Discovery BoxActs 8:40 
Context8:40 Philip, however, found himself 1 at Azotus, 2 and as he passed through the area, 3 he proclaimed the good news 4 to all the towns 5 until he came to Caesarea. 6
Acts 10:24
Context10:24 The following day 7 he entered Caesarea. 8 Now Cornelius was waiting anxiously 9 for them and had called together his relatives and close friends.
Acts 18:22
Context18:22 and when he arrived 10 at Caesarea, 11 he went up and greeted 12 the church at Jerusalem 13 and then went down to Antioch. 14
Acts 21:8
Context21:8 On the next day we left 15 and came to Caesarea, 16 and entered 17 the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, 18 and stayed with him.
Acts 12:19
Context12:19 When Herod 19 had searched 20 for him and did not find him, he questioned 21 the guards and commanded that they be led away to execution. 22 Then 23 Herod 24 went down from Judea to Caesarea 25 and stayed there.
Acts 21:16
Context21:16 Some of the disciples from Caesarea 26 came along with us too, and brought us to the house 27 of Mnason of Cyprus, a disciple from the earliest times, 28 with whom we were to stay.
Acts 23:23
Context23:23 Then 29 he summoned 30 two of the centurions 31 and said, “Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea 32 along with seventy horsemen 33 and two hundred spearmen 34 by 35 nine o’clock tonight, 36
Acts 25:6
Context25:6 After Festus 37 had stayed 38 not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea, 39 and the next day he sat 40 on the judgment seat 41 and ordered Paul to be brought.
1 tn Or “appeared.”
2 sn Azotus was a city on the coast of southern Palestine, known as Ashdod in OT times.
3 tn The words “the area” are not in the Greek text but are implied.
4 tn Or “he preached the gospel.”
5 tn Or “cities.”
6 sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1.
map For location see Map2 C1; Map4 B3; Map5 F2; Map7 A1; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
7 tn Grk “On the next day,” but since this phrase has already occurred in v. 23, it would be redundant in English to use it again here.
8 sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi).
map For location see Map2 C1; Map4 B3; Map5 F2; Map7 A1; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
9 tn Normally προσδοκάω (prosdokaw) means “to wait with apprehension or anxiety for something,” often with the implication of impending danger or trouble (L&N 25.228), but in this context the anxiety Cornelius would have felt came from the importance of the forthcoming message as announced by the angel.
10 tn BDAG 531 s.v. κατέρχομαι 2 states, “arrive, put in, nautical t.t. of ships and those who sail in them, who ‘come down’ fr. the ‘high seas’…εἴς τι at someth. a harbor Ac 18:22; 21:3; 27:5.”
11 sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1. This was a sea voyage of 620 mi (990 km).
map For location see Map2 C1; Map4 B3; Map5 F2; Map7 A1; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
12 tn Grk “going up and greeting.” The participles ἀναβάς (anabas) and ἀσπασάμενος (aspasameno") are translated as finite verbs due to requirements of contemporary English style.
13 tn The words “at Jerusalem” are not in the Greek text, but are implied by the participle ἀναβάς (anabas). The expression “go up” refers almost exclusively to the direction of Jerusalem, while the corresponding “go down” (κατέβη, katebh) refers to directions away from Jerusalem. Both expressions are based on a Hebrew idiom. Assuming Jerusalem is meant, this is another indication of keeping that key church informed. If Jerusalem is not referred to here, then Caesarea is in view. Paul was trying to honor a vow, which also implies a visit to Jerusalem.
map For the location of Jerusalem see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
14 sn Went down to Antioch. The city of Antioch in Syria lies due north of Jerusalem. In Western languages it is common to speak of north as “up” and south as “down,” but the NT maintains the Hebrew idiom which speaks of any direction away from Jerusalem as down (since Mount Zion was thought of in terms of altitude). This marks the end of the second missionary journey which began in Acts 15:36. From Caesarea to Antioch is a journey of 280 mi (450 km).
map For location see JP1 F2; JP2 F2; JP3 F2; JP4 F2.
15 tn Grk “On the next day leaving, we came.” The participle ἐξελθόντες (exelqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
16 sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1. This was another 40 mi (65 km).
map For location see Map2 C1; Map4 B3; Map5 F2; Map7 A1; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
17 tn Grk “and entering…we stayed.” The participle εἰσελθόντες (eiselqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
18 sn Philip was one of the seven deacons appointed in the Jerusalem church (Acts 6:1-7).
19 sn King Herod was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod I (Herod the Great).
20 tn Or “had instigated a search” (Herod would have ordered the search rather than conducting it himself).
21 tn “Questioned” is used to translate ἀνακρίνας (anakrina") here because a possible translation offered by BDAG 66 s.v. ἀνακρίνω for this verse is “examined,” which could be understood to mean Herod inspected the guards rather than questioned them. The translation used by the NIV, “cross-examined,” also avoids this possible misunderstanding.
22 tn The meaning “led away to execution” for ἀπαχθῆναι (apacqhnai) in this verse is given by BDAG 95 s.v. ἀπάγω 2.c. Although an explicit reference to execution is lacking here, it is what would usually occur in such a case (Acts 16:27; 27:42; Code of Justinian 9.4.4). “Led away to torture” is a less likely option (Pliny the Younger, Letters 10, 96, 8).
23 tn Grk “and,” but the sequence of events is better expressed in English by “then.” A new sentence is begun in the translation because of the length of the sentence in Greek, which exceeds normal English sentence length.
24 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Since Herod has been the subject of the preceding material, and the circumstances of his death are the subject of the following verses (20-23), it is best to understand Herod as the subject here. This is especially true since according to Josephus, Ant. 19.8.2 [19.343-352], Herod Agrippa I died at Caesarea in
sn King Herod was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod I (Herod the Great), who died at Caesarea in
25 sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1.
map For location see Map2 C1; Map4 B3; Map5 F2; Map7 A1; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
26 sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1.
map For location see Map2 C1; Map4 B3; Map5 F2; Map7 A1; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
27 tn Grk “to Mnason…”; the words “the house of” are not in the Greek text, but are implied by the verb ξενισθῶμεν (xenisqwmen).
28 tn Or perhaps, “Mnason of Cyprus, one of the original disciples.” BDAG 137 s.v. ἀρχαῖος 1 has “ἀ. μαθητής a disciple of long standing (perh. original disc.) Ac 21:16.”
29 tn Grk “And.” Since this represents a response to the reported ambush, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.
30 tn Grk “summoning…he said.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
31 sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.
32 sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1. This was a journey of about 65 mi (just over 100 km).
map For location see Map2 C1; Map4 B3; Map5 F2; Map7 A1; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
33 tn Or “cavalrymen.”
34 tn A military technical term of uncertain meaning. BDAG 217 s.v. δεξιολάβος states, “a word of uncertain mng., military t.t., acc. to Joannes Lydus…and Theophyl. Sim., Hist. 4, 1 a light-armed soldier, perh. bowman, slinger; acc. to a scholion in CMatthaei p. 342 body-guard….Spearman Goodspd., NRSV; ‘security officer’, GDKilpatrick, JTS 14, ’63, 393f.”
sn Two hundred soldiers…along with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen. The resulting force assembled to guard Paul was almost a full cohort. The Roman commander was taking no chances, but was sending the issue up the chain of command to the procurator to decide.
35 tn Grk “from.”
36 tn Grk “from the third hour of the night.”
37 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Festus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
38 tn Grk “Having stayed.” The participle διατρίψας (diatriya") has been taken temporally.
39 sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1.
map For location see Map2 C1; Map4 B3; Map5 F2; Map7 A1; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
40 tn Grk “sitting down…he ordered.” The participle καθίσας (kaqisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
41 tn Although BDAG 175 s.v. βῆμα 3 gives the meaning “tribunal” for this verse, and a number of modern translations use similar terms (“court,” NIV; “tribunal,” NRSV), since the bhma was a standard feature in Greco-Roman cities of the time, there is no need for an alternative translation here.
sn The judgment seat (βῆμα, bhma) was a raised platform mounted by steps and sometimes furnished with a seat, used by officials in addressing an assembly or making pronouncements, often on judicial matters. The judgment seat was a familiar item in Greco-Roman culture, often located in the agora, the public square or marketplace in the center of a city.
