Discovery BoxActs 12:20 
Context12:20 Now Herod 1 was having an angry quarrel 2 with the people of Tyre 3 and Sidon. 4 So they joined together 5 and presented themselves before him. And after convincing 6 Blastus, the king’s personal assistant, 7 to help them, 8 they asked for peace, 9 because their country’s food supply was provided by the king’s country.
Acts 17:5
Context17:5 But the Jews became jealous, 10 and gathering together some worthless men from the rabble in the marketplace, 11 they formed a mob 12 and set the city in an uproar. 13 They attacked Jason’s house, 14 trying to find Paul and Silas 15 to bring them out to the assembly. 16
Acts 21:24
Context21:24 take them and purify 17 yourself along with them and pay their expenses, 18 so that they may have their heads shaved. 19 Then 20 everyone will know there is nothing in what they have been told 21 about you, but that you yourself live in conformity with 22 the law. 23
Acts 27:12
Context27:12 Because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided 24 to put out to sea 25 from there. They hoped that 26 somehow they could reach 27 Phoenix, 28 a harbor of Crete facing 29 southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.
Acts 28:23
Context28:23 They set 30 a day to meet with him, 31 and they came to him where he was staying 32 in even greater numbers. 33 From morning until evening he explained things 34 to them, 35 testifying 36 about the kingdom of God 37 and trying to convince 38 them about Jesus from both the law of Moses and the prophets.
Acts 28:27
Context28:27 For the heart of this people has become dull, 39
and their ears are hard of hearing, 40
and they have closed their eyes,
so that they would not see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
1 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).
2 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).
3 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.
4 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.
5 tn Or “with one accord.”
6 tn Or “persuading.”
7 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.
8 tn The words “to help them” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
9 tn Or “for a reconciliation.” There were grave political risks in having Herod angry at them. The detail shows the ruler’s power.
10 tn Grk “becoming jealous.” The participle ζηλώσαντες (zhlwsante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. So elsewhere in Acts (5:17; 7:9; 13:45).
11 tn Literally ἀγοραῖος (agoraio") refers to the crowd in the marketplace, although BDAG 14-15 s.v. ἀγοραῖος 1 gives the meaning, by extension, as “rabble.” Such a description is certainly appropriate in this context. L&N 15.127 translates the phrase “worthless men from the streets.”
12 tn On this term, which is a NT hapax legomenon, see BDAG 745 s.v. ὀχλοποιέω.
13 tn BDAG 458 s.v. θορυβέω 1 has “set the city in an uproar, start a riot in the city” for the meaning of ἐθορύβουν (eqoruboun) in this verse.
14 sn The attack took place at Jason’s house because this was probably the location of the new house church.
15 tn Grk “them”; the referents (Paul and Silas) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
16 tn BDAG 223 s.v. δῆμος 2 has “in a Hellenistic city, a convocation of citizens called together for the purpose of transacting official business, popular assembly προάγειν εἰς τὸν δ. Ac 17:5.”
17 sn That is, undergo ritual cleansing. Paul’s cleansing would be necessary because of his travels in “unclean” Gentile territory. This act would represent a conciliatory gesture. Paul would have supported a “law-free” mission to the Gentiles as an option, but this gesture would represent an attempt to be sensitive to the Jews (1 Cor 9:15-22).
18 tn L&N 57.146 has “δαπάνησον ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς ‘pay their expenses’ Ac 21:24.”
19 tn The future middle indicative has causative force here. BDAG 686 s.v. ξυράω has “mid. have oneself shaved…τὴν κεφαλήν have one’s head shaved…Ac 21:24.”
sn Having their heads shaved probably involved ending a voluntary Nazirite vow (Num 6:14-15).
20 tn Grk “and.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation, and καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.
21 tn The verb here describes a report or some type of information (BDAG 534 s.v. κατηχέω 1).
22 tn Grk “adhere to the keeping of the law.” L&N 41.12 has “στοιχέω: to live in conformity with some presumed standard or set of customs – ‘to live, to behave in accordance with.’”
23 sn The law refers to the law of Moses.
24 tn BDAG 181-82 s.v. βουλή 2.a, “β. τίθεσθαι (Judg 19:30; Ps 12:3) decide 27:12 (w. inf. foll.).”
25 tn BDAG 62 s.v. ἀνάγω 4, “as a nautical t.t. (ἀ. τὴν ναῦν put a ship to sea), mid. or pass. ἀνάγεσθαι to begin to go by boat, put out to sea.”
26 tn Grk “from there, if somehow” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun here in the translation and the introductory phrase “They hoped that” supplied (with the subject, “they,” repeated from the previous clause) to make a complete English sentence.
27 tn Grk “if somehow, reaching Phoenix, they could…” The participle καταντήσαντες (katanthsante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
28 sn Phoenix was a seaport on the southern coast of the island of Crete. This was about 30 mi (48 km) further west.
29 tn Or “a harbor of Crete open to the southwest and northwest.”
30 tn Grk “Having set.” The participle ταξάμενοι (taxamenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
31 tn Grk “Having set a day with him”; the words “to meet” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
32 tn Or “came to him in his rented quarters.”
33 tn BDAG 848 s.v. πολύς 1.b.β.ב states, “(even) more πλείονες in even greater numbers Ac 28:23.”
34 tn The word “things” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.
35 tn Grk “to whom he explained.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) has been replaced by the pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun at this point in the translation.
36 tn BDAG 233 s.v. διαμαρτύρομαι 1 has “to make a solemn declaration about the truth of someth. testify of, bear witness to (orig. under oath)…God’s kingdom 28:23.”
37 sn Testifying about the kingdom of God. The topic is important. Paul’s preaching was about the rule of God and his promise in Jesus. Paul’s text was the Jewish scriptures.
38 tn Or “persuade.”
39 tn Or “insensitive.”
sn The heart of this people has become dull. The charge from Isaiah is like Stephen’s against the Jews of Jerusalem (Acts 7:51-53). They were a hard-hearted and disobedient people.
40 tn Grk “they hear heavily with their ears” (an idiom for slow comprehension).
41 sn Note how the failure to respond to the message of the gospel is seen as a failure to turn.
42 sn A quotation from Isa 6:9-10.
