15:36 After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return 11 and visit the brothers in every town where we proclaimed the word of the Lord 12 to see how they are doing.” 13
1 tn Or “crippled.”
2 tn Grk “from his mother’s womb.”
3 tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase.
4 tn Grk “alms.” The term “alms” is not in common use today, so what the man expected, “money,” is used in the translation instead. The idea is that of money given as a gift to someone who was poor. Giving alms was viewed as honorable in Judaism (Tob 1:3, 16; 12:8-9; m. Pe’ah 1:1). See also Luke 11:41; 12:33; Acts 9:36; 10:2, 4, 31; 24:17.
5 tn Grk “the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.
sn Into the temple courts. The exact location of this incident is debated. The ‘Beautiful Gate’ referred either to the Nicanor Gate (which led from the Court of the Gentiles into the Court of Women) or the Shushan Gate at the eastern wall.
6 tn BDAG 12-13 s.v. ἀγνοέω 1.b gives “not to know w. acc. of pers.” as the meaning here, but “recognize” is a better translation in this context because recognition of the true identity of the one they condemned is the issue. See Acts 2:22-24; 4:26-28.
7 tn Grk “this one.”
8 tn Usually φωνή (fwnh) means “voice,” but BDAG 1071-72 s.v. φωνή 2.c has “Also of sayings in scripture…Ac 13:27.”
sn They fulfilled the sayings. The people in Jerusalem and the Jewish rulers should have known better, because they had the story read to them weekly in the synagogue.
9 tn The participle κρίναντες (krinante") is instrumental here.
10 tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.
11 tn Grk “Returning let us visit.” The participle ἐπιστρέψαντες (epistreyante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
12 tn See the note on the phrase “word of the Lord” in v. 35.
13 tn BDAG 422 s.v. ἔχω 10.b has “how they are” for this phrase.
14 tn Grk “These”; the referent (the Jews in the synagogue at Berea) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
15 tn Or “more willing to learn.” L&N 27.48 and BDAG 404 s.v. εὐγενής 2 both use the term “open-minded” here. The point is that they were more receptive to Paul’s message.
16 sn Thessalonica was a city in Macedonia (modern Salonica).
map For location see JP1-C1; JP2-C1; JP3-C1; JP4-C1.
17 tn Or “willingly,” “readily”; Grk “with all eagerness.”
18 tn Grk “who received.” Here the relative pronoun (“who”) has been translated as a pronoun (“they”) preceded by a semicolon, which is less awkward in contemporary English than a relative clause at this point.
19 tn This verb (BDAG 66 s.v. ἀνακρίνω 1) refers to careful examination.
20 tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase in this verse.
21 sn The one man refers to Adam (the word “man” is understood).
22 tn Or “mankind.” BDAG 276 s.v. ἔθνος 1 has “every nation of humankind Ac 17:26.”
23 tn Grk “to live over all the face of the earth.”
24 tn BDAG 884-85 s.v. προστάσσω has “(οἱ) προστεταγμένοι καιροί (the) fixed times Ac 17:26” here, but since the following phrase is also translated “fixed limits,” this would seem redundant in English, so the word “set” has been used instead.
25 tn Grk “the boundaries of their habitation.” L&N 80.5 has “fixed limits of the places where they would live” for this phrase.
26 tn BDAG 1105-6 s.v. ὡς 8.b lists this use as a temporal conjunction.
27 tn Or “some became hardened.” See BDAG 930 s.v. σκληρύνω b and Acts 7:51-53.
28 tn Or “speaking evil of.” BDAG 500 s.v. κακολογέω has “speak evil of, revile, insult…τὶ someth. τὴν ὁδόν the Way (i.e. Christian way of life) Ac 19:9.”
29 sn The Way refers to the Christian movement (Christianity). Luke frequently refers to it as “the Way” (Acts 9:2; 18:25-26; 19:23; 22:4; 24:14, 22).
30 tn Grk “leaving them, he took.” The participle ἀποστάς (apostas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
31 tn The words “with him” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
32 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 19:9. 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.
33 tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase in this verse.
34 tn The “lecture hall” was a place where teachers and pupils met. The term is a NT hapax legomenon (BDAG 982 s.v. σχολή). L&N 7.14 notes, “it is better to use a translation such as ‘lecture hall’ rather than ‘school,’ since one does not wish to give the impression of the typical classroom situation characteristic of present-day schools.”