Discovery BoxActs 14:13-14 
Context14:13 The priest of the temple 1 of Zeus, 2 located just outside the city, brought bulls 3 and garlands 4 to the city gates; he and the crowds wanted to offer sacrifices to them. 5 14:14 But when the apostles 6 Barnabas and Paul heard about 7 it, they tore 8 their clothes and rushed out 9 into the crowd, shouting, 10
1 tn The words “the temple of” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. The translation “the priest of (the temple/shrine of) Zeus located before the city” is given for this phrase by BDAG 426 s.v. Ζεύς.
2 sn See the note on Zeus in the previous verse.
3 tn Or “oxen.”
4 tn Or “wreaths.”
sn Garlands were commonly wreaths of wool with leaves and flowers woven in, worn on a person’s head or woven around a staff. They were an important part of many rituals used to worship pagan gods. Although it was an erroneous reaction, the priest’s reaction shows how all acknowledged their power and access to God.
5 tn The words “to them” are not in the Greek text, but are clearly implied by the response of Paul and Barnabas in the following verse.
6 sn The apostles Barnabas and Paul. This is one of only two places where Luke calls Paul an apostle, and the description here is shared with Barnabas. This is a nontechnical use here, referring to a commissioned messenger.
7 tn The participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is taken temporally.
8 tn Grk “tearing their clothes they rushed out.” The participle διαρρήξαντες (diarrhxante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. This action is a Jewish response to blasphemy (m. Sanhedrin 7.5; Jdt 14:16-17).
9 tn So BDAG 307 s.v. ἐκπηδάω 1, “rush (lit. ‘leap’) out…εἰς τὸν ὄχλον into the crowd Ac 14:14.”
10 tn Grk “shouting and saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes, in v. 15) has not been translated because it is redundant.
sn What follows is one of two speeches in Acts to a purely pagan audience (Acts 17 in Athens is the other). So Paul focused on God as Creator, a common link.
