⁴ tn In popular usage the term translated “Greece” here could also refer to the Roman province officially known as Achaia (BDAG 318 s.v. ῾Ελλάς).

¹ tn Aram “those men”; the referent (the administrative officials who had earlier approached the king about the edict) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² sn The phrase officials of the people occurs in Neh 11:1; 1 Chr 21:2; 2 Chr 24:23.

² sn Jehucal was one of the officials who later sought to have Jeremiah put to death for what they considered treason (38:1-4).

² tn Heb “house” or “household.” It is clear from 22:1-6 that this involved the king, the royal family, and the court officials.

³ sn The people refer to various Assyrian officials who were responsible for determining the amount of taxation or tribute Judah must pay to the Assyrian king.

² sn The word translated “skilled” is general enough to apply to any craft, but it may refer to a scribe or an official (R. N. Whybray, Proverbs [CBC], 134).

² tn Heb “on the lips.” The term “lips” is a metonymy of cause referring to what the king says—no doubt what he says officially.

² tn Heb “took an oath from them”; the referents (the wealthy and the officials, cf. v. 7) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹ tn Heb “and when the envoys of the officials of Babylon, who sent to him to inquire concerning the sign which was in the land, [arrived].”

¹ tn Heb “these [were] the officials of the governors who belonged to the king, Solomon, 250, the ones ruling over the people.”

¹ tn Or perhaps “struck down the Philistine official.” See the note at 1 Sam 10:5. Cf. TEV “killed the Philistine commander.”

² tn The Greek has “scribes” for this word, perhaps thinking of those lesser officials as keeping records of the slaves and the bricks.

³ tn Many modern translations render the Hebrew term מֵרֵעַ (mereaʾ) as “councillor” or “adviser,” but the term may not designate an official position but simply a close personal friend.

¹ tn Grk “we ourselves had the sentence of death within ourselves.” Here ἀπόκριμα (apokrima) is being used figuratively; no actual official verdict had been given, but in light of all the difficulties that Paul and his colleagues had suffered, it seemed to them as though such an official verdict had been rendered against them (L&N 56.26).

² tn L&N 37.93 defines πολιτάρχης (politarchēs) as “a public official responsible for administrative matters within a town or city and a member of the ruling council of such a political unit—‘city official’” (see also BDAG 845 s.v.).

¹ tn Grk “They troubled the crowd and the city officials,” but this could be understood to mean “they bothered” or “they annoyed.” In reality the Jewish instigators managed to instill doubt and confusion into both the mob and the officials by their false charges of treason. Verse 8 suggests the charges raised again Paul, Silas, Jason, and the others were false.

¹ tn Heb “I will restore your judges as in the beginning, and your counselors as in the beginning.” In this context, where social injustice and legal corruption are denounced (see v. 23), the “judges” are probably government officials responsible for making legal decisions, while the “advisers” are probably officials who helped the king establish policies. Both offices are also mentioned in 3:2.

¹ sn Mordecai’s position in the service of the king brought him into regular contact with these royal officials. Because of this association the officials would have found ample opportunity to complain of Mordecai’s refusal to honor Haman by bowing down before him.

² tn The noun טַפְסְרַיִךְ (tafs^erayikh, “your scribes”) from טִפְסָר (tifsar, “scribe, marshal”) is a loanword from Assyrian tupsarru and Sumerian DUB.SAR (“tablet-writer; scribe; official”); see BDB 381 s.v. טִפְסָר; HALOT 379 s.v. This term is also attested in Ugaritic tupsarru and in Phoenician dpsr. As in Jer 51:27, it is used of military and administrative officials. This term designated military officials who recorded the names of recruits and the military activities of Assyrian kings (see P. Machinist, “Assyria and its Image in the First Isaiah,” JAOS 103 [1983]: 736).