Discovery BoxActs 6:7 
Context6:7 The word of God continued to spread, 1 the number of disciples in Jerusalem 2 increased greatly, and a large group 3 of priests became obedient to the faith.
Acts 10:11
Context10:11 He 4 saw heaven 5 opened 6 and an object something like a large sheet 7 descending, 8 being let down to earth 9 by its four corners.
Acts 17:4
Context17:4 Some of them were persuaded 10 and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large group 11 of God-fearing Greeks 12 and quite a few 13 prominent women.
Acts 22:28
Context22:28 The commanding officer 14 answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” 15 “But I was even 16 born a citizen,” 17 Paul replied. 18
1 tn Grk “kept on spreading”; the verb has been translated as a progressive imperfect.
2 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
3 tn Grk “a great multitude.”
sn A large group. Many Jews, even some religious leaders, were responding.
4 tn Grk “And he.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.
5 tn Or “the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).
6 tn On the heavens “opening,” see Matt 3:16; Luke 3:21; Rev 19:11 (cf. BDAG 84 s.v. ἀνοίγω 2). This is the language of a vision or a revelatory act of God.
7 tn Or “a large linen cloth” (the term was used for the sail of a ship; BDAG 693 s.v. ὀθόνη).
8 tn Or “coming down.”
9 tn Or “to the ground.”
10 tn Or “convinced.”
11 tn Or “a large crowd.”
12 tn Or “of devout Greeks,” but this 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. Luke frequently mentions such people (Acts 13:43, 50; 16:14; 17:17; 18:7).
13 tn Grk “not a few”; this use of negation could be misleading to the modern English reader, however, and so has been translated as “quite a few” (which is the actual meaning of the expression).
14 tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.
15 sn Sometimes Roman citizenship was purchased through a bribe (Dio Cassius, Roman History 60.17.4-9). That may well have been the case here.
16 tn BDAG 495-96 s.v. καί 2.b has “intensive: even…Ac 5:39; 22:28.”
17 tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.
sn Paul’s reference to being born a citizen suggests he inherited his Roman citizenship from his family.
18 tn Grk “Paul said.” This phrase has been placed at the end of the sentence in the translation for stylistic reasons.
