Acts 21:1–18

Footnotes

1. 1 Grk “It happened that when.” 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. Since the action described by the participle ἀποσπασθέντας (apospasthentas, “tearing ourselves away”) is prior to the departure of the ship, it has been translated as antecedent action (“after”).
2. 2 This marks the beginning of another “we” section in Acts. These have been traditionally understood to mean that Luke was in the company of Paul for this part of the journey.
3. 3 ἀποσπάω 2.b has “pass. in mid. sense ἀ. ἀπό τινος tear oneself away Ac 21:1”; gives several illustrations of this verb meaning “to tear or drag away from.”
4. 4 ἀνάγω 4, “as a nautical t.t. (ἀ. τὴν ναῦν put a ship to sea), mid. or pass. ἀνάγεσθαι to begin to go by boat, put out to sea.”
5. 5 BDAG 406 εὐθυδρομέω has “of a ship run a straight course”; L&N 54.3 has “to sail a straight course, sail straight to.”
6. 6 Cos was an island in the Aegean Sea.
7. 7 Rhodes was an island off the southwestern coast of Asia Minor.
8. 8 Patara was a city in Lycia on the southwestern coast of Asia Minor. The entire journey was about 185 mi (295 km).
9. 9 Grk “and finding.” The participle εὑρόντες (heurontes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun in the translation.
10. 10 Phoenicia was the name of an area along the Mediterranean coast north of Palestine.
11. 11 Grk “going aboard, we put out to sea.” The participle ἐπιβάντες (epibantes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
12. 12 ἀνάγω 4, “as a nautical t.t. (ἀ. τὴν ναῦν put a ship to sea), mid. or pass. ἀνάγεσθαι to begin to go by boat, put out to sea.”
13. 13 Cyprus is a large island in the Mediterranean off the south coast of Asia Minor.
14. 14 The expression left it behind on our port side here means “sailed past to the south of it” since the ship was sailing east.
15. 15 κατέρχομαι 2 states, “arrive, put in, nautical t.t. of ships and those who sail in them, who ‘come down’ fr. the ‘high seas’ … ἔις τι at someth. a harbor 18:22; 21:3; 27:5.”
16. 16 Tyre was a city and seaport on the coast of Phoenicia. From Patara to Tyre was about 400 mi (640 km). It required a large cargo ship over 100 ft (30 m) long, and was a four to five day voyage. For location see ; ; ; ; .
17. 17 ἀνευρίσκω has “look/search for (w. finding presupposed) τινά … τοὺς μαθητάς Ac 21:4.” The English verb “locate,” when used in reference to persons, has the implication of both looking for and finding someone. The participle ἀνευρόντες (aneurontes) has been taken temporally.
18. 18 αὐτοῦ states, “deictic adv. designating a position relatively near or far … there … Ac 21:4.”
19. 19 The imperfect verb ἕλεγον (elegon) has been taken iteratively.
20. 20 Although they told this to Paul through the Spirit, it appears Paul had a choice here (see v. 14). Therefore this amounted to a warning: There was risk in going to Jerusalem, so he was urged not to go.
21. 21 ἐπιβαίνω places Ac 21:4 under 1, “go up/upon, mount, board … πλοίῳ … Ac 27:2 … go on board, embark … 21:1 D, 2.—So perh. also ἐ. εἰς Ἰεροσόλυμα embark for Jerusalem (i.e. to the seaport of Caesarea) vs. 4.” notes, however, “But this pass. may also belong to 2. to move to an area and be there, set foot in.” Because the message from the disciples to Paul through the Holy Spirit has the character of a warning, the latter meaning has been adopted for this translation.
22. 22 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
23. 23 Grk “It happened that when.” 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.
24. 24 Grk “When our days were over.” L&N 67.71 has “ὅτε δὲ ἐγένετο ἡμᾶς ἐξαρτίσαι τὰς ἡμέρας ‘when we brought that time to an end’ or ‘when our time with them was over’ Ac 21:5.”
25. 25 Grk “accompanying.” Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation and the participle προπεμπόντων (propempontōn) translated as a finite verb.
26. 26 Grk “city, and after.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.
27. 27 On praying in Acts, see 1:14, 24; 2:47; 4:23; 6:6; 10:2; 12:5, 12; 13:3; 16:25.
28. 28 ἀπασπάζομαι has “take leave of, say farewell to τινά someone … ἀπησπασάμεθα ἀλλήλους we said farewell to one another Ac 21:6.”
29. 29 These words are part of v. 5 in the standard critical Greek text.
30. 30 Grk “and.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation, and καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.
31. 31 Grk “to their own”; the word “homes” is implied.
32. 32 Tyre was a city and seaport on the coast of Phoenicia.
33. 33 Ptolemais was a seaport on the coast of Palestine about 30 mi (48 km) south of Tyre.
34. 34 Grk “On the next day leaving, we came.” The participle ἐξελθόντες (exelthontes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
35. 35 Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in . This was another 40 mi (65 km). For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
36. 36 Grk “and entering … we stayed.” The participle εἰσελθόντες (eiselthontes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
37. 37 Philip was one of the seven deacons appointed in the Jerusalem church (Acts 6:1–7).
38. 38 Grk “virgin.” While the term παρθένος (parthenos) can refer to a woman who has never had sexual relations, the emphasis in this context seems to be on the fact that Philip’s daughters were not married (L&N 9.39).
39. 39 This is best taken as a parenthetical note by the author. Luke again noted women who were gifted in the early church (see Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.31; 3.39).
40. 40 πολύς 1.b.α has “ἐπὶ ἡμέρας πλείους for a (large) number of days, for many days … Ac 13:31.—21:10 … 24:17; 25:14; 27:20.”
41. 41 Agabus also appeared in Acts 11:28. He was from Jerusalem, so the two churches were still in contact with one another.
42. 42 Grk “And coming.” 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. The participle ἐλθών (elthōn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
43. 43 Grk “and taking.” This 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. The participle ἄρας (aras) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
44. 44 The belt was a band or sash used to keep money as well as to gird up the tunic ( ζώνη).
45. 45 The participle δήσας (dēsas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
46. 46 The words “with it” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
47. 47 Grk “and will deliver him over into the hands of” (a Semitic idiom). The Jews … will tie up … and will hand him over. As later events will show, the Jews in Jerusalem did not personally tie Paul up and hand him over to the Gentiles, but their reaction to him was the cause of his arrest (Acts 21:27–36).
48. 48 Or “the people there.”
49. 49 The term translated “breaking” as used by Josephus ( 10.10.4 [10.207]) means to break something into pieces, but in its only NT use (it is a ) it is used figuratively ( συνθρύπτω).
50. 50 L&N 18.13 has “to tie objects together—‘to tie, to tie together, to tie up.’ ” The verb δέω (deō) is sometimes figurative for imprisonment (L&N 37.114), but it is preferable to translate it literally here in light of v. 11 where Agabus tied himself up with Paul’s belt.
51. 51 The participle πειθομένου (peithomenou) in this genitive absolute construction has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.
52. 52 Grk “we became silent, saying.”
53. 53 “The Lord’s will be done.” Since no one knew exactly what would happen, the matter was left in the Lord’s hands.
54. 54 Or “we made preparations.”
55. 55 Grk “were going up”; the imperfect verb ἀνεβαίνομεν (anebainomen) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect. In colloquial speech Jerusalem was always said to be “up” from any other location in Palestine. The group probably covered the 65 mi (105 km) in two days using horses. Their arrival in Jerusalem marked the end of Paul’s third missionary journey.
56. 56 Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in . For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
57. 57 Grk “to Mnason …”; the words “the house of” are not in the Greek text, but are implied by the verb ξενισθῶμεν (xenisthōmen).
58. 58 Or perhaps, “Mnason of Cyprus, one of the original disciples.” ἀρχαῖος 1 has “ἀ. μαθητής a disciple of long standing (perh. original disc.) Ac 21:16.”
59. 59 Or “warmly” (see ἀσμένως).
60. 60 παραγίνομαι 1 has this use under the broad category of meaning “draw near, come, arrive, be present.” All the elders were there. This meeting shows how the Jerusalem church still regarded Paul and his mission with favor, but also with some concerns because of the rumors circulating about his actions.