Discovery BoxActs 5:34 
Context5:34 But a Pharisee 1 whose name was Gamaliel, 2 a teacher of the law who was respected by all the people, stood up 3 in the council 4 and ordered the men to be put outside for a short time.
Acts 7:52
Context7:52 Which of the prophets did your ancestors 5 not persecute? 6 They 7 killed those who foretold long ago the coming of the Righteous One, 8 whose betrayers and murderers you have now become! 9
Acts 16:1
Context16:1 He also came to Derbe 10 and to Lystra. 11 A disciple 12 named Timothy was there, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, 13 but whose father was a Greek. 14
Acts 18:7
Context18:7 Then Paul 15 left 16 the synagogue 17 and went to the house of a person named Titius Justus, a Gentile who worshiped God, 18 whose house was next door to the synagogue.
1 sn A Pharisee was a member of one of the most important and influential religious and political parties of Judaism in the time of Jesus. There were more Pharisees than Sadducees (according to Josephus, Ant. 17.2.4 [17.42] there were more than 6,000 Pharisees at about this time). Pharisees differed with Sadducees on certain doctrines and patterns of behavior. The Pharisees were strict and zealous adherents to the laws of the OT and to numerous additional traditions such as angels and bodily resurrection.
2 sn Gamaliel was a famous Jewish scholar and teacher mentioned here in v. 34 and in Acts 22:3. He had a grandson of the same name and is referred to as “Gamaliel the Elder” to avoid confusion. He is quoted a number of times in the Mishnah, was given the highest possible title for Jewish teachers, Rabba (cf. John 20:16), and was highly regarded in later rabbinic tradition.
3 tn Grk “standing up in the council, ordered.” The participle ἀναστάς (anasta") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
4 tn Or “the Sanhedrin” (the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).
5 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
6 sn Which…persecute. The rhetorical question suggests they persecuted them all.
7 tn Grk “And they.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
8 sn The Righteous One is a reference to Jesus Christ.
9 sn Whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. The harsh critique has OT precedent (1 Kgs 19:10-14; Neh 9:26; 2 Chr 36:16).
10 sn Derbe was a city in Lycaonia about 35 mi (60 km) southeast of Lystra. It was about 90 mi (145 km) from Tarsus.
map For location see JP1 E2; JP2 E2; JP3 E2.
11 sn Lystra was a city in Lycaonia about 25 mi (40 km) south of Iconium.
map For location see JP1 E2; JP2 E2; JP3 E2.
12 tn Grk “And behold, a disciple.” Here ἰδού (idou) has not been translated.
13 tn L&N 31.103 translates this phrase “the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer.”
14 sn His father was a Greek. Timothy was the offspring of a mixed marriage between a Jewish woman (see 2 Tim 1:5) and a Gentile man. On mixed marriages in Judaism, see Neh 13:23-27; Ezra 9:1-10:44; Mal 2:10-16; Jub. 30:7-17; m. Qiddushin 3.12; m. Yevamot 7.5.
15 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
16 tn Grk “Then leaving from there he went.” The participle μεταβάς (metabas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
17 tn Grk “from there”; the referent (the synagogue) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
18 tn Grk “a worshiper of God.” The clarifying phrase “a Gentile” has been supplied for clarity, and is indicated by the context, since Paul had parted company with the Jews in the previous verse. The participle σεβομένου (sebomenou) is practically a technical term for the category called God-fearers, Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel and in many cases kept the Mosaic law, but did not take the final step of circumcision necessary to become a proselyte to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 743-44.
sn Here yet another Gentile is presented as responsive to Paul’s message in Acts.
