1 Raja-raja 15:13

15:13 He also removed Maacah his grandmother ¹  from her position as queen because she had made a loathsome Asherah pole. Asa cut down her Asherah pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

1 Raja-raja 15:2

15:2 He ruled for three years in Jerusalem. ²  His mother was Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom. ³ 

Kisah Para Rasul 18:4

18:4 He addressed ⁴  both Jews and Greeks in the synagogue ⁵  every Sabbath, attempting to persuade ⁶  them.

Kisah Para Rasul 23:14

23:14 They ⁷  went ⁸  to the chief priests ⁹  and the elders and said, “We have bound ourselves with a solemn oath ¹⁰  not to partake ¹¹  of anything until we have killed Paul.

Kisah Para Rasul 23:2

23:2 At that ¹²  the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near ¹³  Paul ¹⁴  to strike ¹⁵  him on the mouth.

Kisah Para Rasul 14:3

14:3 So they stayed there ¹⁶  for a considerable time, speaking out courageously for the Lord, who testified ¹⁷  to the message ¹⁸  of his grace, granting miraculous signs ¹⁹  and wonders to be performed through their hands.

Kisah Para Rasul 19:3

19:3 So Paul ²⁰  said, “Into what then were you baptized?” “Into John’s baptism,” they replied. ²¹ 

Kisah Para Rasul 1:3

1:3 To the same apostles ²²  also, after his suffering, ²³  he presented himself alive with many convincing proofs. He was seen by them over a forty-day period ²⁴  and spoke about matters concerning the kingdom of God.

Yeremia 17:2

17:2 Their children are always thinking about ²⁵  their ²⁶  altars

and their sacred poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah, ²⁷ 

set up beside the green trees on the high hills

Mikha 5:14

5:14 I will uproot your images of Asherah ²⁸  from your midst,

and destroy your idols. ²⁹ 

[15:13]  ¹ tn Heb “mother,” but Hebrew often uses the terms “father” and “mother” for grandparents and more remote ancestors.

[15:2]  ² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[15:2]  ³ sn Abishalom (also in v. 10) is a variant of the name Absalom (cf. 2 Chr 11:20). The more common form is used by TEV, NLT.

[18:4]  ⁴ tn Although the word διελέξατο (dielexato; from διαλέγομαι, dialegomai) is frequently translated “reasoned,” “disputed,” or “argued,” this sense comes from its classical meaning where it was used of philosophical disputation, including the Socratic method of questions and answers. However, there does not seem to be contextual evidence for this kind of debate in Acts 18:4. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21.

[18:4]  ⁵ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[18:4]  ⁶ tn Grk “Addressing in the synagogue every Sabbath, he was attempting to persuade both Jews and Greeks.” Because in English the verb “address” is not used absolutely but normally has an object specified, the direct objects of the verb ἔπειθεν (epeiqen) have been moved forward as the objects of the English verb “addressed,” and the pronoun “them” repeated in the translation as the object of ἔπειθεν. The verb ἔπειθεν has been translated as a conative imperfect.

[23:14]  ⁷ tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) was translated by the third person plural pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.

[23:14]  ⁸ tn Grk “going.” The participle προσελθόντες (proselqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:14]  ⁹ sn They went to the chief priests. The fact that the high priest knew of this plot and did nothing shows the Jewish leadership would even become accomplices to murder to stop Paul. They would not allow Roman justice to take its course. Paul’s charge in v. 3 of superficially following the law is thus shown to be true.

[23:14]  ¹⁰ tn Or “bound ourselves under a curse.” BDAG 63 s.v. ἀναθεματίζω 1 has “trans. put under a curse τινά someone…pleonastically ἀναθέματι ἀ. ἑαυτόν Ac 23:14…ἀ. ἑαυτόν vss. 12, 21, 13 v.l.” The pleonastic use ἀναθέματι ἀνεθεματίσαμεν (literally “we have cursed ourselves with a curse”) probably serves as an intensifier following Semitic usage, and is represented in the translation by the word “solemn.” On such oaths see m. Nedarim 3:1, 3.

[23:14]  ¹¹ tn This included both food and drink (γεύομαι [geuomai] is used of water turned to wine in John 2:9).

[23:2]  ¹² tn Grk “and” (δέ, de); the phrase “at that” has been used in the translation to clarify the cause and effect relationship.

[23:2]  ¹³ tn BDAG 778 s.v. παρίστημι/παριστάνω 2.b.α has “οἱ παρεστῶτες αὐτῷ those standing near him Ac 23:2.”

[23:2]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:2]  ¹⁵ tn Or “hit” (‘strike’ maintains the wordplay with the following verse). The action was probably designed to indicate a rejection of Paul’s claim to a clear conscience in the previous verse.

[14:3]  ¹⁶ tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[14:3]  ¹⁷ sn The Lord testified to the message by granting the signs described in the following clause.

[14:3]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “word.”

[14:3]  ¹⁹ tn Here the context indicates the miraculous nature of the signs mentioned.

[19:3]  ²⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:3]  ²¹ tn Grk “they said.”

[1:3]  ²² tn Grk “to them”; the referent (the apostles) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:3]  ²³ sn After his suffering is a reference to Jesus’ crucifixion and the abuse which preceded it.

[1:3]  ²⁴ tn Grk “during forty days.” The phrase “over a forty-day period” is used rather than “during forty days” because (as the other NT accounts of Jesus’ appearances make clear) Jesus was not continually visible to the apostles during the forty days, but appeared to them on various occasions.

[17:2]  ²⁵ tn It is difficult to convey in good English style the connection between this verse and the preceding. The text does not have a finite verb but a temporal preposition with an infinitive: Heb “while their children remember their altars…” It is also difficult to translate the verb “literally.” (i.e., what does “remember” their altars mean?). Hence it has been rendered “always think about.” Another possibility would be “have their altars…on their minds.”

[17:2]  sn There is possibly a sarcastic irony involved here as well. The Israelites were to remember the Lord and what he had done and were to commemorate certain days, e.g., the Passover and the Sabbath which recalled their deliverance. Instead they resorted to the pagan altars and kept them in mind.

[17:2]  ²⁶ tc This reading follows many Hebrew mss and ancient versions. Many other Hebrew mss read “your” [masc. pl.].

[17:2]  ²⁷ sn Sacred poles dedicated to…Asherah. A leading deity of the Canaanite pantheon was Asherah, wife/sister of El and goddess of fertility. She was commonly worshiped at shrines in or near groves of evergreen trees, or, failing that, at places marked by wooden poles (Hebrew אֲשֵׁרִים [’asherim], plural). They were to be burned or cut down (Deut 7:5; 12:3; 16:21; Judg 6:25, 28, 30; 2 Kgs 18:4).

[5:14]  ²⁸ tn Or “Asherah poles.”

[5:14]  sn Asherah was a leading deity of the Canaanite pantheon, wife/sister of El and goddess of fertility. She was commonly worshiped at shrines in or near groves of evergreen trees, or, failing that, at places marked by wooden poles. These were to be burned or cut down (Deut 12:3; 16:21; Judg 6:25, 28, 30; 2 Kgs 18:4). The Lord states that he will destroy these images, something the Israelites themselves should have done but failed to do.

[5:14]  ²⁹ tn The MT reads “your cities,” but many emend the text to צִרֶיךָ (tsirekha, “your images”) or עֲצַבֶּיךָ (’atsbbekha, “your idols”).