² tn Heb “great is my punishment from bearing.” The preposition מִן (min, “from”) is used here in a comparative sense.

² tn Or “This man is what is called the Great Power of God.” The translation “what is called the Great Power of God” is given by BDAG 263 s.v. δύναμις 5, but the repetition of the article before καλουμένη μεγάλη (kaloumenē megalē) suggests the translation “the power of God that is called ‘Great.’”

² sn This is an allusion to the well-known statement, “The Lord is slow to anger but great in mercy” (Exod 34:6; Num 14:18; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2; Ps 103:8; Neh 9:17). Nahum subtly modifies this by substituting “great in mercy” with “great in power.” God’s patience at the time of Jonah (Jonah 4:2) one century earlier (ca. 750 b.c.), had run out. Nineveh had exhausted the “great mercy” of God and now would experience the “great power” of God.

² tn That is, “who means a great deal to me”; Grk “whom I have sent to you, him, this one is my heart.”

¹ tn BDAG 980 s.v. σφόδρῶς states, “very much, greatly, violently…σφ. χειμάζεσθαι be violently beaten by a storm Ac 27:18.”

² sn Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp. The “royals” were getting their look at Paul. Everyone who was anyone would have been there.

³ tn That is, in both numbers and in power. The implication of greatness in both numbers and in power is found in BDAG 1046 s.v. ὑψόω 2.

¹ tn Or “was greatly confused over.” The term means to be perplexed or at a loss (BDAG 235 s.v. διαπορέω).

¹ sn The ignorance Peter mentions here does not excuse them from culpability. It was simply a way to say “you did not realize the great mistake you made.”

¹ sn Everyone who has will be given more. Again, faithfulness yields great reward (see Luke 8:18; also Matt 13:12; Mark 4:25).

¹ sn Purple describes a fine, expensive dye used on luxurious clothing, and by metonymy, refers to clothing colored with that dye. It pictures someone of great wealth.

⁵ sn This beatitude highlights the great honor bestowed on the disciples to share in this salvation, as v. 20 also noted. See also Luke 2:30.

³ tn Grk “among you all, this one is great.” The absence of a comparative term here makes the point that comparison should not be done.

⁶ tn Or “suffered greatly in a dream.” See the discussion on the construction κατ᾿ ὄναρ (kat’ onar) in BDAG 710 s.v. ὄναρ.

⁴ sn There was a tradition in Judaism that the Son of David (Solomon) had great powers of healing (Josephus, Ant. 8.2.5 [8.42-49]).

³ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. Herod the Great was particularly ruthless regarding the succession to his throne.

² sn The great deep, which is to be equated with the sea (vv. 8, 15), is a symbol of chaos and represents the Lord’s enemies.

⁵ tn Heb “he rejoiced with great joy.” The cognate accusative construction repeats the verb and noun of the consonantal root שׂמח (smkh, “rejoice”) for emphasis; it means, “he rejoiced with great joy,” or, “he was greatly delighted” (see IBHS 167 §10.2.1g). This cognate accusative construction ironically mirrors the identical syntax of v. 1: “he was angry with great anger.” The narrator repeated this construction to emphasize the contrast between Jonah’s anger that Nineveh was spared and his joy that his discomfort was relieved.

¹ sn This well-fortified city is apparently Sidon. Its capture from the Ptolemies by Antiochus the Great was a strategic victory for the Seleucid kingdom.

⁴ sn The referent of the great sea is unclear. The common view that the expression refers to the Mediterranean Sea is conjectural.