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 16:1
Context16:1 He also came to Derbe 8 and to Lystra. 9 A disciple 10 named Timothy was there, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, 11 but whose father was a Greek. 12
Acts 16:3
Context16:3 Paul wanted Timothy 13 to accompany him, and he took 14 him and circumcised 15 him because of the Jews who were in those places, 16 for they all knew that his father was Greek. 17
Acts 21:37
Context21:37 As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, 18 he said 19 to the commanding officer, 20 “May I say 21 something to you?” The officer 22 replied, 23 “Do you know Greek? 24
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 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.
9 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.
10 tn Grk “And behold, a disciple.” Here ἰδού (idou) has not been translated.
11 tn L&N 31.103 translates this phrase “the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer.”
12 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.
13 tn Grk “this one”; the referent (Timothy) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
14 tn Grk “and taking him he circumcised him.” The participle λαβών (labwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. Paul’s cultural sensitivity showed in his action here. He did not want Timothy’s lack of circumcision to become an issue (1 Cor 9:15-23).
15 tn The verb περιέτεμεν (perietemen) here may be understood as causative (cf. ExSyn 411-12) if Paul did not personally perform the circumcision.
16 tn Or “who lived in the area.”
17 tn The anarthrous predicate nominative has been translated as qualitative (“Greek”) rather than indefinite (“a Greek”).
sn His father was Greek. Under Jewish law at least as early as the 2nd century, a person was considered Jewish if his or her mother was Jewish. It is not certain whether such a law was in effect in the 1st century, but even if it was, Timothy would not have been accepted as fully Jewish because he was not circumcised.
18 tn Or “the headquarters.” BDAG 775 s.v. παρεμβολή 2 has “barracks/headquarters of the Roman troops in Jerusalem Ac 21:34, 37; 22:24; 23:10, 16, 32.”
19 tn Grk “says” (a historical present).
20 tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers) See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 31.
21 tn Grk “Is it permitted for me to say” (an idiom).
22 tn Grk “He”; the referent (the officer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
23 tn Grk “said.”
24 sn “Do you know Greek?” Paul as an educated rabbi was bilingual. Paul’s request in Greek allowed the officer to recognize that Paul was not the violent insurrectionist he thought he had arrested (see following verse). The confusion of identities reveals the degree of confusion dominating these events.
