Tool Beta
The Ancient World Behind the Text
Pick a passage anywhere in the New Testament. See the customs and ideas a first reader knew without being told.
Acts 15:22-35, The letter to the Gentile churches
The council sends Judas and Silas with Paul and Barnabas to carry a letter to the Gentile believers of Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. It is read to the church at Antioch, who rejoice at its encouragement.
Acts 15:22-35, in every translation this tool compares.
The Jerusalem leaders and the whole church send Judas Barsabbas and Silas back with Paul and Barnabas, carrying a written decision. The letter distances Jerusalem from the agitators, says the Spirit and the gathering agree on a light requirement, and lists the few practices Gentile believers should avoid. Read aloud in Antioch, it brings great relief and encouragement. Judas and Silas, both prophets, stay to strengthen the believers before returning home.
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- {"u":"https:\/\/jayms.com\/bible-study-tools-2\/ancient-world-ideas\/food-laws\/","n":"Clean and unclean food","s":"The law of Moses sorted animals into clean and unclean, and keeping kosher marked Jews off from their neighbors. Strict Jews also avoided Gentile food, Gentile wine and Gentile tables.","r":""}
- {"u":"https:\/\/jayms.com\/bible-study-tools-2\/ancient-world-ideas\/spirit-of-prophecy\/","n":"The Spirit of prophecy","s":"Jews of Jesus' day linked God's Spirit above all with prophecy. Many believed the prophets had fallen silent long ago, and they looked for the day God would pour out his Spirit again.","r":""}
- {"u":"https:\/\/jayms.com\/bible-study-tools-2\/ancient-world-ideas\/hospitality\/","n":"Hospitality to travelers","s":"Taking in travelers was one of the great virtues of the ancient Mediterranean, above all among Jews. Messengers could travel light because they expected to be housed.","r":""}
The greeting and the closing Farewell are the standard forms of Greco-Roman letters, and the address marks a circular letter to be copied and carried round its regions (Keener and his notes). Officials and councils sent respected representatives with their decrees, and the messengers would be trusted as speaking for the council (Keener and his notes); Wright adds that Judas and Silas let Antioch know Paul had not written the letter himself. The formula it seemed good belongs to council resolutions and imperial decrees, and because the Spirit was linked with prophecy, readers would hear a claim that God led the decision (Keener and his notes). Delivering the letter meant reading it aloud, since most people could not read well (the cultural backgrounds notes). Verse 34, that Silas stayed on, is missing from the earliest manuscripts; Wright thinks scribes added it to explain how Silas was in Antioch in verse 40. Wright also notes that Paul never cites the decree, even in 1 Corinthians 8-10, and suggests he did not want to look like Jerusalem's deputy; others solve the puzzle by dating the council later.
- Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, on Acts 15:23, 15:24-27, 15:28 and 15:29
- NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, notes on Acts 15:23-29, 15:28, 15:30 and 15:33
- N. T. Wright, Acts for Everyone, Part Two, comment on Acts 15:22-35
