Kisah Para Rasul 12:20

12:20 Now Herod ¹  was having an angry quarrel ²  with the people of Tyre ³  and Sidon. ⁴  So they joined together ⁵  and presented themselves before him. And after convincing ⁶  Blastus, the king’s personal assistant, ⁷  to help them, ⁸  they asked for peace, ⁹  because their country’s food supply was provided by the king’s country.

Kisah Para Rasul 19:27

19:27 There is danger not only that this business of ours will come into disrepute, ¹⁰  but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis ¹¹  will be regarded as nothing, ¹²  and she whom all the province of Asia ¹³  and the world worship will suffer the loss of her greatness.” ¹⁴ 

[12:20]  ¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:20]  sn Herod was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod I (Herod the Great).

[12:20]  ² tn Or “was extremely angry.” L&N 33.453 gives the meaning “be angry and quarrel, quarrel angrily” here. However, in L&N 88.180 the alternative “to be violently angry, to be furious” is given. The term is used only once in the NT (BDAG 461 s.v. θυμομαχέω).

[12:20]  ³ sn Tyre was a city and seaport on the coast of Phoenicia.

[12:20]  map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[12:20]  ⁴ sn Sidon was an ancient Phoenician royal city on the coast between Berytus (Beirut) and Tyre (BDAG 923 s.v. Σιδών).

[12:20]  map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[12:20]  ⁵ tn Or “with one accord.”

[12:20]  ⁶ tn Or “persuading.”

[12:20]  ⁷ tn On the term translated “personal assistant” BDAG 554 s.v. κοιτῶν states, “used as part of a title: ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ κοιτῶνος the one in charge of the bed-chamber, the chamberlain.” This individual was not just a domestic servant or butler, but a highly respected person who had considerable responsibility for the king’s living quarters and personal affairs. The English word “chamberlain” corresponds very closely to this meaning but is not in common use today. The term “personal assistant,” while it might convey more business associations than management of personal affairs, nevertheless communicates the concept well in contemporary English.

[12:20]  ⁸ tn The words “to help them” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[12:20]  ⁹ tn Or “for a reconciliation.” There were grave political risks in having Herod angry at them. The detail shows the ruler’s power.

[19:27]  ¹⁰ tn Or “come under public criticism.” BDAG 101 s.v. ἀπελεγμός has “come into disrepute Ac 19:27.”

[19:27]  ¹¹ sn Artemis was the name of a Greek goddess worshiped particularly in Asia Minor, whose temple, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, was located just outside the city of Ephesus.

[19:27]  ¹² tn BDAG 597 s.v. λογίζομαι 1.b has “εἰς οὐθὲν λογισθῆναι be looked upon as nothing…Ac 19:27.”

[19:27]  ¹³ tn Grk “Asia”; see the note on this word in v. 22.

[19:27]  ¹⁴ tn Or “her magnificence.” BDAG 488 s.v. καθαιρέω 2.b has “καθαιρεῖσθαι τῆς μεγαλειότητος αὐτῆς suffer the loss of her magnificence Ac 19:27”; L&N 13.38 has “‘and to have her greatness done away with’ Ac 19:27.”

[19:27]  sn Suffer the loss of her greatness. It is important to appreciate that money alone was not the issue, even for the pagan Ephesians. The issue was ultimately the dishonor of their goddess to whom they were devoted in worship. The battle was a “cosmic” one between deities.