Discovery BoxActs 3:12-13 
Context3:12 When Peter saw this, he declared to the people, “Men of Israel, 1 why are you amazed at this? Why 2 do you stare at us as if we had made this man 3 walk by our own power or piety? 3:13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 4 the God of our forefathers, 5 has glorified 6 his servant 7 Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected 8 in the presence of Pilate after he had decided 9 to release him.
1 tn Or perhaps “People of Israel,” since this was taking place in Solomon’s Portico and women may have been present. The Greek ἄνδρες ᾿Ισραηλῖται (andre" Israhlitai) used in the plural would normally mean “men, gentlemen” (BDAG 79 s.v. ἀνήρ 1.a).
2 tn Grk “or why.”
3 tn Grk “him”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 tc ‡ The repetition of ὁ θεός (Jo qeos, “God”) before the names of Isaac and Jacob is found in Ì74 א C (A D without article) 36 104 1175 pc lat. The omission of the second and third ὁ θεός is supported by B E Ψ 33 1739 Ï pc. The other time that Exod 3:6 is quoted in Acts (7:32) the best witnesses also lack the repeated ὁ θεός, but the three other times this OT passage is quoted in the NT the full form, with the thrice-mentioned θεός, is used (Matt 22:32; Mark 12:26; Luke 20:37). Scribes would be prone to conform the wording here to the LXX; the longer reading is thus most likely not authentic. NA27 has the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.
5 tn Or “ancestors”; Grk “fathers.”
sn The reference to the God of the patriarchs is a reminder that God is the God of the nation and of promises. The phrase God of our forefathers is from the Hebrew scriptures (Exod 3:6, 15-16; 4:5; see also the Jewish prayer known as “The Eighteen Benedictions”). Once again, event has led to explanation, or what is called the “sign and speech” pattern.
6 sn Has glorified. Jesus is alive, raised and active, as the healing illustrates so dramatically how God honors him.
7 sn His servant. The term servant has messianic connotations given the context of the promise, the note of suffering, and the titles and functions noted in vv. 14-15.
8 tn Or “denied,” “disowned.”
9 tn This genitive absolute construction could be understood as temporal (“when he had decided”) or concessive (“although he had decided”).
