Daniel 5:16

5:16 However, I have heard ¹  that you are able to provide interpretations and to decipher knotty problems. Now if you are able to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, you will wear purple and have a golden collar around your neck and be third ²  ruler in the kingdom.”

Daniel 5:1

Belshazzar Sees Mysterious Handwriting on a Wall

5:1 King Belshazzar ³  prepared a great banquet ⁴  for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in front of ⁵  them all. ⁶ 

Kisah Para Rasul 10:1-3

Peter Visits Cornelius

10:1 Now there was a man in Caesarea ⁷  named Cornelius, a centurion ⁸  of what was known as the Italian Cohort. ⁹  10:2 He ¹⁰  was a devout, God-fearing man, ¹¹  as was all his household; he did many acts of charity for the people ¹²  and prayed to God regularly. 10:3 About three o’clock one afternoon ¹³  he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God ¹⁴  who came in ¹⁵  and said to him, “Cornelius.”

Kisah Para Rasul 10:2

10:2 He ¹⁶  was a devout, God-fearing man, ¹⁷  as was all his household; he did many acts of charity for the people ¹⁸  and prayed to God regularly.

Kisah Para Rasul 9:1-2

The Conversion of Saul

9:1 Meanwhile Saul, still breathing out threats ¹⁹  to murder ²⁰  the Lord’s disciples, went to the high priest 9:2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues ²¹  in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, ²²  either men or women, he could bring them as prisoners ²³  to Jerusalem. ²⁴ 

[5:16]  ¹ tn The Aramaic text has also the words “about you.”

[5:16]  ² tn Or perhaps “one of three rulers,” in the sense of becoming part of a triumvir. So also v. 29.

[5:1]  ³ sn As is clear from the extra-biblical records, it was actually Nabonidus (ca. 556-539 B.C.) who was king of Babylon at this time. However, Nabonidus spent long periods of time at Teima, and during those times Belshazzar his son was de facto king of Babylon. This arrangement may help to explain why later in this chapter Belshazzar promises that the successful interpreter of the handwriting on the wall will be made third ruler in the kingdom. If Belshazzar was in effect second ruler in the kingdom, this would be the highest honor he could grant.

[5:1]  ⁴ sn This scene of a Babylonian banquet calls to mind a similar grandiose event recorded in Esth 1:3-8. Persian kings were also renowned in the ancient Near Eastern world for their lavish banquets.

[5:1]  ⁵ sn The king probably sat at an elevated head table.

[5:1]  ⁶ tn Aram “the thousand.”

[10:1]  ⁷ sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). It was known as “Caesarea by the sea” (BDAG 499 s.v. Καισάρεια 2). Largely Gentile, it was a center of Roman administration and the location of many of Herod the Great’s building projects (Josephus, Ant. 15.9.6 [15.331-341]).

[10:1]  map For location see Map2 C1; Map4 B3; Map5 F2; Map7 A1; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[10:1]  ⁸ sn A centurion was a noncommissioned officer in the Roman army or one of the auxiliary territorial armies, commanding a centuria of (nominally) 100 men. The responsibilities of centurions were broadly similar to modern junior officers, but there was a wide gap in social status between them and officers, and relatively few were promoted beyond the rank of senior centurion. The Roman troops stationed in Judea were auxiliaries, who would normally be rewarded with Roman citizenship after 25 years of service. Some of the centurions may have served originally in the Roman legions (regular army) and thus gained their citizenship at enlistment. Others may have inherited it, like Paul.

[10:1]  ⁹ sn A cohort was a Roman military unit of about 600 soldiers, one-tenth of a legion (BDAG 936 s.v. σπεῖρα). The Italian Cohort has been identified as cohors II Italica which is known to have been stationed in Syria in a.d. 88.

[10:2]  ¹⁰ tn In the Greek text this represents a continuation of the previous sentence. Because of the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, a new sentence was begun here in the translation.

[10:2]  ¹¹ sn The description of Cornelius as a devout, God-fearing man probably means that he belonged to the category called “God-fearers,” Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel and in many cases kept the Mosaic law, but did not take the final step of circumcision necessary to become a proselyte to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 43-44, and Sir 11:17; 27:11; 39:27.

[10:2]  ¹² tn Or “gave many gifts to the poor.” This was known as “giving alms,” or acts of mercy (Sir 7:10; BDAG 315-16 s.v. ἐλεημοσύνη).

[10:3]  ¹³ tn Grk “at about the ninth hour of the day.” This would be the time for afternoon prayer.

[10:3]  ¹⁴ tn Or “the angel of God.” Linguistically, “angel of God” is the same in both testaments (and thus, he is either “an angel of God” or “the angel of God” in both testaments). For arguments and implications, see ExSyn 252; M. J. Davidson, “Angels,” DJG, 9; W. G. MacDonald argues for “an angel” in both testaments: “Christology and ‘The Angel of the Lord’,” Current Issues in Biblical and Patristic Interpretation, 324-35.

[10:3]  ¹⁵ tn The participles εἰσελθόντα (eiselqonta) and εἰπόντα (eiponta) are accusative, and thus best taken as adjectival participles modifying ἄγγελον (angelon): “an angel who came in and said.”

[10:2]  ¹⁶ tn In the Greek text this represents a continuation of the previous sentence. Because of the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, a new sentence was begun here in the translation.

[10:2]  ¹⁷ sn The description of Cornelius as a devout, God-fearing man probably means that he belonged to the category called “God-fearers,” Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel and in many cases kept the Mosaic law, but did not take the final step of circumcision necessary to become a proselyte to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 43-44, and Sir 11:17; 27:11; 39:27.

[10:2]  ¹⁸ tn Or “gave many gifts to the poor.” This was known as “giving alms,” or acts of mercy (Sir 7:10; BDAG 315-16 s.v. ἐλεημοσύνη).

[9:1]  ¹⁹ tn Or “Saul, making dire threats.”

[9:1]  ²⁰ tn The expression “breathing out threats and murder” is an idiomatic expression for “making threats to murder” (see L&N 33.293). Although the two terms “threats” and “murder” are syntactically coordinate, the second is semantically subordinate to the first. In other words, the content of the threats is to murder the disciples.

[9:2]  ²¹ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[9:2]  ²² 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).

[9:2]  ²³ 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.

[9:2]  ²⁴ sn From Damascus to Jerusalem was a six-day journey. Christianity had now expanded into Syria.

[9:2]  map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.