Discovery BoxActs 11:28 
Context11:28 One of them, named Agabus, got up 1 and predicted 2 by the Spirit that a severe 3 famine 4 was about to come over the whole inhabited world. 5 (This 6 took place during the reign of Claudius.) 7
Acts 13:17
Context13:17 The God of this people Israel 8 chose our ancestors 9 and made the people great 10 during their stay as foreigners 11 in the country 12 of Egypt, and with uplifted arm 13 he led them out of it.
1 tn Grk “getting up, predicted.” The participle ἀναστάς (anasta") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
2 tn Or “made clear”; Grk “indicated beforehand” (BDAG 920 s.v. σημαίνω 2).
3 tn Grk “great.”
4 sn This famine is one of the firmly fixed dates in Acts. It took place from
5 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).
6 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.
7 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
8 tn Or “people of Israel.”
9 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
sn Note how Paul identifies with his audience by referring to our ancestors. He speaks as a Jew. God’s design in history is the theme of the speech. The speech is like Stephen’s, only here the focus is on a promised Son of David.
10 tn That is, in both numbers and in power. The implication of greatness in both numbers and in power is found in BDAG 1046 s.v. ὑψόω 2.
11 tn Or “as resident aliens.”
12 tn Or “land.”
13 sn Here uplifted arm is a metaphor for God’s power by which he delivered the Israelites from Egypt. See Exod 6:1, 6; 32:11; Deut 3:24; 4:34; Ps 136:11-12.
