Acts 13

Literally, Simeon’s nickname was Niger. In Latin, the official language of the Roman Empire, niger means “black.” Bible scholars speculate that people called him Black because his skin was dark. The derogatory English “N” word likely came from this Latin word. He and Lucius may have both come from Africa.

A city in what is now Libya in northern Africa. See the footnote for Acts 6:9.

“Ruler” is literally the Roman title of tetrarch, a person who governed a territory or a province. But Herod was more than just a governor-like ruler. His friend since childhood, Emperor Caligula, in AD 37 named him “king” (Acts 12:1).

Fasting

Often called “laying on of hands,” this was a Jewish ritual that went back at least to the time of Moses, when he transferred leadership of the Jewish people to Joshua (Numbers 27:18).

The port city of Seleucia, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, was a day’s walk from the church Barnabas and Saul served, in Antioch. It was about 15 miles (24 km).

The voyage from Seleucia to the port town of Salamis, Cyprus, was about 130 miles (210 km). Based on reports from Roman and Greek writers, the voyage could have taken just a couple of days, with favorable winds. Against the wind, twice as long. Cyprus, an island about 140 miles (225 km) long, was home to Barnabas (Acts 4:36). Its footprint in the Mediterranean Sea is almost the size of the main island of Hawaii (Cyprus: 3,600 square miles [9,300 sq km]).

Salamis, on the east coast, was the island’s biggest city. Emperor Augustus ordered it rebuilt after an earthquake some 30 years earlier, in AD 15.

This isn’t John the apostle, who was one of Jesus’s 12 original disciples. It was another John, apparently nicknamed Mark. Or maybe his mom liked the name “John” and his dad liked “Mark.” Who knows? Bible writers sometimes called him “John,” sometimes “Mark,” and sometimes “John, also called Mark.” He was a cousin of Barnabas and an associate of Paul, who sometimes traveled with Paul on mission trips (Colossians 4:10).

Traveling along the coastal trails and hitting cities along the way, they could have traveled more than 120 miles (193 km) before reaching Paphos, capital of Cyprus. Like Salamis, it was rebuilt after the AD 15 earthquake destroyed the buildings.

Bar-Jesus means “Son of Jesus.” Jesus comes from Greek, the international language of the day. The Hebrew version of the word is Joshua. Jesus and Joshua come from the same Hebrew word.

Sergius Paulus’s Roman title was “proconsul.” That’s an official who managed one of the senate’s provinces—a peaceful area where Rome didn’t need to maintain a military presence. The Jewish homeland was different. It was one of the emperor’s provinces—an uneasy territory where Rome stationed some of their army.

Sergius Paulus’s name appears on some first-century inscriptions found on Cyprus. One was discovered near Paphos; it mentions “the proconsul Paulus.”

Elymas is a name that may have come from the Arabic word alim, meaning “a wise man.” It’s a word used to describe magicians, along with sages like the magi who visited young Jesus from a land somewhere east of the Jewish homeland—possibly what is now Iraq or Iran.

Saul was his Hebrew name—a name common among the Jews. Paul (literally Paulus) was the name he used among non-Jews because it was more common there. It was the governor’s name, for example. A modern example of adapting a name to a different language: “Stephen” in English becomes “Stefanos” in Greek and “Esteban” in Spanish.

The voyage from Paphos to Perga was about 180 miles (290 km).

Pamphylia was a territory, a bit like a county or a province, in what is now southern Turkey. Roughly the size of Cyprus, it was north of that island, and next to Paul’s home territory of Cilicia, where he grew up in the city of Tarsus.

The writer doesn’t say why John Mark left. But whatever the reason, it didn’t seem good enough to Paul (see Acts 15:37-41).

The trip from Perga to Antioch in Pisidia was about 100 miles (160 km) as a crow flies. But Paul and Barnabas weren’t crows. They faced a tough, week-long walk up from the coast to the hill country more than half a mile (1 km) high. Some 2,000 Jewish families lived in Antioch, according to first-century Jewish historian Josephus.

Canaan was the ancient name for what is now roughly the nation of Israel and the Palestinian National Authority.

“I’m giving every bit of this land to you and your descendants. This will be a family-owned land forever. I’ll be God to your family” (Genesis 17:8).

“450” is a round number. The Jews lived in Egypt “430 years” (Exodus 12:40). Then, for their bad behavior, God made them stay in the badlands south of Israel for another generation, around 40 years (Numbers 14:33-34). Some Bible experts, however, say we shouldn’t take any of these numbers too literally.

Stories about the judges appear in the book of Judges. Most were not judges who settled legal disputes, though some were: Deborah, for example (Judges 4:4-5).

First Samuel 13:14

Possibly a reference to Bible passages such as Jeremiah 23:5, 2 Samuel 7:12-16, and Ezekiel 21:27.

Literally, “repent.”

The least important slaves in a household often got the job of welcoming guests by taking off their sandals and washing their feet.

Psalm 2:7

Isaiah 55:3

Psalm 16:10

Habakkuk 1:5

The Greek word is charis, often translated as “grace.”

Isaiah 49:6

Jesus told his followers, “Wherever the people don’t welcome you, don’t stay. Shake the dust of that town off your feet. Use that to send your message of disapproval” (Luke 9:5).