Discovery BoxActs 21:24 
Context21:24 take them and purify 1 yourself along with them and pay their expenses, 2 so that they may have their heads shaved. 3 Then 4 everyone will know there is nothing in what they have been told 5 about you, but that you yourself live in conformity with 6 the law. 7
Acts 22:24
Context22:24 the commanding officer 8 ordered Paul 9 to be brought back into the barracks. 10 He told them 11 to interrogate Paul 12 by beating him with a lash 13 so that he could find out the reason the crowd 14 was shouting at Paul 15 in this way.
1 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).
2 tn L&N 57.146 has “δαπάνησον ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς ‘pay their expenses’ Ac 21:24.”
3 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).
4 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.
5 tn The verb here describes a report or some type of information (BDAG 534 s.v. κατηχέω 1).
6 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.’”
7 sn The law refers to the law of Moses.
8 tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). In Greek the term χιλίαρχος (ciliarco") literally described the “commander of a thousand,” but it was used as the standard translation for the Latin tribunus militum or tribunus militare, the military tribune who commanded a cohort of 600 men.
9 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 tn Or “the headquarters.” BDAG 775 s.v. παρεμβολή 2 has “barracks/headquarters of the Roman troops in Jerusalem Ac 21:34, 37; 22:24; 23:10, 16, 32.”
11 tn Grk “into the barracks, saying.” This is a continuation of the same sentence in Greek using the participle εἴπας (eipas), but due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence a new sentence was begun in the translation here. The direct object “them” has been supplied; it is understood in Greek.
12 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
13 sn To interrogate Paul by beating him with a lash. Under the Roman legal system it was customary to use physical torture to extract confessions or other information from prisoners who were not Roman citizens and who were charged with various crimes, especially treason or sedition. The lashing would be done with a whip of leather thongs with pieces of metal or bone attached to the ends.
14 tn Grk “they”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
15 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
