Acts 19:9–10

Footnotes

1. 26 ὡς 8.b lists this use as a temporal conjunction.
2. 27 Or “some became hardened.” See σκληρύνω b and Acts 7:51–53.
3. 28 Or “speaking evil of.” κακολογέω has “speak evil of, revile, insult … τὶ someth. τὴν ὁδόν the Way (i.e. Christian way of life) Ac 19:9.”
4. 29 The Way refers to the Christian movement (Christianity). Luke frequently refers to it as “the Way” (Acts 9:2; 18:25–26; 19:23; 22:4; 24:14, 22).
5. 30 Grk “leaving them, he took.” The participle ἀποστάς (apostas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
6. 31 The words “with him” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
7. 32 Although the word διελέξατο (dielexato; from διαλέγομαι, dialegomai) is frequently translated “reasoned,” “disputed,” or “argued,” this sense comes from its classical meaning where it was used of philosophical disputation, including the Socratic method of questions and answers. However, there does not seem to be contextual evidence for this kind of debate in Acts 19:9. As G. Schrenk ( 2:94–95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21.
8. 33 ῥμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase in this verse.
9. 34 The “lecture hall” was a place where teachers and pupils met. The term is a NT ( σχολή). L&N 7.14 notes, “it is better to use a translation such as ‘lecture hall’ rather than ‘school,’ since one does not wish to give the impression of the typical classroom situation characteristic of present-day schools.”
10. 35 Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia. The expression all who lived in the province of Asia is good Semitic hyperbole (see Col 1:7, “all the world”). The message was now available to the region.
11. 36 The word of the Lord is a technical expression in OT literature, often referring to a divine prophetic utterance (e.g., Gen 15:1, Isa 1:10, Jonah 1:1). In the NT it occurs 15 times: 3 times as ῥῆμα τοῦ κυρίου (rhēma tou kuriou; Luke 22:61, Acts 11:16, 1 Pet 1:25) and 12 times as λόγος τοῦ κυρίου (logos tou kuriou; here and in Acts 8:25; 13:44, 48, 49; 15:35, 36; 16:32; 19:20; 1 Thess 1:8, 4:15; 2 Thess 3:1). As in the OT, this phrase focuses on the prophetic nature and divine origin of what has been said.