Acts 2:8-10

Keith Fuller

Hi,

In NASB95 Acts 2:8-10 ---8 "And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born? 9 "Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,

 Could verse 9 be translated "Parthians, Medes, and Elamites. Jewish residents of Mesopotamia, Cappadocia, Pontus, and Asia...."?

 My question is this, could verse 9 be understood as enumerating the Jews who were living in Mesopotamia, Jews who were living in Cappadocia, Jews who were living in Pontus, and Jews who were living in Asia? Does this do violence to Luke's intended meaning?

Thank you,

Audock

Michael Büschlen

Hi

The usual understanding is, that the list represent Jewish residents from these places who came together in Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost. The question is, whether Ἰουδαῖοί τε καὶ προσήλυτοι refers to the whole list or just to the visitors of rome. I think it refers just to those of Rome, because the list doesn't stop there.

That doesn't change that the other visitors were jewish...

Here a section of the exegetical summary:

QUESTION—Where were the people and places mentioned in verses 9–11?
After the Babylonian captivity of 605–538 B.C., not all of the Jews returned to Palestine. Many stayed in some of the places mentioned here or were later deported to other places by other rulers. They learned the languages of the people they were living among [TRT]. The list in verses 9–11 mixes peoples (Parthians, Medes, Elamites, Romans, Cretans, and Arabians) with lands (Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and Libya) [BECNT]. The list of places from which the Jews had come is probably intended to indicate every country in the world (v. 5) [EBC, NAC, PNTC, TNTC, TH]. The list moves from east to west and also from northwest to southwest [BECNT, EBC]. They can be grouped into 6 groups: (1) Parthians, Medes, Elamites and those who dwell in Mesopotamia, (2) Judea and Cappadocia, (3) Pontus and Asia, (4) Phrygia and Pamphylia, (5) Egypt and parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, (6) visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians. The first group lists the communities located to the east in Mesopotamia and beyond. Parthia is the farthest east. Mesopotamia covers the Tigris and Euphrates Valley and is where the Parthian and Roman empires met. The second group covers larger Judea and Cappadocia to the north. The third group is farther north, to Pontus on the edge of modern Asia Minor (Turkey) and beyond to Asia, which here is probably western Asia Minor. The fourth group moves west to Cappadocia to the central and southern edge of Asia Minor, to Phrygia and Pamphylia. The third and fourth groups cover what is today modern Turkey. The fifth group goes further west and south across the Great Sea (Mediterranean) to Egypt. Next to Libya as far west as Cyrene. The last group comes back north to Rome, mentioning that both Jews and Gentile proselytes have come to Jerusalem from there and referring to Crete and the Arabians, probably meaning Nabataea, making almost a full circle as the list is completed. Rome is in the last grouping and is important, for it is where Acts will end [BECNT].
QUESTION—Who were the ‘visiting Romans’?
It refers to people from the city of Rome who are visiting Jerusalem; they may or may not be Roman citizens [BECNT, EBC, NICNT, TH, TRT]. A few think it refers to Roman citizens who are not necessarily from the city of Rome and have moved to live in Jerusalem [Bar, TRT].
QUESTION—What does the comment ‘both Jews and proselytes’ refer to?
1. It refers back only to the visiting Romans [BECNT, EBC, NAC, NICNT, PNTC, TH]. If this refers back to only the visiting Romans, this phrase could be put within parentheses or dashes [TRT].
2. It refers to the entire list of people in verses 9–10 who are staying in Jerusalem [AB, Bar, TNTC].

Cheng, B., & Stutzman, R. (2017). An Exegetical Summary of Acts 1–14 (S. 48–49). Dallas, TX: SIL International.