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 8:1
Context8:1 And Saul agreed completely with killing 8 him.
Now on that day a great 9 persecution began 10 against the church in Jerusalem, 11 and all 12 except the apostles were forced to scatter throughout the regions 13 of Judea and Samaria.
Acts 13:50
Context13:50 But the Jews incited 14 the God-fearing women of high social standing and the prominent men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and threw them out 15 of their region.
Acts 19:16
Context19:16 Then the man who was possessed by 16 the evil spirit jumped on 17 them and beat them all into submission. 18 He prevailed 19 against them so that they fled from that house naked and wounded.
Acts 20:3
Context20:3 where he stayed 20 for three months. Because the Jews had made 21 a plot 22 against him as he was intending 23 to sail 24 for Syria, he decided 25 to return through Macedonia. 26
Acts 21:28
Context21:28 shouting, “Men of Israel, 27 help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people, our law, 28 and this sanctuary! 29 Furthermore 30 he has brought Greeks into the inner courts of the temple 31 and made this holy place ritually unclean!” 32
Acts 25:16
Context25:16 I answered them 33 that it was not the custom of the Romans to hand over anyone 34 before the accused had met his accusers face to face 35 and had been given 36 an opportunity to make a defense against the accusation. 37
Acts 26:14
Context26:14 When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, 38 ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? You are hurting yourself 39 by kicking against the goads.’ 40
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 term ἀναίρεσις (anairesi") can refer to murder (BDAG 64 s.v.; 2 Macc 5:13; Josephus, Ant. 5.2.12 [5.165]).
9 tn Or “severe.”
10 tn Grk “Now there happened on that day a great persecution.” It is less awkward to say in English “Now on that day a great persecution began.”
11 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
12 sn All. Given that the Jerusalem church is still active after this and that the Hellenists are the focus of Acts 6-8, it is possible to argue that only the Hellenistic Christians were forced to scatter.
13 tn Or “countryside.”
14 tn For the translation of παρώτρυναν (parwtrunan) as “incited” see BDAG 780 s.v. παροτρύνω.
15 tn BDAG 299 s.v. ἐκβάλλω 1 has “throw out.” Once again, many Jews reacted to the message (Acts 5:17, 33; 6:11; 13:45).
16 tn Grk “in whom the evil spirit was.”
17 tn Grk “the man in whom the evil spirit was, jumping on them.” The participle ἐφαλόμενος (efalomeno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. L&N 15.239 has “ἐφαλόμενος ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐπ᾿ αὐτούς ‘the man jumped on them’ Ac 19:16.”
18 tn Grk “and beating them all into submission.” The participle κατακυριεύσας (katakurieusa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. According to W. Foerster, TDNT 3:1098, the word means “the exercise of dominion against someone, i.e., to one’s own advantage.” These exorcists were shown to be powerless in comparison to Jesus who was working through Paul.
19 tn BDAG 484 s.v. ἰσχύω 3 has “win out, prevail…κατά τινος over, against someone Ac 19:16.”
20 tn BDAG 841 s.v. ποιέω 5.c, “w. an acc. of time spend, stay.”
21 tn The participle βενομένης (benomenh") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle. L&N 30.71 has “ἐπιβουλῆς αὐτῷ ὑπὸ τῶν ᾿Ιουδαίων ‘because the Jews had made a plot against him’ Ac 20:3.”
22 sn This plot is one of several noted by Luke (Acts 9:20; 20:19; 23:30).
23 tn BDAG 628 s.v. μέλλω 1.c.γ has “denoting an intended action: intend, propose, have in mind…Ac 17:31; 20:3, 7, 13ab; 23:15; 26:2; 27:30.”
24 tn BDAG 62 s.v. ἀνάγω 4 gives “put out to sea” here (as a nautical technical term). However, since the English expression “put out to sea” could be understood to mean Paul was already aboard the ship (which is not clear from the context), the simpler expression “sail” is used at this point in the translation.
25 tn BDAG 199 s.v. γίνομαι 7 has “ἐγένετο γνώμης he decided Ac 20:3.”
26 sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.
27 tn Or “Israelite men,” although this is less natural English. The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which only exceptionally is used in a generic sense of both males and females. In this context, it is conceivable that this is a generic usage since “the whole crowd” is mentioned in v. 27, although it can also be argued that these remarks were addressed primarily to the men present, even if women were there.
28 sn The law refers to the law of Moses.
29 tn Grk “this place.”
sn This sanctuary refers to the temple. The charges were not new, but were similar to those made against Stephen (Acts 6:14) and Jesus (Luke 23:2).
30 tn BDAG 400 s.v. ἔτι 2.b has “ἔ. δὲ καί furthermore…al. ἔ. τε καί…Lk 14:26; Ac 21:28.” This is a continuation of the same sentence in Greek, but due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, a new sentence was begun here in the translation.
31 tn Grk “into the temple.” The specific reference is to the Court of the Sons of Israel (see the note following the term “unclean” at the end of this verse). To avoid giving the modern reader the impression that they entered the temple building itself, the phrase “the inner courts of the temple” has been used in the translation.
32 tn Or “and has defiled this holy place.”
sn Has brought Greeks…unclean. Note how the issue is both religious and ethnic, showing a different attitude by the Jews. A Gentile was not permitted to enter the inner temple precincts (contrast Eph 2:11-22). According to Josephus (Ant. 15.11.5 [15.417]; J. W. 5.5.2 [5.193], cf. 5.5.6 [5.227]), the inner temple courts (the Court of the Women, the Court of the Sons of Israel, and the Court of the Priests) were raised slightly above the level of the Court of the Gentiles and were surrounded by a wall about 5 ft (1.5 m) high. Notices in both Greek and Latin (two of which have been discovered) warned that any Gentiles who ventured into the inner courts would be responsible for their own deaths. See also Philo, Embassy 31 (212). In m. Middot 2:3 this wall was called “soreq” and according to m. Sanhedrin 9:6 the stranger who trespassed beyond the soreq would die by the hand of God.
33 tn Grk “to whom I answered.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) has been replaced with a personal pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence started in the translation at the beginning of v. 16.
sn “I answered them.” In the answer that follows, Festus is portrayed in a more positive light, being sensitive to justice and Roman law.
34 tn Grk “any man.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpos).
35 tn Or “has met his accusers in person.”
36 tn Grk “and receives.”
37 tn Or “indictment” (a legal technical term). BDAG 273-74 s.v. ἔγκλημα 1 states, “legal t.t.…ἀπολογία περὶ τοῦ ἐ. defense against the accusation Ac 25:16.” L&N 56.6 defines ἔγκλημα (enklhma) as “(a technical, legal term) a formal indictment or accusation brought against someone – ‘indictment, accusation, case.’ …‘and might receive an opportunity for a defense against the indictment’ Ac 25:16.”
38 tn Grk “in the Hebrew language.” See Acts 22:7 and 9:4.
39 tn Grk “It is hard for you.”
40 tn “Goads” are pointed sticks used to direct a draft animal (an idiom for stubborn resistance). See BDAG 539-40 s.v. κέντρον 2.
sn Sayings which contain the imagery used here (kicking against the goads) were also found in Greek writings; see Pindar, Pythians 2.94-96; Euripides, Bacchae 795.
