Acts 18:12

Now while Gallio ¹  was proconsul ²  of Achaia, ³  the Jews attacked Paul together ⁴  and brought him before the judgment seat, ⁵ 

While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him into court.

But while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat,

But when Gallio became governor of Achaia, some Jews rose in concerted action against Paul and brought him before the governor for judgment.

But when Gallio was governor of Achaia province, the Jews got up a campaign against Paul, hauled him into court,

But when Gallio was ruler of Achaia, all the Jews together made an attack on Paul, and took him to the judge’s seat,

But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal.

When Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him to the judgment seat,

Now while Gallio ¹  was proconsul ²  of Achaia, ³  the Jews attacked Paul together ⁴  and brought him before the judgment seat, ⁵ 

¹ sn Gallio was proconsul of Achaia from a.d. 51-52. This date is one of the firmly established dates in Acts. Lucius Junius Gallio was the son of the rhetorician Seneca and the brother of Seneca the philosopher. The date of Gallio’s rule is established from an inscription (W. Dittenberger, ed., Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum 2.3 no. 8). Thus the event mentioned here is probably to be dated July-October a.d. 51.

² sn The proconsul was the Roman official who ruled over a province traditionally under the control of the Roman senate.

³ sn Achaia was a Roman province created in 146 b.c. that included the most important parts of Greece (Attica, Boeotia, and the Peloponnesus).

⁴ tn Grk “with one accord.”

⁵ 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), there is no need for an alternative translation here since the bema was a standard feature in Greco-Roman cities of the time.

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. So this was a very public event.