Discovery BoxActs 3:1 
Context3:1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time 1 for prayer, 2 at three o’clock in the afternoon. 3
Acts 7:20
Context7:20 At that time Moses was born, and he was beautiful 4 to God. For 5 three months he was brought up in his father’s house,
Acts 10:3
Context10:3 About three o’clock one afternoon 6 he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God 7 who came in 8 and said to him, “Cornelius.”
Acts 10:19
Context10:19 While Peter was still thinking seriously about 9 the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Look! Three men are looking for you.
Acts 17:2
Context17:2 Paul went to the Jews in the synagogue, 10 as he customarily did, and on three Sabbath days he addressed 11 them from the scriptures,
Acts 19:8
Context19:8 So Paul 12 entered 13 the synagogue 14 and spoke out fearlessly 15 for three months, addressing 16 and convincing 17 them about the kingdom of God. 18
Acts 20:31
Context20:31 Therefore be alert, 19 remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning 20 each one of you with tears.
Acts 28:11
Context28:11 After three months we put out to sea 21 in an Alexandrian ship that had wintered at the island and had the “Heavenly Twins” 22 as its figurehead. 23
1 tn Grk “hour.”
2 sn Going up to the temple at the time for prayer. The earliest Christians, being of Jewish roots, were still participating in the institutions of Judaism at this point. Their faith in Christ did not make them non-Jewish in their practices.
3 tn Grk “at the ninth hour.” This is calculated from sunrise (Josephus, Ant. 14.4.3 [14.65]; Dan 9:21).
4 tn Or “was well-formed before God,” or “was well-pleasing to God” (BDAG 145 s.v. ἀστεῖος suggests the meaning is more like “well-bred” as far as God was concerned; see Exod 2:2).
5 tn Grk “who was brought up for three months.” The continuation of the sentence as a relative clause is awkward in English, so a new sentence was started in the translation by changing the relative pronoun to a regular pronoun (“he”).
6 tn Grk “at about the ninth hour of the day.” This would be the time for afternoon prayer.
7 tn Or “the angel of God.” Linguistically, “angel of God” is the same in both testaments (and thus, he is either “an angel of God” or “the angel of God” in both testaments). For arguments and implications, see ExSyn 252; M. J. Davidson, “Angels,” DJG, 9; W. G. MacDonald argues for “an angel” in both testaments: “Christology and ‘The Angel of the Lord’,” Current Issues in Biblical and Patristic Interpretation, 324-35.
8 tn The participles εἰσελθόντα (eiselqonta) and εἰπόντα (eiponta) are accusative, and thus best taken as adjectival participles modifying ἄγγελον (angelon): “an angel who came in and said.”
9 tn The translation “think seriously about” for διενθυμέομαι (dienqumeomai) is given in L&N 30.2. Peter was “pondering” the vision (BDAG 244 s.v.).
10 tn Grk “he went in to them”; the referent (the Jews in the synagogue) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 tn Although the word διελέξατο (dielexato; from διαλέγομαι, dialegomai) is frequently translated “reasoned,” “disputed,” or “argued,” this sense comes from its classical meaning where it was used of philosophical disputation, including the Socratic method of questions and answers. However, there does not seem to be contextual evidence for this kind of debate in Acts 17:2. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21.
12 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
13 tn Grk “So entering the synagogue, he spoke out fearlessly.” The participle εἰσελθών (eiselqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
14 sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.
15 tn Or “boldly.”
16 tn Although the word διελέξατο (dielexato; from διαλέγομαι, dialegomai) is frequently translated “reasoned,” “disputed,” or “argued,” this sense comes from its classical meaning where it was used of philosophical disputation, including the Socratic method of questions and answers. However, there does not seem to be contextual evidence for this kind of debate in Acts 19:8. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21.
17 tn Or “addressing them persuasively.” The two participles διαλεγόμενος and πείθων (dialegomeno" and peiqwn) can be understood as a hendiadys (so NIV, NRSV), thus, “addressing them persuasively.”
18 sn To talk about Jesus as the Christ who has come is to talk about the kingdom of God. This is yet another summary of the message like that in 18:28.
19 tn Or “be watchful.”
20 tn Or “admonishing.”
21 tn BDAG 62 s.v. ἀνάγω 4, “as a nautical t.t. (ἀ. τὴν ναῦν put a ship to sea), mid. or pass. ἀνάγεσθαι to begin to go by boat, put out to sea.”
22 tn Or “the ‘Twin Gods’”; Grk “the Dioscuri” (a joint name for the pagan deities Castor and Pollux).
sn That had the ‘Heavenly Twins’ as its figurehead. The twin brothers Castor and Pollux, known collectively as the Dioscuri or ‘Heavenly Twins,’ were the twin sons of Zeus and Leda according to Greek mythology. The Alexandrian ship on which Paul and his companions sailed from Malta had a carved emblem or figurehead of these figures, and they would have been the patron deities of the vessel. Castor and Pollux were the “gods of navigation.” To see their stars was considered a good omen (Epictetus, Discourses 2.18.29; Lucian of Samosata, The Ship 9).
23 tn Or “as its emblem.”
