And when.” 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 The participle γενόμενοι (genomenoi) is taken temporally.
3 sn Salamis was a city on the southeastern coast of the island of Cyprus. This was a commercial center and a center of Judaism.
4 tn The imperfect verb κατήγγελλον (kathngellon) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.
5 sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.
6 sn John refers here to John Mark (see Acts 12:25).
7 tn The word ὑπηρέτης (Juphreth") usually has the meaning “servant,” but it is doubtful John Mark fulfilled that capacity for Barnabas and Saul. He was more likely an apprentice or assistant to them.
sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
8 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
sn Herod was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod I (Herod the Great).
9 tn Or “was extremely angry.” L&N 33.453 gives the meaning “be angry and quarrel, quarrel angrily” here. However, in L&N 88.180 the alternative “to be violently angry, to be furious” is given. The term is used only once in the NT (BDAG 461 s.v. θυμομαχέω).
10 sn Tyre was a city and seaport on the coast of Phoenicia.
map For location see Map1-A2; Map2-G2; Map4-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.
11 sn Sidon was an ancient Phoenician royal city on the coast between Berytus (Beirut) and Tyre (BDAG 923 s.v. Σιδών).
map For location see Map1-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.
12 tn Or “with one accord.”
13 tn Or “persuading.”
14 tn On the term translated “personal assistant” BDAG 554 s.v. κοιτῶν states, “used as part of a title: ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ κοιτῶνος the one in charge of the bed-chamber, the chamberlain.” This individual was not just a domestic servant or butler, but a highly respected person who had considerable responsibility for the king’s living quarters and personal affairs. The English word “chamberlain” corresponds very closely to this meaning but is not in common use today. The term “personal assistant,” while it might convey more business associations than management of personal affairs, nevertheless communicates the concept well in contemporary English.
15 tn The words “to help them” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
16 tn Or “for a reconciliation.” There were grave political risks in having Herod angry at them. The detail shows the ruler’s power.