Acts 11:19–30

Activity in the Church at Antioch

11:19 Now those who had been scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen40 went as far as41 Phoenicia,42 Cyprus,43 and Antioch,44 speaking the message45 to no one but Jews. 11:20 But there were some men from Cyprus46 and Cyrene47 among them who came48 to Antioch49 and began to speak to the Greeks50 too, proclaiming the good news of the Lord Jesus. 11:21 The51 hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed52 turned53 to the Lord. 11:22 A report54 about them came to the attention55 of the church in Jerusalem,56 and they sent Barnabas57 to Antioch.58 11:23 When59 he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain true60 to the Lord with devoted hearts,61 11:24 because he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and a significant number of people62 were brought to the Lord. 11:25 Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to look for Saul, 11:26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch.63 So64 for a whole year Barnabas and Saul65 met with the church and taught a significant number of people.66 Now it was in Antioch67 that the disciples were first called Christians.68

Famine Relief for Judea

11:27 At that time69 some70 prophets71 came down72 from Jerusalem73 to Antioch.74 11:28 One of them, named Agabus, got up75 and predicted76 by the Spirit that a severe77 famine78 was about to come over the whole inhabited world.79 (This80 took place during the reign of Claudius.)81 11:29 So the disciples, each in accordance with his financial ability,82 decided83 to send relief84 to the brothers living in Judea. 11:30 They did so,85 sending their financial aid86 to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.

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40	sn The phrase over Stephen means in connection with Stephen’s death. See Acts 8:1b–3.
41	tn Or “finally reached.” The translations “went as far as” and “finally reached” for διῆλθον (diēlthon) in this verse are given in L&N 15.17.
42	sn Phoenicia was an area along the Mediterranean coast north of Palestine.
43	tn Grk “and Cyprus,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more. sn Cyprus was a large island in the Mediterranean off the south coast of Asia Minor.
44	sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). This was probably the third largest city in the Greco-Roman world (Alexandria in Egypt was the second largest, and Rome the largest) and was the seat of government in Syria. Five miles away was a major temple to Artemis, Apollo, and Astarte, major pagan deities. map For location see JP1-F2; JP2-F2; JP3-F2; JP4-F2.
45	tn Grk “word.”
46	sn Cyprus was a large island in the Mediterranean off the south coast of Asia Minor.
47	sn Cyrene was a city on the northern African coast west of Egypt.
48	tn Grk “among them, coming to Antioch began to speak.” The participle ἐλθόντες (elthontes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
49	sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19.
50	sn The statement that some men from Cyprus and Cyrene … began to speak to the Greeks shows that Peter’s experience of reaching out to the Gentiles was not unique.
51	tn Grk “And the.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
52	tn The participle πιστεύσας (pisteusas) is articular and thus cannot be adverbial. It is adjectival, modifying ἀριθμός (arithmos), but has been translated into English as a relative clause (“who believed”).
53	sn Again, the expression turned is a summary term for responding to the gospel.
54	tn Grk “Word.”
55	tn Grk “was heard in the ears,” an idiom. L&N 24.67 states that the idiom means “to hear in secret” (which it certainly does in Matt 10:27), but secrecy does not seem to be part of the context here, and there is no particular reason to suggest the report was made in secret.
56	map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
57	tc ‡ Most mss read the infinitive “to travel” after “Barnabas.” διελθεῖν (dielthein) is found before ἕως (heōs) in D E Ψ 33 𝔐 and some versional mss. It is lacking in 𝔓74 א A B 81 1739 pc and some versional mss. Although the infinitive with ἕως fits Lukan style, it has the appearance of a scribal clarification. The infinitive has the earmarks of a Western expansion on the text and thus is unlikely to be original. NA 27 has the infinitive in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.
58	sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19. Again the Jerusalem church exercised an oversight role.
59	tn Grk “Antioch, who when.” The relative pronoun was omitted and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek.
60	tn BDAG 883 s.v. προσμένω 1.a.β has “remain true to the Lord” for προσμένειν (prosmenein) in this verse. sn He … encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord. The call to faithfulness is frequent in Acts (2:40; 14:22; 15:32; 16:39; 20:1–2).
61	tn Grk “with purpose of heart”; BDAG 869 s.v. πρόθεσις 2.a translates this phrase “purpose of heart, i.e. devotion” here.
62	tn Grk “a significant crowd.”
63	sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19.
64	tn Grk “So it happened that” 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.
65	tn Grk “year they”; the referents (Barnabas and Saul) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
66	tn Grk “a significant crowd.”
67	sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19.
68	sn The term Christians appears only here, in Acts 26:28, and 1 Pet 4:16 in the NT.
69	tn Grk “In these days,” but the dative generally indicates a specific time.
70	tn The word “some” is not in the Greek text, but is usually used in English when an unspecified number is mentioned.
71	sn Prophets are mentioned only here and in 13:1 and 21:10 in Acts.
72	sn Came down from Jerusalem. Antioch in Syria lies due north of Jerusalem. In Western languages it is common to speak of north as “up” and south as “down,” but the NT maintains the Hebrew idiom which speaks of any direction away from Jerusalem as down (since Mount Zion was thought of in terms of altitude).
73	map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
74	sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19. map For location see JP1-F2; JP2-F2; JP3-F2; JP4-F2
75	tn Grk “getting up, predicted.” The participle ἀναστάς (anastas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
76	tn Or “made clear”; Grk “indicated beforehand” (BDAG 920 s.v. σημαίνω 2).
77	tn Grk “great.”
78	sn This famine is one of the firmly fixed dates in Acts. It took place from a.d. 45–48. The events described in chap. 11 of Acts occurred during the early part of that period.
79	tn Or “whole Roman Empire.” While the word οἰκουμένη (oikoumenē) does occasionally refer specifically to the Roman Empire, BDAG 699 s.v. οἰκουνένη 2 does not list this passage (only Acts 24:5 and 17:6).
80	tn Grk “world, which.” The relative pronoun (“which”) was replaced by the demonstrative pronoun “this” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek.
81	sn This is best taken as a parenthetical note by the author. Claudius was the Roman emperor Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus, known as Claudius, who ruled from a.d. 41–54.
82	tn So BDAG 410 s.v. εὐπορέω.
83	tn Or “determined,” “resolved.”
84	tn Grk “to send [something] for a ministry,” but today it is common to speak of sending relief for victims of natural disasters. sn The financial relief reflects the oneness of the church, meeting the needs of another (even racially distinct) community. Jerusalem, having ministered to them, now received ministry back. A later collection from Greece is noted in Rom 15:25–27, but it reflects the same spirit as this gift.
85	tn Grk “Judea, which they did.” The relative pronoun was omitted and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek.
86	tn The words “their financial aid” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

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