Acts 13 Footnotes

13:1 Prophets and teachers were likely functions (possibly offices) in the early church. Teachers continued the apostolic function of transmitting the message of Jesus (6:2); prophets conveyed divine revelation (reporting what God brought to mind), either interpreting the OT or giving new insights (11:27-28). Teachers are only mentioned here in Acts, although the function of teacher is known elsewhere in the NT (e.g., 1Co 12:28-29; Eph 4:11; 1Tm 1:7; 2:7; 3:2; 2Tm 1:11; 2:24).

13:4 Paul’s three missionary journeys began in Antioch, a center for Christianity (especially for Gentile evangelization). The third journey ended with Paul’s arrest in Jerusalem (chap. 21). Paul’s letters do not provide a travelogue; they deal with specific issues in the churches.

13:6 Peter’s confrontation with a magician (Simon; chap. 8) parallels Saul’s confrontation in Cyprus. Scholars have noted Peter-Paul parallels in Acts: healing a lame man (3:2-8; 14:8-10; see 5:15; 19:12), exorcism (5:16; 16:18), being divinely freed from prison (12:6-11; 16:25-26), receiving the Spirit by the laying on of hands (8:17;19:6), and raising the dead (9:36-41; 20:9-12). Though not leading parallel lives, the two apostles experienced similar events related to the spread of Christianity. Paul continued and expanded the work the original apostles began.

13:8 Bar-Jesus (v. 6) is now called Elymas without explanation. It has been suggested that Elymas, like Bar-Jesus, was an Aramaic word meaning “sorcerer.”

13:9 From here Paul is no longer called Saul (except when recounting his conversion in chaps. 22 and 26) since his missionary ventures moved him outside of a more distinctly Jewish context and into the larger Greco-Roman world.

13:13 John (12:12,25), the nephew of Barnabas who was also known as John Mark or simply Mark, left Paul and Barnabas—probably under unfortunate circumstances; thus, Paul refused to take him on the next missionary journey (15:37-38). However, Barnabas gave John Mark another chance (15:39), and he matured so much that Paul later greatly valued his help in ministry (2Tm 4:11).

13:14 Pisidian Antioch actually refers to Antioch near Pisidia. Pisidia then was a region of the Roman province of Galatia; Antioch was actually located in the adjoining region of Phrygia. The Greek phrasing in the best manuscripts makes this clear.

13:15 Despite the debate regarding OT canon formation, “the Law and the Prophets”—with the third part, “the Psalms” (Lk 24:44)—were likely fixed. Josephus (Against Apion 1) mentions “twenty-two books,” and 4 Ezra 14 (ca AD 100) mentions “twenty-four books”—perhaps referring to the same body of Scripture. Today these same books are categorized in such a way that there are thirty-nine. In the listing of twenty-two books, the twelve Minor Prophets were counted as one book. The following pairs of books were counted as one book each: Judges and Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah, Jeremiah and Lamentations.

13:16-41 Paul’s first public speech recorded in Acts took place in a Jewish synagogue. This speech was probably representative of Paul’s evangelistic style: Jesus’s coming fulfilled God’s promises as revealed in the OT (v. 23), and his resurrection confirmed his identity (v. 33).

13:46-47 There is no anti-Semitism here. The Gospel writers emphasized that Jesus proclaimed the gospel to the Jews first. Luke reinforced this in Acts. Paul and Barnabas recognized their duty to bring the good news to Jews first. When the Jews rejected the gospel, however, Paul and Barnabas took the message to the Gentiles (anticipated by Is 49:6). Gentile believers received the good news with great joy. Rejection of the gospel by Paul’s kinsmen deeply grieved him (Rm 9-11).