Acts 15:35-36

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

Paul and Barnabas Part Company

15:36 After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return and visit the brothers in every town where we proclaimed the word of the Lord to see how they are doing.”


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

sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

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.

tn Grk “Returning let us visit.” The participle ἐπιστρέψαντες (epistreyante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

tn See the note on the phrase “word of the Lord” in v. 35.

tn BDAG 422 s.v. ἔχω 10.b has “how they are” for this phrase.