18:2a
There he found a Jew named Aquila: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as found is literally “found.” Here the word means “made the acquaintance of.” Paul did not know Aquila before, therefore he found…Aquila for the first time. Other ways to translate this clause are:
There he became acquainted with a Jew named Aquila (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
There he came upon a Jewish man named Aquila
a Jew: Aquila’s ancestors were from Israel. He probably also followed the Jewish religion growing up. So Aquila was a Jew by ethnic group and religion. His name is a Latin name, not a Jewish name. So Luke made it clear here that Aquila was a Jew. But it is not clear if he and his wife were Christians at this time, because Luke did not call them believers here.
a native of Pontus: Pontus was a region north of the province of Galatia. It was the eastern portion of the Roman province of Bithynia and Pontus. His parents lived in Pontus and Aquila was born there. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
he was from Pontus
-or-
he was born in Pontus
-or-
a Pontus man
The Greek phrase translated a native of is translated “from” in 4:36, but the meaning is the same.
18:2b
who had recently come from Italy: This clause tells the reader more about Aquila. In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate that Luke was thinking of other men named Aquila and only this one had recently come from Italy. If that is true in your language, translate this information in a way that tells more about Aquila. One way to do that is to start a new sentence here. For example:
He had recently come from Italy
Italy: Italy was the native country of the Romans. Their capital city was Rome. 18:2c clearly implies that Aquila and Priscilla lived in Rome but were forced to leave.
In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate that they lived in Italy but not Rome. If that is true in your language, you may want to include the implied information. For example:
⌊Rome,⌋ Italy
-or-
⌊Rome, the capital of⌋ Italy
18:2c
Claudius: Claudius was the emperor of the Roman empire at that time. In some languages people are not familiar with who Claudius was. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
• Explain who he was in your translation. For example:
Emperor Claudius (Good News Translation)
• Explain who he was in a footnote. An example footnote is:
Claudius was the emperor/ruler of the Roman empire at that time.
18:2d
Paul went to visit them: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as went to visit is literally “approached.” It indicates that he went to ask something. He probably went to ask if he could stay in their house. Other ways to translate this clause are:
He came to them, (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
Paul went to them to ask ⌊about a place to stay⌋
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