Discovery BoxActs 25:7 
Context25:7 When he arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, 1 bringing many serious 2 charges that they were not able to prove. 3
Acts 25:10
Context25:10 Paul replied, 4 “I am standing before Caesar’s 5 judgment seat, 6 where I should be tried. 7 I have done nothing wrong 8 to the Jews, as you also know very well. 9
1 tn BDAG 801 s.v. περιίστημι 1.a has “περιέστησαν αὐτὸν οἱ ᾿Ιουδαῖοι the Judeans stood around him 25:7.”
2 tn Grk “many and serious.” The term βαρύς (barus) refers to weighty or serious charges (BDAG 167 s.v. 1).
3 tn The term ἀποδείκνυμι (apodeiknumi) in a legal context refers to legal proof (4 Macc 1:8; BDAG 108 s.v. 3).
4 tn Grk “said.”
5 tn Or “before the emperor’s” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).
6 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 bema was a standard feature in Greco-Roman cities of the time, there is no need for an alternative translation here. Here of course Paul’s reference to “Caesar’s judgment seat” is a form of metonymy; since Festus is Caesar’s representative, Festus’ judgment seat represents Caesar’s own.
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.
7 tn That is, tried by an imperial representative and subject to Roman law.
8 sn “I have done nothing wrong.” Here is yet another declaration of total innocence on Paul’s part.
9 tn BDAG 506 s.v. καλῶς 7 states, “comp. κάλλιον (for the superl., as Galen, Protr. 8 p. 24, 19J.=p. 10, 31 Kaibel; s. B-D-F §244, 2) ὡς καί σὺ κ. ἐπιγινώσκεις as also you know very well Ac 25:10.”
