Discovery BoxActs 9:2 
Context9:2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues 1 in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, 2 either men or women, he could bring them as prisoners 3 to Jerusalem. 4
Acts 18:25-26
Context18:25 He had been instructed in 5 the way of the Lord, and with great enthusiasm 6 he spoke and taught accurately the facts 7 about Jesus, although he knew 8 only the baptism of John. 18:26 He began to speak out fearlessly 9 in the synagogue, 10 but when Priscilla and Aquila 11 heard him, they took him aside 12 and explained the way of God to him more accurately.
Acts 19:23
Context19:23 At 13 that time 14 a great disturbance 15 took place concerning the Way. 16
Acts 22:4
Context22:4 I 17 persecuted this Way 18 even to the point of death, 19 tying up 20 both men and women and putting 21 them in prison,
Acts 24:14
Context24:14 But I confess this to you, that I worship 22 the God of our ancestors 23 according to the Way (which they call a sect), believing everything that is according to the law 24 and that is written in the prophets.
Acts 24:22
Context24:22 Then Felix, 25 who understood the facts 26 concerning the Way 27 more accurately, 28 adjourned their hearing, 29 saying, “When Lysias the commanding officer comes down, I will decide your case.” 30
1 sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.
2 sn The expression “the way” in ancient religious literature refers at times to “the whole way of life fr. a moral and spiritual viewpoint” (BDAG 692 s.v. ὁδός 3.c), and it has been so used of Christianity and its teachings in the book of Acts (see also 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). It is a variation of Judaism’s idea of two ways, the true and the false, where “the Way” is the true one (1 En. 91:18; 2 En. 30:15).
3 tn Grk “bring them bound”; the translation “bring someone as prisoner” for δεδεμένον ἄγειν τινά (dedemenon agein tina) is given by BDAG 221 s.v. δέω 1.b.
4 sn From Damascus to Jerusalem was a six-day journey. Christianity had now expanded into Syria.
map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
5 tn Or “had been taught.”
6 tn Grk “and boiling in spirit” (an idiom for great eagerness or enthusiasm; BDAG 426 s.v. ζέω).
7 tn Grk “the things.”
8 tn Grk “knowing”; the participle ἐπιστάμενος (epistameno") has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.
9 tn Or “boldly.” This is a frequent term in Acts (9:27-28; 13:46; 14:3; 19:8; 26:26).
10 sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.
11 sn Priscilla and Aquila. This key couple, of which Priscilla was an important enough figure to be mentioned by name, instructed Apollos about the most recent work of God. See also the note on Aquila in 18:2.
12 tn BDAG 883 s.v. προσλαμβάνω 3 has “take aside, mid. τινά someone…So prob. also Ac 18:26: Priscilla and Aquila take Apollos aside to teach him undisturbed.”
13 tn Grk “There happened at that time.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Instead the verb “took place” has been supplied in the translation.
14 tn BDAG 512 s.v. κατά B.2.a, “in definite indications of time…Of the past: κ. ἐκεῖνον τὸν καιρόν at that time, then…Ac 12:1; 19:23.”
15 tn Grk “no little disturbance” (an idiom; see BDAG 991 s.v. τάραχος 2).
16 sn The Way refers to the Christian movement (Christianity).
17 tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“who”) was translated by the first person pronoun (“I”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.
18 sn That is, persecuted the Christian movement (Christianity). The Way is also used as a description of the Christian faith in Acts 9:2; 18:25-26; 19:9, 23; 24:14, 22).
19 tn BDAG 442-43 s.v. θάνατος 1.a has “διώκειν ἄχρι θανάτου persecute even to death Ac 22:4.”
20 tn Grk “binding.” See Acts 8:3.
21 tn BDAG 762 s.v. παραδίδωμι 1.b has “W. local εἰς…εἰς φυλακήν put in prison Ac 8:3; cp. 22:4.”
22 tn Or “serve.”
23 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
24 sn That is, the law of Moses. Paul was claiming that he legitimately worshiped the God of Israel. He was arguing that this amounted to a religious dispute rather than a political one, so that the Roman authorities need not concern themselves with it.
25 sn See the note on Antonius Felix in 23:24.
26 tn Grk “the things.”
27 tn That is, concerning Christianity.
28 tn BDAG 39 s.v. ἀκριβῶς has “Comp. ἀκριβέστερον more exactly…ἀ. ἐκτίθεσθαι explain more exactly Ac 18:26, cp. 23:15, 20; also more accurately…24:22.” Felix knew more about the Christian movement than what the Jewish leaders had told him.
29 tn L&N 56.18 s.v. ἀναβάλλω has “to adjourn a court proceeding until a later time – ‘to adjourn a hearing, to stop a hearing and put it off until later.’…‘then Felix, who was well informed about the Way, adjourned their hearing’ Ac 24:22.”
30 tn BDAG 227 s.v. διαγινώσκω 2 states, “to make a judicial decision, decide/hear (a case)…τὰ καθ᾿ ὑμᾶς decide your case Ac 24:22.”
