Section 17:10–15
Paul and Silas went to Berea
In this section, Jason and the other believers sent Paul and Silas at night to Berea. They preached about Jesus to the Jews there. The Berean Jews were eager to hear the message that Jesus was the Christ. They searched the Scriptures to verify what Paul said. Many Jews and Greeks believed in Jesus.
But the Jews from Thessalonica heard what happened there, so they went and caused trouble. The believers sent Paul to Athens with some believers from their group. Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea. But when Paul reached Athens, he asked the believers with him to return and tell Silas and Timothy to come to him soon.
Other examples of headings for this section are:
Paul preached in Berea, but Jews from Thessalonica came and caused trouble
-or-
People in Berea Welcome the Message (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
In Berea (New International Version)
Paragraph 17:10–12
17:10a
As soon as night had fallen: This phrase in Greek is literally “immediately during the night.” The word “immediately” probably indicates that the believers sent Paul and Silas that night. They did not wait a day or two before sending them. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
That very night (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
The brothers sent Paul and Silas…at once, during the night. (NET Bible)
the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea: This was a journey of about seventy kilometers (40 miles). This is a one or two day walk.
Berea: This name refers to a city in Macedonia.
the brothers: This refers generally to believers in Thessalonica.
Paul and Silas: Timothy went to Berea too (17:14b). But since he was not named here, he probably went the next morning or some days later. There was no rush for him to leave, because the Jews only named Paul and Silas in the trouble that day.
You should name only Paul and Silas here. But if readers are confused about Timothy being in Berea but not mentioned here, you may want to explain it in a footnote. An example footnote is:
Timothy went to Berea too (17:14b). But since he was not named here, he probably went later.
17:10b
On arriving there, they went into the Jewish synagogue: They probably went on the first Sabbath day after their arrival in the town.
they went: The Greek tense probably indicates they went more than once to the Jewish synagogue. They probably went every Sabbath. For example:
they began going
the Jewish synagogue: A synagogue was a building where Jews gathered to pray, read scripture, teach, and worship. In some languages, the word synagogue already indicates a building for Jews. For example:
the synagogue (Good News Translation)
See how you translated the word synagogue in 6:9 or 17:1.
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