16:1 He also came to Derbe 12 and to Lystra. 13 A disciple 14 named Timothy was there, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, 15 but whose father was a Greek. 16
28:7 Now in the region around that place 38 were fields belonging to the chief official 39 of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us hospitably as guests for three days.
1 tn Grk “And when.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences, καί (kai) has not been translated here; a new sentence is begun instead.
2 sn They began to stone him. The irony of the scene is that the people do exactly what the speech complains about in v. 52.
3 tn Or “outer garments.”
sn Laid their cloaks. The outer garment, or cloak, was taken off and laid aside to leave the arms free (in this case for throwing stones).
4 sn The noting of the detail of the locale, ironically called ‘Straight’ Street, shows how directive and specific the Lord was.
5 tn Grk “getting up, predicted.” The participle ἀναστάς (anasta") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
6 tn Or “made clear”; Grk “indicated beforehand” (BDAG 920 s.v. σημαίνω 2).
7 tn Grk “great.”
8 sn This famine is one of the firmly fixed dates in Acts. It took place from
9 tn Or “whole Roman Empire.” While the word οἰκουμένη (oikoumenh) does occasionally refer specifically to the Roman Empire, BDAG 699 s.v. οἰκουνένη 2 does not list this passage (only Acts 24:5 and 17:6).
10 tn Grk “world, which.” The relative pronoun (“which”) was replaced by the demonstrative pronoun “this” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek.
11 sn This is best taken as a parenthetical note by the author. Claudius was the Roman emperor Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus, known as Claudius, who ruled from
12 sn Derbe was a city in Lycaonia about 35 mi (60 km) southeast of Lystra. It was about 90 mi (145 km) from Tarsus.
map For location see JP1-E2; JP2-E2; JP3-E2.
13 sn Lystra was a city in Lycaonia about 25 mi (40 km) south of Iconium.
map For location see JP1-E2; JP2-E2; JP3-E2.
14 tn Grk “And behold, a disciple.” Here ἰδού (idou) has not been translated.
15 tn L&N 31.103 translates this phrase “the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer.”
16 sn His father was a Greek. Timothy was the offspring of a mixed marriage between a Jewish woman (see 2 Tim 1:5) and a Gentile man. On mixed marriages in Judaism, see Neh 13:23-27; Ezra 9:1-10:44; Mal 2:10-16; Jub. 30:7-17; m. Qiddushin 3.12; m. Yevamot 7.5.
17 tn Grk “And a.” 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.
18 tn On the term translated “a dealer in purple cloth” see BDAG 855 s.v. πορφυρόπωλις.
19 sn Thyatira was a city in the province of Lydia in Asia Minor.
20 tn The words “to us” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.
21 tn Although BDAG 880 s.v. προσέχω 2.b gives the meaning “pay attention to” here, this could be misunderstood by the modern English reader to mean merely listening intently. The following context, however, indicates that Lydia responded positively to Paul’s message, so the verb here was translated “to respond.”
sn Lydia is one of several significant women in Acts (see 17:4, 12, 34; 18:20).
22 tn Grk “And he.” 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. The word “there” is not in the Greek text but is implied.
23 tn Grk “finding.” The participle εὑρών (Jeurwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
24 sn On Aquila and his wife Priscilla see also Acts 18:18, 26; Rom 16:3-4; 1 Cor 16:19; 2 Tim 4:19. In the NT “Priscilla” and “Prisca” are the same person. This author uses the full name Priscilla, while Paul uses the diminutive form Prisca.
25 sn Pontus was a region in the northeastern part of Asia Minor. It was a Roman province.
26 sn Claudius refers to the Roman emperor Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus, known as Claudius, who ruled from
27 tn Or “to leave.”
28 map For location see JP4-A1.
29 tn Or “went to.”
30 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
31 tn Grk “Then leaving from there he went.” The participle μεταβάς (metabas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
32 tn Grk “from there”; the referent (the synagogue) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
33 tn Grk “a worshiper of God.” The clarifying phrase “a Gentile” has been supplied for clarity, and is indicated by the context, since Paul had parted company with the Jews in the previous verse. The participle σεβομένου (sebomenou) is practically a technical term for the category called God-fearers, Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel and in many cases kept the Mosaic law, but did not take the final step of circumcision necessary to become a proselyte to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 743-44.
sn Here yet another Gentile is presented as responsive to Paul’s message in Acts.
34 tn This window was probably a simple opening in the wall (see also BDAG 462 s.v. θυρίς).
35 tn Grk “sinking into a deep sleep.” BDAG 529 s.v. καταφέρω 3 has “ὕπνῳ βαθεῖ sink into a deep sleep…Ac 20:9a.” The participle καταφερόμενος (kataferomeno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
36 tn The participle διαλεγομένου (dialegomenou) has been taken temporally.
37 tn BDAG 529 s.v. καταφέρω 3 has “κατενεχθεὶς ἀπὸ τοῦ ὔπνου overwhelmed by sleep vs. 9b,” but this expression is less common in contemporary English than phrases like “fast asleep” or “sound asleep.”
38 tn BDAG 798 s.v. περί 2.a.γ states, “of nearby places…τὰ περὶ τὸν τὸπον the region around the place Ac 28:7.” The presence of ἐκεῖνον (ekeinon) results in the translation “that place.”
39 tn That is, the chief Roman official. Several inscriptions have confirmed the use of πρῶτος (prwtos) as an administrative title used on the island of Malta for the highest Roman official. See further BDAG 852 s.v. Πόπλιος.