Paul

The term that is transliterated as “Paul” in English means “little.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )

In American Sign Language it is translated with a sign that signifies the many letters he wrote. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


“Paul” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor

In Spanish Sign Language it is translated with a sign depicting putting away a sword, referring to his conversion from a persecutor of Christians to a Christian leader. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)


“Paul (and Saul)” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with a sign that is based on contemporary depictions and refers to the presumed baldness of the top of his head. The description originates from the 2nd-century apocryphal text titled Acts of Paul and Thecla , which represents the earliest and most detailed physical characterization of the apostle in Christian tradition (see also the icon below). (Source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group)


“Paul” in Hungarian Sign Language — note that only the first part refers to “Paul,” the second part refers to “apostle” (source )

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

Following is a Georgian Orthodox icon of Paul the Apostle from the 14th century (located in the Art Museum of Georgia, Tbilisi).

Orthodox Icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )

The following is a contemporary stained glass window from the Messiah Episcopal Church in St. Paul, Minnesota by Peter Dohmen. Individual glass pieces were made in Germany in accordance with Dohmen’s design, using a technique first developed by Irish monks in the 9th and 10th centuries.

Source for the image and description below: The Stained Glass Windows of Messiah Episcopal Church

“This window is dedicated to St. Paul, the great apostle and missionary, for whom our city is named. At the top of the window is a ship which symbolizes the many missionary journeys of Paul — the Church is our ship, which carries us over the way of life. In the lower section we see Paul on the road to Damascus when he saw a great light and heard our Lord’s voice, which called him to discipleship.”

Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about Paul (source: Bible Lands 2012)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Paul .

synagogue, temple (inner), temple (outer)

In many English translations the Greek terms “hieron” (the whole “temple” in Jerusalem or specifically the outer courts open to worshippers) and “naos” (the inner “shrine” or “sanctuary”) are translated with only one word: “temple” (see also for instance “Tempel” in German [for exception see below] and “tempel” in Dutch, Danish, or Afrikaans).

Other languages make a distinction: (Click or tap here to see more)

  • Navajo (Dinė): “house in which worship is carried out” (for naos)
  • Balinese: “inner part of the Great Temple” (“the term ‘inner part’ denoting the hindmost and holiest of the two or three courts that temples on Bali usually possess”) vs. “Great Temple”
  • Telugu: “womb (i.e. interior)-of-the-abode” vs. “abode”
  • Thai: a term denoting the main audience hall of a Buddhist temple compound vs. “environs-of-the-main-audience-hall”
  • Kituba: “place of holiness of house-God Lord” vs. “house-God Lord”
  • Shipibo-Conibo: “deep in God’s house” vs. “God’s house” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • German das Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022): “inner court of the temple” (Tempelinnenhof) vs. “temple”

Languages that, like English, German, Dutch, Danish, or Afrikaans, don’t make that distinction include:

  • Mandarin Chinese: “聖殿 Shèng diàn” (“holy palace”)
  • Loma: “the holy place”
  • Pular: “the sacred house” (source for this and the one above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Zarma: “God’s compound”
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “big church of the Jews”
  • Yatzachi Zapotec: “big house on top (i.e. most important)”
  • Toraja-Sa’dan: “house that is looked upon as holy, that is sacred, that is taboo and where one may not set foot” (lit. “house where-the-belly-gets-swollen” — because taboo is violated — using a term that is also applied to a Muslim mosque) (source for this and the three above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Mairasi: Janav Enggwarjer Weso: “Great Above One’s (God’s) House” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Noongar: Maya-maya-Kooranyi: “Sacred House” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Huehuetla Tepehua: “the big church of the Israelites”
  • Aguaruna: “the house for talking to God” (source for this and above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
  • Guhu-Samane: “festival longhouse of God” (“The biiri, ‘festival longhouse’, being the religious and social center of the community, is a possible term for ‘temple’. It is not the ‘poro house’ as such. That would be too closely identified with the cult of poro. The physical features of the building, huge and sub-divided, lend it further favor for this consideration. By qualifying it as ‘God’s biiri’ the term has become meaningful and appropriate in the context of the Scriptures.”) (Source: Ernest Richert in The Bible Translator, 1965, p. 81ff. )
  • Enga: “God’s restricted access house” (source: Adam Boyd on his blog )

Another distinction that tends to be overlooked in translations is that between hieron (“temple” in English) and sunagógé (“synagogue” in English). Euan Fry (in The Bible Translator 1987, p. 213ff. ) reports on this:

“Many older translations have simply used transliterations of ‘temple’ and ‘synagogue’ rather than trying to find equivalent terms or meaningful expressions in their own languages. This approach does keep the two terms separate; but it makes the readers depend on explanations given by pastors or teachers for their understanding of the text.

“Translators who have tried to find meaningful equivalents, for the two terms ‘temple’ and ‘synagogue’ have usually made a distinction between them in one of two ways (which focus on the contrasting components of meaning). One way takes the size and importance of the Temple to make a contrast, so that expressions such as ‘sacred meeting/ worship house of the Jews’ and ‘big sacred meeting/worship house of the Jews’ are used. The other way focuses on the different nature of the religious activity at each of the places, so that expressions such as ‘meeting/worship house of the Jews’ and ‘sacrifice/ceremony place of the Jews’ are used.

“It is not my purpose in this article to discuss how to arrive at the most precise equivalent to cover all the components of meaning of ‘temple’. That is something that each translator really has to work through for himself in the light of the present usage and possibilities in his own language. My chief concern here is that the basic term or terms chosen for ‘temple’ should give the reader of a translation a clear and correct picture of the location referred to in each passage. And I am afraid that in many cases where an equivalent like ‘house of God’ or ‘worship house’ has been chosen, the readers have quite the wrong picture of what going to the Temple or being in the Temple means. (This may be the case for the word ‘temple’ in English too, for many readers.)”

Here are some examples:

  • Bambara: “house of God” (or: “big house of worship”) vs. “worship house” (or: “small houses of worship”)
  • Toraja-Sa’dan: “house where-the-belly-gets-swollen” (see above) vs. “meeting house for discussing matters concerning religious customs” (and “church” is “house where one meets on Sunday”)
  • Navajo (Dinė): “house in which worship is carried out” vs. “house of gathering” (source for all above: Bratcher / Nida)

    • Bangandu: “the great house of God” vs. “house of prayer” (Source: Ervais Fotso Noumsi in Le Sycomore, 16/1, 2022 )

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about Herod’s temple (source: Bible Lands 2012)

Click or tap here to see a short video clip showing synagogues in New Testament times (source: Bible Lands 2012)

See also this devotion on YouVersion .

complete verse (Acts 17:1)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 17:1:

  • Uma: “Paulus and Silas continued their journey passing through the towns of Amfipolis and Apolonia, arriving at the town of Tesalonika. In Tesalonika, there was Yahudi house of prayer.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Then Paul and company travelled passing through the city of Ampipolis and the city of Appolon. Then they arrived in the city of Tessalonika. There was a Yahudi prayer-house there.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Then they went through the villages of Amphipolis and Apollonia, and they arrived in the village of Thessalonica. And there was a church of the Jews there.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Plural Pablo walked-through Amfipolos and Apollonia, and then they arrived in Tessalonica where-was a synagogue of the Jews.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “From Filipos, Pablo-and-co then passed by the cities of Anfipolis and Apolonia, and then they arrived at Tesalonica. There, there was a worship-place of the Jews,” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Acts 17:1

The means of travel is not indicated, whether by animal or by foot, though if Amphipolis and Apollonia were the only two cities in which Paul stopped on his way to Thessalonica, it would imply that at least part of the journey was made on horseback. The road on which Paul was traveling would have been the Via Egnatia, which extended all the way across Macedonia from Neapolis to the city of Dyrrhachium. Amphipolis, located about three miles from the sea, was the capital of the first district of Macedonia and was about 30 miles southwest of Philippi. Apollonia was 30 miles southwest of Amphipolis and 35 miles east of Thessalonica. Thessalonica was a free city and was the capital of the province of Macedonia.

It may be useful to use a classifier with the cities Amphipolis, Apollonia, and Thessalonica, since it is possible that these might be interpreted as provinces or territories. However, in the ancient world the name of a city normally applied not only to the immediate built-up area, but also to the surrounding farmlands, which were regarded as being a part of the city.

In a number of languages Jewish synagogue must be rendered as “a synagogue for Jews” or, as in some instances, “a worship house for Jews” or “a building where Jews worshiped God.”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Acts 17:1

Section 17:1–9

Paul and Silas went to Thessalonica

In this section, Paul and Silas traveled through several towns and arrived at Thessalonica. Paul preached the gospel of Jesus to the Jews and discussed it with them. Some Jews and a large number of Gentiles who worshiped God believed.

But some Jews did not believe and encouraged some bad people to start a riot against Paul and Silas. They did not find Paul and Silas but dragged a believer named Jason before the city officials. They made him promise to make Paul and Silas leave or else pay a big fine for disturbing the peace. (In 17:10, the believers sent Paul and Silas away from Thessalonica to Berea.)

Other examples of headings for this section are:

Paul preached in Thessalonica, but some Jews caused people to riot against him
-or-
The Uproar in Thessalonica (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
In Thessalonica (New International Version)

Paragraph 17:1–4

17:1a

they: This pronoun refers to Paul and Silas. This is the start of a new chapter, so you may want to use their names instead of the pronoun they. For example:

Paul and Silas (Good News Translation)

passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia: The phrase passed through indicates that Paul and Silas did not stay long in either Amphipolis and Apollonia. Luke probably mentioned these two cities because Paul and Silas stopped for the night there. They probably did not stop and preach here. For example:

traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
travelled by way of Amphipolis and Apollonia (Revised English Bible)

Amphipolis and Apollonia: These names referred to cities in the province of Macedonia. The distance from Philippi to Amphipolis is about 65 kilometers (40 miles). The distance from Amphipolis to Apollonia is about 50 kilometers (31 miles). The distance from Apollonia to Thessalonica is about 55 kilometers (34 miles). Each of these distances would be an all day journey on foot, or perhaps two days.

17:1b

Thessalonica: Thessalonica was a large city for that time. It is estimated that it had somewhere between 20,000 to 100,000 people living there.

a Jewish synagogue: A synagogue was a building where Jews gathered to pray, read scripture, teach, and worship God. See how you translated the word synagogue in 15:21.

Luke described the synagogue here as Jewish, but the word synagogue usually refers to a building for Jews to gather. For example:

a synagogue (Good News Translation)

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