Acts 24:1
Context24:1 After five days the high priest Ananias 1 came down with some elders and an attorney 2 named 3 Tertullus, and they 4 brought formal charges 5 against Paul to the governor.
Acts 24:5
Context24:5 For we have found 6 this man to be a troublemaker, 7 one who stirs up riots 8 among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader 9 of the sect of the Nazarenes. 10
1 sn Ananias was in office from
2 tn The term refers to a professional advocate (BDAG 905 s.v. ῥήτωρ).
3 tn Grk “an attorney, a certain Tertullus.”
4 tn Grk “who” (plural). Because in English the relative pronoun “who” could be understood to refer only to the attorney Tertullus and not to the entire group, it has been replaced with the third person plural pronoun “they.” “And” has been supplied to provide the connection to the preceding clause.
5 tn BDAG 326 s.v. ἐμφανίζω 3 has “ἐ. τινὶ κατά τινος bring formal charges against someone…Ac 24:1; 25:2.”
6 tn Grk “For having found.” The participle εὑρόντες (Jeurontes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
7 tn L&N 22.6 has “(a figurative extension of meaning of λοιμός ‘plague,’ 23.158) one who causes all sorts of trouble – ‘troublemaker, pest.’ … ‘for we have found this man to be a troublemaker” Ac 24:5.”
8 tn Or “dissensions.” While BDAG 940 s.v. στάσις 3 translates this phrase “κινεῖν στάσεις (v.l. στάσιν) τισί create dissension among certain people Ac 24:5,” it is better on the basis of the actual results of Paul’s ministry to categorize this usage under section 2, “uprising, riot, revolt, rebellion” (cf. the use in Acts 19:40).
9 tn This term is yet another NT hapax legomenon (BDAG 894 s.v. πρωτοστάτης).
sn A ringleader. Tertullus’ basic argument was that Paul was a major disturber of the public peace. To ignore this the governor would be shunning his duty to preserve the peace and going against the pattern of his rule. In effect, Tertullus claimed that Paul was seditious (a claim the governor could not afford to ignore).
10 sn The sect of the Nazarenes is a designation for followers of Jesus the Nazarene, that is, Christians.