Discovery BoxActs 25:1 
Context25:1 Now 1 three days after Festus 2 arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem 3 from Caesarea. 4
Acts 25:6
Context25:6 After Festus 5 had stayed 6 not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea, 7 and the next day he sat 8 on the judgment seat 9 and ordered Paul to be brought.
Acts 25:9
Context25:9 But Festus, 10 wanting to do the Jews a favor, asked Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and be tried 11 before me there on these charges?” 12
1 tn BDAG 736-37 s.v. οὖν 2.b states, “οὖν serves to indicate a transition to someth. new…now, then, well…Ac 25:1.”
2 sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.
3 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
4 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. This was a journey of 65 mi (just over 100 km).
map For location see Map2 C1; Map4 B3; Map5 F2; Map7 A1; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
5 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Festus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Grk “Having stayed.” The participle διατρίψας (diatriya") has been taken temporally.
7 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.
8 tn Grk “sitting down…he ordered.” The participle καθίσας (kaqisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
9 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.
10 sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.
11 tn Or “stand trial.”
12 tn Grk “concerning these things.”
