Page 55 - AlNashra Year 2025 Issue 02

19 sets the stage for the following
broadening of the Gospel's audience in
verse 20, where the conjunction καὶ� is
emphasized to indicate reaching "even to
the Greeks" (καὶ� πρὸ� ς τοὺ� ς Ἕλ� ληνας)1.
It is noteworthy that the adversative
δέ� in the clause “Ἦσ� αν δέ� τινες ἐ�ξ
αὐ� τῶν…” (However, some of them...)
indicates a distinctive action taken by
those people from Cyprus and Cyrene:
Their missionary endeavors extended
beyond the Jewish community in
Antioch to encompass Gentiles as well.
This interpretation, which considers the
broader reference to Greeks or Gentiles
in contrast to a narrower group such as
Jews or Greek-speaking Jews, strongly
supports the variant reading Ἕλ� ληνας
over the Nestle-Aland28 prefered
reading Ἑλ� ληνιστὰ� ς.2
1 Gerhard Schneider, Apostelgeschichte 9,1-28,31,
HThKNT (Freiburg-Basel-Wien: Herder, 2002), p. 89.
2 This opinion is endorsed by several scholars: Mar-
tin Hengel (Zwischen Jesus und Paulus, Zwischen Jesus und
Paulus: Studien zur frühchristlichen und frühjüdischen Re-
ligionsgeschichte. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum
Neuen Testament 60. (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1985) pp.
164-165), Gerhard Schneider (Apostelgeschichte 9,1-28,31,
p. 89 n. 22), Joseph A. Fitzmyer (he Acts of the Apostles. An-
chor Bible 31 (New Haven & London: Yale University Press,
Doubleday, 1998), p. 476), and Luke Timothy Johnson (The
Acts of the Apostles (Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical
Press, 1992) p. 203). It is contrasted with the view of P. Park-
er ("Three Variant Readings in Luke-Acts," JBL 83 [1964],
pp. 167-68).
Greek-speaking Jews from Cyprus
and Cyrene engaged with the Greek
community in the third most prominent
city within the Roman Empire of that
era, acquainting them with the teachings
of the Lord Jesus for the very first time.
Upon receiving the significant news,
the Church in Jerusalem promptly sent
Barnabas, a fellow Jew from Cyprus, to
conduct an investigation. When Barnabas
encountered the group of Gentile
Christians at Antioch, he regarded their
faith as praiseworthy. Consequently, he
assumed the role of a mediator between
the apostles and the Gentile Christians.
Realizing the necessity for more
assistance, Barnabas instinctively
sought out Saul. Whether prompted
by a close friendship with Paul or a
discernment of Paul's eloquence and
educational aptitude, Barnabas invited
him from Tarsus to assist in the
mission among the Greeks. The duo
spent a significant year in Antioch,
devoted to teaching a considerable
amount of believers. The widespread
dissemination of the Gospel, with the
diligent efforts of Barnabas and Paul,
led to the designation of the disciples as
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