2 Kings 16:6

16:6 (At that time King Rezin of Syria ¹  recovered Elat for Syria; he drove the Judahites from there. ²  Syrians ³  arrived in Elat and live there to this very day.)

Deuteronomy 2:8

2:8 So we turned away from our relatives ⁴  the descendants of Esau, the inhabitants of Seir, turning from the desert route, ⁵  from Elat ⁶  and Ezion Geber, ⁷  and traveling the way of the Moab wastelands.

Deuteronomy 2:1

The Journey from Kadesh Barnea to Moab

2:1 Then we turned and set out toward the desert land on the way to the Red Sea ⁸  just as the Lord told me to do, detouring around Mount Seir for a long time.

Acts 9:26

Saul Returns to Jerusalem

9:26 When he arrived in Jerusalem, ⁹  he attempted to associate ¹⁰  with the disciples, and they were all afraid of him, because they did not believe ¹¹  that he was a disciple.

Acts 9:2

9:2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues ¹²  in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, ¹³  either men or women, he could bring them as prisoners ¹⁴  to Jerusalem. ¹⁵ 

Acts 26:2

26:2 “Regarding all the things I have been accused of by the Jews, King Agrippa, ¹⁶  I consider myself fortunate that I am about to make my defense before you today,

¹ tc Some prefer to read “the king of Edom” and “for Edom” here. The names Syria (Heb “Aram,” אֲרָם, ’aram) and Edom (אֱדֹם, ’edom) are easily confused in the Hebrew consonantal script.

² tn Heb “from Elat.”

³ tc The consonantal text (Kethib), supported by many medieval Hebrew mss, the Syriac version, and some mss of the Targum and Vulgate, read “Syrians” (Heb “Arameans”). The marginal reading (Qere), supported by the LXX, Targums, and Vulgate, reads “Edomites.”

⁴ tn Or “brothers”; NRSV “our kin.”

⁵ tn Heb “the way of the Arabah” (so ASV); NASB, NIV “the Arabah road.”

⁶ sn Elat was a port city at the head of the eastern arm of the Red Sea, that is, the Gulf of Aqaba (or Gulf of Eilat). Solomon (1 Kgs 9:28), Uzziah (2 Kgs 14:22), and Ahaz (2 Kgs 16:5-6) used it as a port but eventually it became permanently part of Edom. It may be what is known today as Tell el-Kheleifeh. Modern Eilat is located further west along the northern coast. See G. Pratico, “Nelson Glueck’s 1938-1940 Excavations at Tell el-Kheleifeh: A Reappraisal,” BASOR 259 (1985): 1-32.

⁷ sn Ezion Geber. A place near the Gulf of Aqaba, Ezion-geber must be distinguished from Elat (cf. 1 Kgs 9:26-28; 2 Chr 8:17-18). It was, however, also a port city (1 Kgs 22:48-49). It may be the same as the modern site Gezirat al-Fauran, 15 mi (24 km) south-southwest from Tell el-Kheleifah.

⁷ tn Heb “Reed Sea.” See note on the term “Red Sea” in Deut 1:40.

¹⁰ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹¹ tn Or “join.”

¹² tn The participle πιστεύοντες (pisteuonte") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

¹³ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

¹⁴ sn The expression “the way” in ancient religious literature refers at times to “the whole way of life fr. a moral and spiritual viewpoint” (BDAG 692 s.v. ὁδός 3.c), and it has been so used of Christianity and its teachings in the book of Acts (see also 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). It is a variation of Judaism’s idea of two ways, the true and the false, where “the Way” is the true one (1 En. 91:18; 2 En. 30:15).

¹⁵ tn Grk “bring them bound”; the translation “bring someone as prisoner” for δεδεμένον ἄγειν τινά (dedemenon agein tina) is given by BDAG 221 s.v. δέω 1.b.

¹⁶ sn From Damascus to Jerusalem was a six-day journey. Christianity had now expanded into Syria.

¹⁶ sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.