Yesaya 7:8
Konteks7:8 For Syria’s leader is Damascus,
and the leader of Damascus is Rezin.
Within sixty-five years Ephraim will no longer exist as a nation. 1
Kejadian 14:15
Konteks14:15 Then, during the night, 2 Abram 3 divided his forces 4 against them and defeated them. He chased them as far as Hobah, which is north 5 of Damascus.
Kejadian 15:2
Konteks15:2 But Abram said, “O sovereign Lord, 6 what will you give me since 7 I continue to be 8 childless, and my heir 9 is 10 Eliezer of Damascus?” 11
Kejadian 15:1
Konteks15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield 12 and the one who will reward you in great abundance.” 13
Kisah Para Rasul 11:24
Konteks11:24 because he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and a significant number of people 14 were brought to the Lord.
Kisah Para Rasul 11:1
Konteks11:1 Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles too had accepted 15 the word of God. 16
Kisah Para Rasul 18:5
Konteks18:5 Now when Silas and Timothy arrived 17 from Macedonia, 18 Paul became wholly absorbed with proclaiming 19 the word, testifying 20 to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. 21
Kisah Para Rasul 18:2
Konteks18:2 There he 22 found 23 a Jew named Aquila, 24 a native of Pontus, 25 who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius 26 had ordered all the Jews to depart from 27 Rome. 28 Paul approached 29 them,
Kisah Para Rasul 28:5
Konteks28:5 However, 30 Paul 31 shook 32 the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm.
Kisah Para Rasul 28:23
Konteks28:23 They set 33 a day to meet with him, 34 and they came to him where he was staying 35 in even greater numbers. 36 From morning until evening he explained things 37 to them, 38 testifying 39 about the kingdom of God 40 and trying to convince 41 them about Jesus from both the law of Moses and the prophets.
Yeremia 49:23-27
Konteks49:23 The Lord spoke 42 about Damascus. 43
“The people of Hamath and Arpad 44 will be dismayed
because they have heard bad news.
Their courage will melt away because of worry.
Their hearts will not be able to rest. 45
49:24 The people of Damascus will lose heart and turn to flee.
Panic will grip them.
Pain and anguish will seize them
like a woman in labor.
49:25 How deserted will that once-famous city 46 be,
that city that was once filled with 47 joy! 48
49:26 For her young men will fall in her city squares.
All her soldiers will be destroyed at that time,”
says the Lord who rules over all. 49
49:27 “I will set fire to the walls of Damascus;
it will burn up the palaces of Ben Hadad.” 50
Amos 1:3-5
Konteks1:3 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Damascus has committed three crimes 51 –
make that four! 52 – I will not revoke my
decree of judgment. 53
They ripped through Gilead like threshing sledges with iron teeth. 54
1:4 So I will set Hazael’s house 55 on fire;
fire 56 will consume Ben Hadad’s 57 fortresses.
1:5 I will break the bar 58 on the gate of Damascus.
I will remove 59 the ruler 60 from Wicked Valley, 61
the one who holds the royal scepter from Beth Eden. 62
The people of Aram will be deported to Kir.” 63
The Lord has spoken!
Zakharia 9:1
Konteks9:1 An oracle of the word of the Lord concerning the land of Hadrach, 64 with its focus on Damascus: 65
The eyes of all humanity, 66 especially of the tribes of Israel, are toward the Lord,
Kisah Para Rasul 9:2
Konteks9:2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues 67 in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, 68 either men or women, he could bring them as prisoners 69 to Jerusalem. 70
[7:8] 1 tn Heb “Ephraim will be too shattered to be a nation”; NIV “to be a people.”
[7:8] sn This statement is problematic for several reasons. It seems to intrude stylistically, interrupting the symmetry of the immediately preceding and following lines. Furthermore, such a long range prophecy lacks punch in the midst of the immediate crisis. After all, even if Israel were destroyed sometime within the next 65 years, a lot could still happen during that time, including the conquest of Judah and the demise of the Davidic family. Finally the significance of the time frame is uncertain. Israel became an Assyrian province within the next 15 years and ceased to exist as a nation. For these reasons many regard the statement as a later insertion, but why a later editor would include the reference to “65 years” remains a mystery. Some try to relate the prophecy to the events alluded to in Ezra 4:2, 10, which refers to how the Assyrian kings Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal settled foreigners in former Israelite territory, perhaps around 670
[14:15] 2 tn The Hebrew text simply has “night” as an adverbial accusative.
[14:15] 3 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:15] 4 tn Heb “he divided himself…he and his servants.”
[14:15] 5 tn Heb “left.” Directions in ancient Israel were given in relation to the east rather than the north.
[15:2] 6 tn The Hebrew text has אֲדֹנָי יֱהוִה (’adonay yehvih, “Master,
[15:2] 7 tn The vav (ו) disjunctive at the beginning of the clause is circumstantial, expressing the cause or reason.
[15:2] 9 tn Heb “the son of the acquisition of my house.”
[15:2] sn For the custom of designating a member of the household as heir, see C. H. Gordon, “Biblical Customs and the Nuzu Tablets,” Biblical Archaeologist Reader, 2:21-33.
[15:2] 10 tn The pronoun is anaphoric here, equivalent to the verb “to be” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 23, §115).
[15:2] 11 sn The sentence in the Hebrew text employs a very effective wordplay on the name Damascus: “The son of the acquisition (בֶּן־מֶשֶׁק, ben-mesheq) of my house is Eliezer of Damascus (דַּמֶּשֶׁק, dammesheq).” The words are not the same; they have different sibilants. But the sound play gives the impression that “in the nomen is the omen.” Eliezer the Damascene will be Abram’s heir if Abram dies childless because “Damascus” seems to mean that. See M. F. Unger, “Some Comments on the Text of Genesis 15:2-3,” JBL 72 (1953): 49-50; H. L. Ginsberg, “Abram’s ‘Damascene’ Steward,” BASOR 200 (1970): 31-32.
[15:1] 12 sn The noun “shield” recalls the words of Melchizedek in 14:20. If God is the shield, then God will deliver. Abram need not fear reprisals from those he has fought.
[15:1] 13 tn Heb “your reward [in] great abundance.” When the phrase הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ (harbeh mÿod) follows a noun it invariably modifies the noun and carries the nuance “very great” or “in great abundance.” (See its use in Gen 41:49; Deut 3:5; Josh 22:8; 2 Sam 8:8; 12:2; 1 Kgs 4:29; 10:10-11; 2 Chr 14:13; 32:27; Jer 40:12.) Here the noun “reward” is in apposition to “shield” and refers by metonymy to God as the source of the reward. Some translate here “your reward will be very great” (cf. NASB, NRSV), taking the statement as an independent clause and understanding the Hiphil infinitive absolute as a substitute for a finite verb. However, the construction הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ is never used this way elsewhere, where it either modifies a noun (see the texts listed above) or serves as an adverb in relation to a finite verb (see Josh 13:1; 1 Sam 26:21; 2 Sam 12:30; 2 Kgs 21:16; 1 Chr 20:2; Neh 2:2).
[15:1] sn Abram has just rejected all the spoils of war, and the
[11:24] 14 tn Grk “a significant crowd.”
[11:1] 15 tn See BDAG 221 s.v. δέχομαι 5 for this translation of ἐδέξαντο (edexanto) here.
[11:1] 16 tn Here the phrase “word of God” is another way to describe the gospel (note the preceding verb ἐδέξαντο, edexanto, “accepted”). The phrase could also be translated “the word [message] from God.”
[18:5] 18 sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.
[18:5] 19 tn BDAG 971 s.v. συνέχω 6 states, “συνείχετο τῷ λόγῳ (Paul) was wholly absorbed in preaching Ac 18:5…in contrast to the activity cited in vs. 3.” The imperfect συνείχετο (suneiceto) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect (“became wholly absorbed…”), stressing the change in Paul’s activity once Silas and Timothy arrived. At this point Paul apparently began to work less and preach more.
[18:5] 20 tn BDAG 233 s.v. διαμαρτύρομαι 2 has “testify of, bear witness to solemnly (orig. under oath)…W. acc. and inf. foll. Ac 18:5.”
[18:5] 21 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
[18:5] sn See the note on Christ in 2:31.
[18:2] 22 tn Grk “And he.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here. The word “there” is not in the Greek text but is implied.
[18:2] 23 tn Grk “finding.” The participle εὑρών (Jeurwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
[18:2] 24 sn On Aquila and his wife Priscilla see also Acts 18:18, 26; Rom 16:3-4; 1 Cor 16:19; 2 Tim 4:19. In the NT “Priscilla” and “Prisca” are the same person. This author uses the full name Priscilla, while Paul uses the diminutive form Prisca.
[18:2] 25 sn Pontus was a region in the northeastern part of Asia Minor. It was a Roman province.
[18:2] 26 sn Claudius refers to the Roman emperor Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus, known as Claudius, who ruled from
[18:2] 28 map For location see JP4 A1.
[28:5] 30 tn BDAG 737 s.v. οὖν 4 indicates the particle has an adversative sense here: “but, however.”
[28:5] 31 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[28:5] 32 tn Grk “shaking the creature off…he suffered no harm.” The participle ἀποτινάξας (apotinaxa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
[28:23] 33 tn Grk “Having set.” The participle ταξάμενοι (taxamenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
[28:23] 34 tn Grk “Having set a day with him”; the words “to meet” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
[28:23] 35 tn Or “came to him in his rented quarters.”
[28:23] 36 tn BDAG 848 s.v. πολύς 1.b.β.ב states, “(even) more πλείονες in even greater numbers Ac 28:23.”
[28:23] 37 tn The word “things” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.
[28:23] 38 tn Grk “to whom he explained.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) has been replaced by the pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun at this point in the translation.
[28:23] 39 tn BDAG 233 s.v. διαμαρτύρομαι 1 has “to make a solemn declaration about the truth of someth. testify of, bear witness to (orig. under oath)…God’s kingdom 28:23.”
[28:23] 40 sn Testifying about the kingdom of God. The topic is important. Paul’s preaching was about the rule of God and his promise in Jesus. Paul’s text was the Jewish scriptures.
[49:23] 42 tn The words “The
[49:23] 43 sn Damascus is a city in Syria, located below the eastern slopes of the Anti-lebanon Mountains. It was the capital of the Aramean state that was in constant hostility with Israel from the time of David until its destruction by the Assyrians in 732
[49:23] 44 tn Heb “Hamath and Arpad.” There is no word for people in the text. The cities are being personified. However, since it is really the people who are involved and it is clearer for the modern reader, the present translation supplies the words “people of” both here and in v. 24. The verbs in vv. 23-25 are all to be interpreted as prophetic perfects, the tense of the Hebrew verb that views an action as though it were as good as done. The verbs are clearly future in vv. 26-27 which begin with a “therefore.”
[49:23] sn Hamath was a city on the Orontes River about 110 miles (183 km) north of Damascus. Arpad was a city that was 95 miles (158 km) farther north from there. These two cities were in the path of the northern descent of the kings of Assyria and Babylonia and had been conquered earlier under the Assyrian kings (Isa 10:9; 36:19; 37:13). The apparent reference here is to their terror and loss of courage when they hear the news that Nebuchadnezzar’s armies are on the move toward them and Damascus. They would have been in the path of Nebuchadnezzar as he chased Necho south after the battle of Carchemish.
[49:23] 45 tc The meaning of this verse is very uncertain. The Hebrew text apparently reads “Hamath and Arpad are dismayed. They melt away because they have heard bad news. Anxiety is in the sea; it [the sea] cannot be quiet.” Many commentaries and English versions redivide the verse and read “like the sea” for “in the sea” (כַּיָּם [kayyam] for בַּיָּם [bayyam]) and read the feminine singular noun דְּאָגָה (dÿ’agam) as though it were the third masculine plural verb דָּאֲגוּ (da’agu): “They are troubled like the sea.” The translation follows the emendation proposed in BHS and accepted by a number of commentaries (e.g., J. Bright, Jeremiah [AB], 333; J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah [NICOT], 723, n. 1). That emendation involves reading נָמֹג לִבָּם מִדְּאָגָה (namog libbam middÿ’agah) instead of נָמֹגוּ בַּיָּם דְּאָגָה (namogu bayyam dÿ’agah). The translation also involves a double reading of “heart,” for the sake of English style, once in the sense of courage (BDB 525 s.v. לֵב 10) because that is the nuance that best fits “melts” in the English idiom and once in the more general sense of hearts as the seat of fear, anxiety, worry. The double translation is a concession to English style.
[49:25] 46 tn Heb “city of praise.”
[49:25] 47 tn Heb “city of joy.”
[49:25] 48 tc Or “Why has that famous city not been abandoned, that city I once took delight in?” The translation follows the majority of modern commentaries in understanding לֹא (lo’, “not”) before “abandoned” as a misunderstanding of the emphatic ל (lamed; so J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah [NICOT], 723, n. 3, and J. Bright, Jeremiah [AB], 333, n. c; see also IBHS 211-12 §11.2.10i and HALOT 485-86 s.v. II לְ for the phenomenon). The particle is missing from the Vulgate. The translation also follows the versions in omitting the suffix on the word “joy” that is found in the Hebrew text (see BHS note b for a listing of the versions). This gives a better connection with the preceding and the following verse than the alternate translation.
[49:26] 49 tn Heb “Oracle of Yahweh of armies.” For this title for God see the study note on 2:19.
[49:27] 50 sn Ben-Hadad was a common name borne by a number of the kings of Damascus, e.g., one during the time of Asa around 900
[1:3] 51 tn Traditionally, “transgressions” or “sins.” The word refers to rebellion against authority and is used in the international political realm (see 1 Kgs 12:19; 2 Kgs 1:1; 3:5, 7; 8:22). There is debate over its significance in this context. Some relate the “rebellion” of the foreign nations to God’s mandate to Noah (Gen 9:5-7). This mandate is viewed as a treaty between God and humankind, whereby God holds humans accountable to populate the earth and respect his image as it is revealed in all people. While this option is a possible theological explanation of the message in light of the Old Testament as a whole, nothing in these oracles alludes to that Genesis passage. J. Barton suggests that the prophet is appealing to a common morality shared across the ancient Near East regarding the conduct of war since all of the oracles can be related to activities and atrocities committed in warfare (Amos’s Oracles against the Nations [SOTSMS], 39-61). The “transgression” then would be a violation of what all cultures would take as fundamental human decency. Some argue that the nations cited in Amos 1-2 had been members of the Davidic empire. Their crime would consist of violating the mutual agreements that all should have exhibited toward one another (cf. M. E. Polley, Amos and the Davidic Empire). This interpretation is connected to the notion that Amos envisions a reconstituted Davidic empire for Israel and the world (9:11-15). Ultimately, we can only speculate what lay behind Amos’ thinking. He does not specify the theological foundation of his universal moral vision, but it is clear that Amos believes that all nations are responsible before the Lord for their cruelty toward other human beings. He also assumes that even those who did not know his God would recognize their inhumane treatment of others as inherently wrong. The translation “crimes” is general enough to communicate that a standard (whether human or divine) has been breached. For a survey of the possible historical events behind each oracle, see S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia).
[1:3] 52 tn Heb “Because of three violations of Damascus, even because of four.”
[1:3] sn The three…four style introduces each of the judgment oracles of chaps. 1-2. Based on the use of a similar formula in wisdom literature (see Prov 30:18-19, 29-31), one expects to find in each case a list of four specific violations. However, only in the eighth oracle (against Israel) does one find the expected fourfold list. Through this adaptation and alteration of the normal pattern the
[1:3] 53 tn Heb “I will not bring it [or “him”] back.” The pronominal object (1) refers to the decree of judgment that follows; the referent (the decree) has been specified in the translation for clarity. See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 46-47. Another option (2) is to understand the suffix as referring to the particular nation mentioned in the oracle and to translate, “I will not take him [i.e., that particular nation] back.” In this case the
[1:3] 54 tn Heb “they threshed [or “trampled down”] Gilead with sharp iron implements” (NASB similar).
[1:3] sn Like threshing sledges with iron teeth. A threshing sledge was made of wooden boards embedded with sharp stones or iron teeth. As the sledge was pulled over the threshing floor the stones or iron teeth would separate the grain from the stalks. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 64-65. Here the threshing metaphor is used to emphasize how violently and inhumanely the Arameans (the people of Damascus) had treated the people of Gilead (located east of the Jordan River).
[1:4] 55 tn “Hazael’s house” (“the house of Hazael”) refers to the dynasty of Hazael.
[1:4] sn Hazael took the throne of Aram in 843
[1:4] 56 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the fire mentioned in the previous line) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:4] 57 sn Ben-hadad may refer to Hazael’s son and successor (2 Kgs 13:3, 24) or to an earlier king (see 1 Kgs 20), perhaps the ruler whom Hazael assassinated when he assumed power.
[1:5] 58 sn The bar on the city gate symbolizes the city’s defenses and security.
[1:5] 60 tn Heb “the one who sits.” Some English versions take the Hebrew term in a collective sense as “inhabitants” (e.g., KJV, NKJV, NASB, NRSV). The context and the parallel in the next clause (“the one who holds the royal scepter”), however, suggest that the royal house is in view. For this term (יוֹשֵׁב, yoshev), see N. K. Gottwald, The Tribes of Yahweh, 512-30.
[1:5] 61 tn Heb “valley of wickedness.” Though many English versions take the Hebrew phrase בִקְעַת־אָוֶן (biq’-at ’aven) as a literal geographical place name (“Valley of Aven,” so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT), it appears to be a derogatory epithet for Damascus and the kingdom of Aram.
[1:5] 62 tn Many associate the name “Beth Eden” with Bit Adini, an Aramean state located near the Euphrates River, but it may be a sarcastic epithet meaning “house of pleasure.”
[1:5] 63 sn According to Amos 9:7, the Arameans originally came from Kir. The
[9:1] 64 sn The land of Hadrach was a northern region stretching from Aleppo in the north to Damascus in the south (cf. NLT “Aram”).
[9:1] 65 tn Heb “Damascus its resting place.” The 3rd person masculine singular suffix on “resting place” (מְנֻחָתוֹ, mÿnukhato), however, precludes “land” or even “Hadrach,” both of which are feminine, from being the antecedent. Most likely “word” (masculine) is the antecedent, i.e., the “word of the
[9:1] 66 tc Though without manuscript and version support, many scholars suggest emendation here to clarify what, to them, is an unintelligible reading. Thus some propose עָדֵי אָרָם (’ade ’aram, “cities of Aram”; cf. NAB, NRSV) for עֵין אָדָם (’en ’adam, “eye of man”) or אֲדָמָה (’adamah, “ground”) for אָדָם (’adam, “man”), “(surface of) the earth.” It seems best, however, to see “eye” as collective and to understand the passage as saying that the attention of the whole earth will be upon the
[9:2] 67 sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.
[9:2] 68 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] 69 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] 70 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.
