The Church at Antioch Commissions Barnabas and Saul
13:1 Now there were these prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch:1 Barnabas, Simeon called Niger,2 Lucius the Cyrenian,3 Manaen (a close friend of Herod4 the tetrarch5 from childhood6) and Saul.
snSimeon may well have been from North Africa, since the Latin loanword Niger refers to someone as “dark-complexioned.”
3
snThe Cyrenian refers to a native of the city of Cyrene, on the coast of northern Africa west of Egypt.
4
snHerod is generally taken as a reference to Herod Antipas, who governed Galilee from 4 b.c. to a.d. 39, who had John the Baptist beheaded, and who is mentioned a number of times in the gospels.
sn A tetrarch was a ruler with rank and authority lower than a king, who ruled only with the approval of the Roman authorities. This was roughly equivalent to being governor of a region. Several times in the NT, Herod tetrarch of Galilee is called a king (Matt 14:9, Mark 6:14–29), reflecting popular usage.
6
tn Or “(a foster brother of Herod the tetrarch).” The meaning “close friend from childhood” is given by L&N 34.15, but the word can also mean “foster brother” (L&N 10.51). BDAG976s.v.σύντροφας states, “pert. to being brought up with someone, either as a foster-brother or as a companion/friend,” which covers both alternatives. Context does not given enough information to be certain which is the case here, although many modern translations prefer the meaning “close friend from childhood.”