Discovery BoxActs 6:1 
Context6:1 Now in those 1 days, when the disciples were growing in number, 2 a complaint arose on the part of the Greek-speaking Jews 3 against the native Hebraic Jews, 4 because their widows 5 were being overlooked 6 in the daily distribution of food. 7
Acts 14:17
Context14:17 yet he did not leave himself without a witness by doing good, 8 by giving you rain from heaven 9 and fruitful seasons, satisfying you 10 with food and your hearts with joy.” 11
Acts 16:34
Context16:34 The jailer 12 brought them into his house and set food 13 before them, and he rejoiced greatly 14 that he had come to believe 15 in God, together with his entire household. 16
1 tn Grk “these.” The translation uses “those” for stylistic reasons.
2 tn Grk “were multiplying.”
3 tn Grk “the Hellenists,” but this descriptive term is largely unknown to the modern English reader. The translation “Greek-speaking Jews” attempts to convey something of who these were, but it was more than a matter of language spoken; it involved a degree of adoption of Greek culture as well.
sn The Greek-speaking Jews were the Hellenists, Jews who to a greater or lesser extent had adopted Greek thought, customs, and lifestyle, as well as the Greek language. The city of Alexandria in Egypt was a focal point for them, but they were scattered throughout the Roman Empire.
4 tn Grk “against the Hebrews,” but as with “Hellenists” this needs further explanation for the modern reader.
5 sn The care of widows is a major biblical theme: Deut 10:18; 16:11, 14; 24:17, 19-21; 26:12-13; 27:19; Isa 1:17-23; Jer 7:6; Mal 3:5.
6 tn Or “neglected.”
7 tn Grk “in the daily serving.”
sn The daily distribution of food. The early church saw it as a responsibility to meet the basic needs of people in their group.
8 tn The participle ἀγαθουργῶν (agaqourgwn) is regarded as indicating means here, parallel to the following participles διδούς (didou") and ἐμπιπλῶν (empiplwn). This is the easiest way to understand the Greek structure. Semantically, the first participle is a general statement, followed by two participles giving specific examples of doing good.
9 tn Or “from the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).
10 tn Grk “satisfying [filling] your hearts with food and joy.” This is an idiomatic expression; it strikes the English reader as strange to speak of “filling one’s heart with food.” Thus the additional direct object “you” has been supplied, separating the two expressions somewhat: “satisfying you with food and your hearts with joy.”
11 sn God’s general sovereignty and gracious care in the creation are the way Paul introduces the theme of the goodness of God. He was trying to establish monotheism here. It is an OT theme (Gen 8:22; Ps 4:7; 145:15-16; 147:8-9; Isa 25:6; Jer 5:24) which also appears in the NT (Luke 12:22-34).
12 tn Grk “He”; the referent (the jailer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
13 tn Grk “placed [food] on the table” (a figurative expression). Since the actual word for food is not specified, it would also be possible to translate “set a meal before them,” but since this is taking place in the middle of the night, the preparations necessary for a full meal would probably not have been made. More likely Paul and Silas were given whatever was on hand that needed little or no preparation.
14 tn Or “he was overjoyed.”
15 tn The translation “come to believe” reflects more of the resultative nuance of the perfect tense here.
16 tn The phrase “together with his entire household” is placed at the end of the English sentence so that it refers to both the rejoicing and the belief. A formal equivalence translation would have “and he rejoiced greatly with his entire household that he had come to believe in God,” but the reference to the entire household being baptized in v. 33 presumes that all in the household believed.
