19:8 So Paul 1 entered 2 the synagogue 3 and spoke out fearlessly 4 for three months, addressing 5 and convincing 6 them about the kingdom of God. 7
12:20 Now Herod 11 was having an angry quarrel 12 with the people of Tyre 13 and Sidon. 14 So they joined together 15 and presented themselves before him. And after convincing 16 Blastus, the king’s personal assistant, 17 to help them, 18 they asked for peace, 19 because their country’s food supply was provided by the king’s country.
1 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Grk “So entering the synagogue, he spoke out fearlessly.” The participle εἰσελθών (eiselqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
3 sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.
4 tn Or “boldly.”
5 tn Although the word διελέξατο (dielexato; from διαλέγομαι, dialegomai) is frequently translated “reasoned,” “disputed,” or “argued,” this sense comes from its classical meaning where it was used of philosophical disputation, including the Socratic method of questions and answers. However, there does not seem to be contextual evidence for this kind of debate in Acts 19:8. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21.
6 tn Or “addressing them persuasively.” The two participles διαλεγόμενος and πείθων (dialegomeno" and peiqwn) can be understood as a hendiadys (so NIV, NRSV), thus, “addressing them persuasively.”
7 sn To talk about Jesus as the Christ who has come is to talk about the kingdom of God. This is yet another summary of the message like that in 18:28.
8 tn Grk “to them”; the referent (the apostles) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 sn After his suffering is a reference to Jesus’ crucifixion and the abuse which preceded it.
10 tn Grk “during forty days.” The phrase “over a forty-day period” is used rather than “during forty days” because (as the other NT accounts of Jesus’ appearances make clear) Jesus was not continually visible to the apostles during the forty days, but appeared to them on various occasions.
11 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).
12 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).
13 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.
14 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.
15 tn Or “with one accord.”
16 tn Or “persuading.”
17 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.
18 tn The words “to help them” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
19 tn Or “for a reconciliation.” There were grave political risks in having Herod angry at them. The detail shows the ruler’s power.