Discovery BoxActs 21:3-7 
Context21:3 After we sighted Cyprus 1 and left it behind on our port side, 2 we sailed on to Syria and put in 3 at Tyre, 4 because the ship was to unload its cargo there. 21:4 After we located 5 the disciples, we stayed there 6 seven days. They repeatedly told 7 Paul through the Spirit 8 not to set foot 9 in Jerusalem. 10 21:5 When 11 our time was over, 12 we left and went on our way. All of them, with their wives and children, accompanied 13 us outside of the city. After 14 kneeling down on the beach and praying, 15 21:6 we said farewell 16 to one another. 17 Then 18 we went aboard the ship, and they returned to their own homes. 19 21:7 We continued the voyage from Tyre 20 and arrived at Ptolemais, 21 and when we had greeted the brothers, we stayed with them for one day.
1 sn Cyprus is a large island in the Mediterranean off the south coast of Asia Minor.
2 sn The expression left it behind on our port side here means “sailed past to the south of it” since the ship was sailing east.
3 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’…ἔις τι at someth. a harbor 18:22; 21:3; 27:5.”
4 sn Tyre was a city and seaport on the coast of Phoenicia. From Patara to Tyre was about 400 mi (640 km). It required a large cargo ship over 100 ft (30 m) long, and was a four to five day voyage.
map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
5 tn BDAG 78 s.v. ἀνευρίσκω has “look/search for (w. finding presupposed) τινά…τοὺς μαθητάς Ac 21:4.” The English verb “locate,” when used in reference to persons, has the implication of both looking for and finding someone. The participle ἀνευρόντες (aneuronte") has been taken temporally.
6 tn BDAG 154 s.v. αὐτοῦ states, “deictic adv. designating a position relatively near or far…there…Ac 21:4.”
7 tn The imperfect verb ἔλεγον (elegon) has been taken iteratively.
8 sn Although they told this to Paul through the Spirit, it appears Paul had a choice here (see v. 14). Therefore this amounted to a warning: There was risk in going to Jerusalem, so he was urged not to go.
9 tn BDAG 367 s.v. ἐπιβαίνω places Ac 21:4 under 1, “go up/upon, mount, board…πλοίῳ…Ac 27:2…Abs. go on board, embark…21:1 D, 2. – So perh. also ἐ. εἰς ᾿Ιεροσόλυμα embark for Jerusalem (i.e. to the seaport of Caesarea) vs. 4.” BDAG notes, however, “But this pass. may also belong to 2. to move to an area and be there, set foot in.” Because the message from the disciples to Paul through the Holy Spirit has the character of a warning, the latter meaning has been adopted for this translation.
10 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
11 tn Grk “It happened that when.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
12 tn Grk “When our days were over.” L&N 67.71 has “ὅτε δὲ ἐγένετο ἡμᾶς ἐξαρτίσαι τὰς ἡμέρας ‘when we brought that time to an end’ or ‘when our time with them was over’ Ac 21:5.”
13 tn Grk “accompanying.” Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation and the participle προπεμπόντων (propempontwn) translated as a finite verb.
14 tn Grk “city, and after.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.
15 sn On praying in Acts, see 1:14, 24; 2:47; 4:23; 6:6; 10:2; 12:5, 12; 13:3; 16:25.
16 tn BDAG 98 s.v. ἀπασπάζομαι has “take leave of, say farewell to τινά someone…ἀπησπασάμεθα ἀλλήλους we said farewell to one another Ac 21:6.”
17 sn These words are part of v. 5 in the standard critical Greek text.
18 tn Grk “and.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation, and καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.
19 tn Grk “to their own”; the word “homes” is implied.
20 sn Tyre was a city and seaport on the coast of Phoenicia.
21 sn Ptolemais was a seaport on the coast of Palestine about 30 mi (48 km) south of Tyre.
