Discovery BoxActs 17:11 
Context17:11 These Jews 1 were more open-minded 2 than those in Thessalonica, 3 for they eagerly 4 received 5 the message, examining 6 the scriptures carefully every day 7 to see if these things were so.
Acts 20:35
Context20:35 By all these things, 8 I have shown you that by working in this way we must help 9 the weak, 10 and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” 11
Acts 25:6
Context25:6 After Festus 12 had stayed 13 not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea, 14 and the next day he sat 15 on the judgment seat 16 and ordered Paul to be brought.
1 tn Grk “These”; the referent (the Jews in the synagogue at Berea) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Or “more willing to learn.” L&N 27.48 and BDAG 404 s.v. εὐγενής 2 both use the term “open-minded” here. The point is that they were more receptive to Paul’s message.
3 sn Thessalonica was a city in Macedonia (modern Salonica).
map For location see JP1 C1; JP2 C1; JP3 C1; JP4 C1.
4 tn Or “willingly,” “readily”; Grk “with all eagerness.”
5 tn Grk “who received.” Here the relative pronoun (“who”) has been translated as a pronoun (“they”) preceded by a semicolon, which is less awkward in contemporary English than a relative clause at this point.
6 tn This verb (BDAG 66 s.v. ἀνακρίνω 1) refers to careful examination.
7 tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase in this verse.
8 sn The expression By all these things means “In everything I did.”
9 tn Or “must assist.”
10 tn Or “the sick.” See Eph 4:28.
11 sn The saying is similar to Matt 10:8. Service and generosity should be abundant. Interestingly, these exact words are not found in the gospels. Paul must have known of this saying from some other source.
12 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Festus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
13 tn Grk “Having stayed.” The participle διατρίψας (diatriya") has been taken temporally.
14 sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1.
map For location see Map2 C1; Map4 B3; Map5 F2; Map7 A1; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
15 tn Grk “sitting down…he ordered.” The participle καθίσας (kaqisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
16 tn Although BDAG 175 s.v. βῆμα 3 gives the meaning “tribunal” for this verse, and a number of modern translations use similar terms (“court,” NIV; “tribunal,” NRSV), since the bhma 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.
