Discovery BoxActs 16:3-12 
Context16:3 Paul wanted Timothy 1 to accompany him, and he took 2 him and circumcised 3 him because of the Jews who were in those places, 4 for they all knew that his father was Greek. 5 16:4 As they went through the towns, 6 they passed on 7 the decrees that had been decided on by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem 8 for the Gentile believers 9 to obey. 10 16:5 So the churches were being strengthened in the faith and were increasing in number every day. 11
16:6 They went through the region of Phrygia 12 and Galatia, 13 having been prevented 14 by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message 15 in the province of Asia. 16 16:7 When they came to 17 Mysia, 18 they attempted to go into Bithynia, 19 but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow 20 them to do this, 21 16:8 so they passed through 22 Mysia 23 and went down to Troas. 24 16:9 A 25 vision appeared to Paul during the night: A Macedonian man was standing there 26 urging him, 27 “Come over 28 to Macedonia 29 and help us!” 16:10 After Paul 30 saw the vision, we attempted 31 immediately to go over to Macedonia, 32 concluding that God had called 33 us to proclaim the good news to them.
16:11 We put out to sea 34 from Troas 35 and sailed a straight course 36 to Samothrace, 37 the next day to Neapolis, 38 16:12 and from there to Philippi, 39 which is a leading city of that district 40 of Macedonia, 41 a Roman colony. 42 We stayed in this city for some days.
1 tn Grk “this one”; the referent (Timothy) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Grk “and taking him he circumcised him.” The participle λαβών (labwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. Paul’s cultural sensitivity showed in his action here. He did not want Timothy’s lack of circumcision to become an issue (1 Cor 9:15-23).
3 tn The verb περιέτεμεν (perietemen) here may be understood as causative (cf. ExSyn 411-12) if Paul did not personally perform the circumcision.
4 tn Or “who lived in the area.”
5 tn The anarthrous predicate nominative has been translated as qualitative (“Greek”) rather than indefinite (“a Greek”).
sn His father was Greek. Under Jewish law at least as early as the 2nd century, a person was considered Jewish if his or her mother was Jewish. It is not certain whether such a law was in effect in the 1st century, but even if it was, Timothy would not have been accepted as fully Jewish because he was not circumcised.
6 tn Or “cities.”
7 tn BDAG 762-63 s.v. παραδίδωμι 3 has “they handed down to them the decisions to observe Ac 16:4.”
8 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
9 tn Grk “for them”; the referent (Gentile believers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 tn Or “observe” or “follow.”
11 tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase.
12 sn Phrygia was a district in central Asia Minor west of Pisidia.
13 sn Galatia refers to either (1) the region of the old kingdom of Galatia in the central part of Asia Minor (North Galatia), or (2) the Roman province of Galatia, whose principal cities in the 1st century were Ancyra and Pisidian Antioch (South Galatia). The exact extent and meaning of this area has been a subject of considerable controversy in modern NT studies.
14 tn Or “forbidden.”
15 tn Or “word.”
16 tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.
17 tn BDAG 511 s.v. κατά B.1.b has “to Mysia” here.
18 sn Mysia was a province in northwest Asia Minor.
19 sn Bithynia was a province in northern Asia Minor northeast of Mysia.
20 tn Or “permit”; see BDAG 269 s.v. ἐάω 1.
21 tn The words “do this” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons, since English handles ellipses differently than Greek.
22 tn Although the normal meaning for παρέρχομαι (parercomai) is “pass by, go by,” it would be difficult to get to Troas from where Paul and his companions were without going through rather than around Mysia. BDAG 776 s.v. παρέρχομαι 6 list some nonbiblical examples of the meaning “go through, pass through,” and give that meaning for the usage here.
23 sn Mysia was a province in northwest Asia Minor.
24 sn Troas was a port city (and surrounding region) on the northwest coast of Asia Minor, near ancient Troy.
25 tn Grk “And a.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
26 tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
27 tn The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has not been translated.
28 tn Grk “Coming over.” The participle διαβάς (diabas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
29 sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.
30 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
31 tn Grk “sought.”
32 sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.
33 tn Or “summoned.”
34 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.”
35 sn Troas was a port city (and surrounding region) on the northwest coast of Asia Minor. See v. 8.
36 tn BDAG 406 s.v. εὐθυδρομέω has “of a ship run a straight course” here; L&N 54.3 has “to sail a straight course, sail straight to.”
37 sn Samothrace is an island in the northern part of the Aegean Sea.
38 sn Neapolis was a seaport on the southern coast of Macedonia. It was 10 mi (16 km) from Philippi.
39 map For location see JP1 C1; JP2 C1; JP3 C1; JP4 C1.
40 tc ‡ Or perhaps, “a city in the first district” (there are a number of textual variants). L&N 1.85 follow the text of UBS4 and NA27 here: “In Ac 16:12…the Greek New Testament published by the United Bible Societies has adopted a conjectural emendation, since the more traditional text, πρώτη τῆς μερίδος, literally ‘first of the district,’ is not only misleading in meaning but does not reflect the historical fact that Philippi was a city in one of the four districts of Macedonia but was not a capital city.” The original text is probably πρώτη τῆς μερίδος (prwth th" merido", “first of that district”) as found in Ì74 א A C Ψ 33vid 36 81 323 945 1175 1891 pc. This has traditionally been translated to give the impression that Philippi was the capital city of the district, but it does not necessarily have to be translated this way. The translation of the article before μερίδος as “that” acknowledges that there were other districts in the province of Macedonia.
41 sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.
42 sn A Roman colony was a city whose residents were regarded as Roman citizens, since such cities were originally colonized by citizens of Rome. From Troas to Philippi was 130 mi (208 km).
