The interior of the province is an abbreviated statement covering the same geographical areas mentioned in 18.23. Both from the immediate context and from Luke’s use of “disciples” elsewhere in Acts, one must conclude that the disciples referred to here are considered Christian believers and not merely “disciples of John the Baptist.”

In some languages it is necessary to specify the means by which Paul traveled. Presumably this would have been on foot, though it is possible that he traveled on horseback or by some wagon-like conveyance.

The term there which introduces the second sentence in verse 1 is an important transitional device referring back to Ephesus.

A translation of found must not imply that Paul was necessarily looking for such disciples. It simply means that he “met up with some disciples.” In this context disciples may very well be translated as “believers.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .