Discovery BoxActs 12:21 
Context12:21 On a day determined in advance, Herod 1 put on his royal robes, 2 sat down on the judgment seat, 3 and made a speech 4 to them.
Acts 13:14
Context13:14 Moving on from 5 Perga, 6 they arrived at Pisidian Antioch, 7 and on the Sabbath day they went into 8 the synagogue 9 and sat down.
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 “apparel.” On Herod’s robes see Josephus, Ant. 19.8.2 (19.344), summarized in the note at the end of v. 23.
3 tn Although BDAG 175 s.v. βῆμα 3 gives the meaning “speaker’s platform” for this verse, and a number of modern translations use similar terms (“rostrum,” NASB; “platform,” NRSV), since the bema was a standard feature in Greco-Roman cities of the time, there is no need for an alternative translation here.
sn The judgment seat (βῆμα, bhma) was a raised platform mounted by steps and sometimes furnished with a seat, used by officials in addressing an assembly or making pronouncements, often on judicial matters. The judgment seat was a familiar item in Greco-Roman culture, often located in the agora, the public square or marketplace in the center of a city.
4 tn Or “delivered a public address.”
5 tn Or “Passing by.”
6 sn Perga was a city in Pamphylia near the southern coast of Asia Minor.
7 tn Or “at Antioch in Pisidia.”
sn Pisidian Antioch was a city in Pisidia about 100 mi (160 km) north of Perga. It was both a Roman colony and the seat of military and civil authority in S. Galatia. One had to trek over the Taurus Mountains to get there, since the city was 3,600 ft (1,100 m) above sea level.
map For location see JP1 E2; JP2 E2; JP3 E2; JP4 E2.
8 tn Grk “going into the synagogue they sat down.” The participle εἰσελθόντες (eiselqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
