This introduction provides scholarly background to the Acts of the Apostles. It does not redefine, expand, or control the main translation. Parallels do not prove dependence. Modern models do not define ancient intent. All entries are labeled by type and certainty and must be read as background, not as translation.
Overview
A1. What the Acts of the Apostles is
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The Acts of the Apostles is the fifth book of the New Testament canon (28 chapters). It is the second volume of a single two-part work — Luke–Acts — by one author. Its opening sentence refers back to "the first account" addressed to Theophilus (1:1), echoing the Gospel's prologue (Luke 1:1–4), and its narrative resumes exactly where the Gospel ends: with the ascension of the risen Yeshua (Jesus) (Luke 24:50–53; Acts 1:9–11). Together the two volumes make up roughly a quarter of the New Testament, more than the corpus attributed to any single other author.
Acts narrates the emergence and spread of the early Jesus-movement: from the ascension and the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost, through the life of the Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) community and the first persecutions, to the mission outward — to Samaria, to the nations, and finally to Paul's arrival in Rome. The book is sometimes read as "the acts of the apostles," but its driving agent throughout is the Holy Spirit; the title is a later editorial addition, not part of the original composition.
Acts narrates the emergence and spread of the early Jesus-movement: from the ascension and the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost, through the life of the Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) community and the first persecutions, to the mission outward — to Samaria, to the nations, and finally to Paul's arrival in Rome. The book is sometimes read as "the acts of the apostles," but its driving agent throughout is the Holy Spirit; the title is a later editorial addition, not part of the original composition.
Source: Fitzmyer, The Acts of the Apostles (Anchor Bible, 1998), 3–63; Barrett, The Acts of the Apostles (ICC, 1994–1998), I.xiii–xliii.
A3. The 1:8 program and narrative framework
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Acts 1:8 — "you will be my witnesses in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" — functions as a programmatic outline for the whole book. The narrative moves outward in roughly that sequence:
Yerushalayim (1:1–8:3): The ascension; the choosing of Mattityahu (Matthias); Pentecost and the gift of the Spirit (ch. 2); the life of the early community; Kefa (Peter)'s sermons and healings; conflict with the Temple authorities; the death of Stephen.
Judea and Samaria (8:4–12:25): The scattering after Stephen's death; Philip in Samaria; the conversion of Saul/Paul; Kefa (Peter) and Cornelius — the turn toward the nations.
To the end of the earth (13:1–28:31): Paul's missionary journeys; the Yerushalayim council (ch. 15); the spread across the Roman world; Paul's arrest, trials, and arrival in Rome, where the book ends with him still proclaiming the message "openly and unhindered" (28:31).
This edition covers Acts 1–3 — the ascension, the choosing of Mattityahu (Matthias), Pentecost, and Kefa (Peter)'s first sermons and the healing at the Temple gate — i.e. the opening Yerushalayim phase.
Yerushalayim (1:1–8:3): The ascension; the choosing of Mattityahu (Matthias); Pentecost and the gift of the Spirit (ch. 2); the life of the early community; Kefa (Peter)'s sermons and healings; conflict with the Temple authorities; the death of Stephen.
Judea and Samaria (8:4–12:25): The scattering after Stephen's death; Philip in Samaria; the conversion of Saul/Paul; Kefa (Peter) and Cornelius — the turn toward the nations.
To the end of the earth (13:1–28:31): Paul's missionary journeys; the Yerushalayim council (ch. 15); the spread across the Roman world; Paul's arrest, trials, and arrival in Rome, where the book ends with him still proclaiming the message "openly and unhindered" (28:31).
This edition covers Acts 1–3 — the ascension, the choosing of Mattityahu (Matthias), Pentecost, and Kefa (Peter)'s first sermons and the healing at the Temple gate — i.e. the opening Yerushalayim phase.
Source: Fitzmyer, Acts (AB), 119–125; Barrett, Acts (ICC), I.xliii–lxii.
A2. The Luke–Acts unity
STRONG INFERENCEProbable
Acts is bound to the Gospel of Luke by shared features rarely contested: a common dedicatee (Theophilus, Luke 1:3; Acts 1:1), a back-reference in Acts 1:1 to "the first account," a continuous narrative seam (the ascension closes the Gospel and opens Acts), a single literary register and vocabulary, and shared theological emphases (the Holy Spirit, prayer, the poor, the inclusion of outsiders, the universal horizon of salvation). On the dominant scholarly view the two volumes were designed as one work, with Acts carrying forward the Gospel's program. The TT renders Acts on its own terms and does not harmonize its wording to the Gospel or to Paul's letters.
Source: Fitzmyer, Acts (AB), 47–55; Barrett, Acts (ICC), I.xxxiv–xliii.
Authorship and Composition
B1. What the text itself says
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Acts does not name its author. The title "Acts of the Apostles" (ΠΡΑΞΕΙΣ ΑΠΟΣΤΟΛΩΝ) is a later addition found in manuscript headings, not part of the original composition. What the text states is its relationship to a prior work: it opens by addressing "Theophilus" and referring to "the first account I composed… about all that Yeshua (Jesus) began to do and to teach" (1:1). The author therefore writes as the same person who composed the Gospel of Luke, continuing a single project.
B2. The "we-passages"
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In the later portions of Acts, the narration shifts at points from the third person to the first-person plural — the so-called "we-passages" (e.g. 16:10–17; 20:5–15; 21:1–18; 27:1–28:16). On one long-standing reading these mark stretches where the author was personally present, traveling with Paul. On other readings the "we" reflects an underlying source (a travel diary), or a literary convention of sea-voyage narratives. The phenomenon is textual and undisputed; its explanation is debated. (None of the we-passages fall within Acts 1–3.)
Source: Fitzmyer, Acts (AB), 98–103; Barrett, Acts (ICC), II.xxv–xxx.
B3. Traditional attribution
LATER RECEPTIONDocumented
Early tradition identifies the author of both volumes as Luke, a physician and companion of Paul. The identification rests on second-century witnesses — the Muratorian Fragment, Irenaeus (Adv. Haer. 3.1.1; 3.14.1), and the anti-Marcionite prologue — combined with the New Testament references to "Luke the beloved physician" (Col 4:14; cf. Phlm 24; 2 Tim 4:11) and with the we-passages read as marking the author's presence with Paul. The book itself makes no such claim; the attribution is traditional, not internal.
Source: Fitzmyer, Acts (AB), 49–51; Barrett, Acts (ICC), II.xxv–xxx.
B4. Modern assessment
POSSIBLE INFERENCEProbable
Scholarly opinion is divided, and the question is the same as for the Gospel, since the two volumes share an author. Defenders of the traditional view note that there was little motive to attribute an anonymous work to a relatively minor, non-apostolic figure, and that the we-passages most naturally suggest a companion. Many scholars are more cautious: the we-passages admit other explanations, the theology of Acts diverges at points from Paul's own letters (e.g. on the law, on Paul's apostleship), and the polished Greek and historiographic shaping point to a second- or third-generation author working from sources. The most that can be said with confidence from the text is that the author was a skilled Greek writer, steeped in the Septuagint, addressing a Greek-speaking audience and continuing the Gospel narrative. The TT records the attribution as background and does not let it govern any rendering.
Source: Fitzmyer, Acts (AB), 49–55; Barrett, Acts (ICC), II.xxv–xxx; Pervo, Acts (Hermeneia, 2009), 1–7.
Dating
C1. Composition dating
HISTORICAL / ARCHAEOLOGICALProbable
Acts is commonly dated to approximately 80–90 CE — the same window as the Gospel of Luke, since the two are a single work and Acts is the later of the pair. Several considerations bear on the date:
• Dependence on the Gospel of Luke, which itself depends on Mark (c. 65–70 CE on the dominant model); this requires a later date for Acts.
• Knowledge of the fall of Jerusalem (70 CE) is widely inferred from the Gospel's framing (e.g. Luke 21:20), placing Luke–Acts after that event.
• A degree of remove from the founding generation, consistent with the prologue's reference to earlier accounts already in circulation (Luke 1:1).
A minority argue for an earlier date (the early-to-mid 60s), partly on the ground that Acts ends with Paul still alive under house arrest in Rome and narrates neither his death nor the fall of Jerusalem. Others place Luke–Acts well into the early second century (e.g. Pervo), citing possible knowledge of Josephus and of Paul's collected letters. The TT takes no position; the date does not affect the translation.
• Dependence on the Gospel of Luke, which itself depends on Mark (c. 65–70 CE on the dominant model); this requires a later date for Acts.
• Knowledge of the fall of Jerusalem (70 CE) is widely inferred from the Gospel's framing (e.g. Luke 21:20), placing Luke–Acts after that event.
• A degree of remove from the founding generation, consistent with the prologue's reference to earlier accounts already in circulation (Luke 1:1).
A minority argue for an earlier date (the early-to-mid 60s), partly on the ground that Acts ends with Paul still alive under house arrest in Rome and narrates neither his death nor the fall of Jerusalem. Others place Luke–Acts well into the early second century (e.g. Pervo), citing possible knowledge of Josephus and of Paul's collected letters. The TT takes no position; the date does not affect the translation.
Source: Fitzmyer, Acts (AB), 51–55; Barrett, Acts (ICC), II.xxxv–xliii; Pervo, Acts (Hermeneia), 5–7.
Historical Setting
D3. Roman administration and the wider empire
HISTORICAL / ARCHAEOLOGICALVerified
The events of Acts unfold within the Roman provincial order. In the opening chapters this is mostly background — Judea is under Roman authority, and the Temple establishment operates within that framework — but the wider book is structured by Roman geography and administration (provinces, cities, Roman citizenship, the appeal to Caesar, the road to Rome). The naming of "visitors from Rome" among the Pentecost crowd (2:10) and the book's eventual destination in Rome (28:14–31) frame the narrative within the empire from the start. The TT records this as background and does not let it shape any rendering.
Source: Fitzmyer, Acts (AB), 119–125; Barrett, Acts (ICC), I.xliii–lxii.
D1. The early Jesus-movement within Second-Temple Judaism
HISTORICAL / ARCHAEOLOGICALProbable
Acts 1–3 is set entirely within Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) and its Temple, and presents the earliest followers of Yeshua (Jesus) as observant Jews: they gather in the Temple (2:46; 3:1, at "the hour of prayer," the ninth hour), keep the pilgrim festival of Pentecost (Shavuot/Feast of Weeks, 2:1), and address their message first to fellow Jews and to the "house of Israel" (2:36). The movement is depicted at this stage not as a separate religion but as a current within Second-Temple Judaism, contesting the meaning of Israel's Scriptures and the identity of the Messiah with other Jewish parties (notably the Temple priesthood and the Sadducees, 4:1; 5:17). The TT records this setting as background and does not let it shape any rendering.
Source: Fitzmyer, Acts (AB), 119–130; Barrett, Acts (ICC), I.xliii–lxii.
D2. The Jewish diaspora and the languages of Pentecost
HISTORICAL / ARCHAEOLOGICALProbable
The Pentecost scene (2:5–11) lists Jews "from every nation under heaven" — Parthians, Medes, Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the parts of Libya around Cyrene, Rome, Crete, and Arabia — gathered in Yerushalayim and hearing the message "each in our own language" (dialektos, 2:6, 8). The list reflects the spread of the Jewish diaspora across the Parthian and Roman worlds in the first century, and the pilgrim character of the festival, which drew Jews from across that diaspora to the Temple. The TT records this as background; the geography is the text's own.
Source: Fitzmyer, Acts (AB), 233–245; Barrett, Acts (ICC), I.116–125.
Manuscript Transmission
E1. How the text reached us
HISTORICAL / ARCHAEOLOGICALVerified
The Greek text of Acts was transmitted through the New Testament manuscript tradition:
• Composition (c. 80–90 CE)
• Early copies (3rd century CE): - P45 (3rd c.) — portions of the four Gospels and Acts - P74 (6th–7th c.) — extensive portions of Acts and the Catholic Epistles
• Major codices (4th–6th century CE): - Codex Sinaiticus (א, 4th c.) - Codex Vaticanus (B, 4th c.) - Codex Alexandrinus (A, 5th c.) - Codex Bezae (D, 5th c.) — the principal witness to the "Western" text of Acts
• Byzantine tradition (5th–15th c.)
• Printed editions: Erasmus (1516); Textus Receptus tradition; critical editions NA28 (Nestle-Aland 28th edition — the standard scholarly Greek text) / UBS5.
• Composition (c. 80–90 CE)
• Early copies (3rd century CE): - P45 (3rd c.) — portions of the four Gospels and Acts - P74 (6th–7th c.) — extensive portions of Acts and the Catholic Epistles
• Major codices (4th–6th century CE): - Codex Sinaiticus (א, 4th c.) - Codex Vaticanus (B, 4th c.) - Codex Alexandrinus (A, 5th c.) - Codex Bezae (D, 5th c.) — the principal witness to the "Western" text of Acts
• Byzantine tradition (5th–15th c.)
• Printed editions: Erasmus (1516); Textus Receptus tradition; critical editions NA28 (Nestle-Aland 28th edition — the standard scholarly Greek text) / UBS5.
E2. The Alexandrian / Western divergence — the largest in the New Testament
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Acts is transmitted in two substantially different forms, and the gap between them is the largest text-critical divergence in the New Testament:
• The Alexandrian text (represented by Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, P74 and the bulk of the tradition) is the shorter form, and is the basis of NA28 and of the TT.
• The Western text (represented above all by Codex Bezae (D), supported by some Old Latin and Syriac witnesses) is roughly 8–10% longer overall, with many additions, clarifications, and small narrative expansions throughout Acts.
The relationship between the two is debated: whether the Western text is a later expansion of the Alexandrian, an earlier draft revised down, or two parallel editions. The TT follows NA28 (the Alexandrian form). Within Acts 1–3 the Western variants are modest but real (e.g. small expansions in the apostle list and in the Pentecost narrative); significant variants are noted in Tier 2 rather than silently adopted (Rule 22).
• The Alexandrian text (represented by Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, P74 and the bulk of the tradition) is the shorter form, and is the basis of NA28 and of the TT.
• The Western text (represented above all by Codex Bezae (D), supported by some Old Latin and Syriac witnesses) is roughly 8–10% longer overall, with many additions, clarifications, and small narrative expansions throughout Acts.
The relationship between the two is debated: whether the Western text is a later expansion of the Alexandrian, an earlier draft revised down, or two parallel editions. The TT follows NA28 (the Alexandrian form). Within Acts 1–3 the Western variants are modest but real (e.g. small expansions in the apostle list and in the Pentecost narrative); significant variants are noted in Tier 2 rather than silently adopted (Rule 22).
Source: Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (2nd ed., 1994), 222–236; Barrett, Acts (ICC), I.2–29.
E3. Comparative transmission interval
HISTORICAL / ARCHAEOLOGICALVerified
The interval between the composition of Acts (c. 80–90 CE) and its earliest substantial surviving witnesses (P45 for portions, 3rd c.; the great codices, 4th c.) is, by the standards of ancient historiography, relatively short. For comparison: Arrian's Anabasis of Alexander, the most comprehensive surviving biography of Alexander the Great (d. 323 BCE), was composed c. 130–135 CE — a gap of roughly 450 years between subject and biography. Tacitus's Annales, covering events from 14 CE onward, was composed c. 116 CE — a gap of roughly 80–100 years between events and narrative. The NT's transmission interval sits at the shorter end of the range typical for ancient narrative literature about historical figures. This does not bear on the historical accuracy of the book's contents; it bears only on the textual-transmission gap between composition and first surviving witness. The same data is sometimes deployed apologetically — that is not the TT's frame: the comparison is descriptive, not evidential.
Source: Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (2nd ed., 1994), 222–236; Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander, Preface; cf. Bosworth, A Historical Commentary on Arrian's History of Alexander, OUP, vols. I (1980) + II (1995); Tacitus, Annales; cf. Goodyear, The Annals of Tacitus, Cambridge, vols. I (1972) + II (1981).
Reading Acts in the TT
F1. Volume 2 of Luke — continuity of method
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Because Acts is the second volume of Luke, the same GS (Greek-source) ruleset and conventions apply throughout, and the narrative genre is the same. The Gospel's prologue terms carry over: the back-reference to "the first account" (1:1) ties Acts to the "orderly account" promised in Luke 1:1–4. The TT renders the seam as the text states — the ascension closing the Gospel and opening Acts — without harmonizing the two accounts of the ascension or smoothing their differences (Rule 2; Prime Directive).
F2. TT transliterated names in Acts
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Per the TT's name-rendering policy, the first occurrence of a name per section appears as "Transliterated (Familiar)"; subsequent occurrences use the familiar form. Within Acts 1–3:
| Traditional EN | TT rendering | Original |
|---|---|---|
| Jesus | Yeshua (Jesus) | Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous) ← Hebrew/Aramaic יֵשׁוּעַ (Yeshua) |
| Peter / Simon | Kefa (Peter); Shimon (Simon) | Πέτρος (Petros) / Σίμων (Simōn) ← Aramaic כֵּיפָא (Kefa) |
| John (the apostle) | Yochanan (John) | Ἰωάννης (Iōannēs) ← Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (Yochanan) |
| James | Ya'aqov (James) | Ἰάκωβος (Iakōbos) ← Hebrew יַעֲקֹב (Ya'aqov) |
| Matthew | Mattityahu (Matthew) | Μαθθαῖος (Maththaios) ← Hebrew מַתִּתְיָהוּ (Mattityahu) |
| Matthias | Mattityahu (Matthias) | Μαθθίας (Maththias) — same Hebrew root as Matthew, a different man (1:23–26) |
| Judas Iscariot | Yehudah (Judas Iscariot) | Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώθ (Ioudas Iskariōth) ← Hebrew יְהוּדָה (Yehudah) |
| Mary (mother) | Miryam (Mary) | Μαριάμ (Mariam) ← Hebrew מִרְיָם (Miryam) |
| Theophilus | Theophilos (Theophilus) | Θεόφιλος (Theophilos, "friend of God") |
| Joseph Barsabbas / Justus | Yosef Barsabbas (Joseph Barsabbas), called Justus | Ἰωσὴφ Βαρσαββᾶς / Ἰοῦστος |
| David | David | Δαυίδ (Dauid) ← Hebrew דָּוִד (David) |
| Abraham | Avraham (Abraham) | Ἀβραάμ (Abraam) ← Hebrew אַבְרָהָם (Avraham) |
| Moses | Mosheh (Moses) | Μωϋσῆς (Mōusēs) ← Hebrew מֹשֶׁה (Mosheh) |
| Joel | Yoel (Joel) | Ἰωήλ (Iōēl) ← Hebrew יוֹאֵל (Yoel) |
| Jerusalem | Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) | Ἰερουσαλήμ / Ἱεροσόλυμα ← Hebrew יְרוּשָׁלַיִם (Yerushalayim) |
| Judea | Yehudah (Judea) | Ἰουδαία (Ioudaia) |
| Samaria | Shomron (Samaria) | Σαμάρεια (Samareia) |
| Galilee | Galil (Galilee) | Γαλιλαία (Galilaia) |
| Mount of Olives | Har haZeitim (Mount of Olives) | ὄρος Ἐλαιῶν |
F3. Text-highlight markers in Acts
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The TT marks the text with a small set of conventions the reader will encounter throughout Acts 1–3:
• `added` — words added for English grammar (Rule 11), shown in italics.
• `…` — a transliterated term carried with its gloss, e.g. Hakeldama (Field of Blood), the Aramaic place-name the text itself glosses (1:19).
• `…` — a live double sense kept open rather than resolved, e.g. wind/spirit for πνεῦμα and tongues/languages for γλῶσσαι at Pentecost (2:4, 11), where both senses stay in play.
• `…` — divine speech (Rule 30): the direct first-person speech of the risen Yeshua (Jesus) (1:4–5, 1:7–8) and the embedded first-person divine speech inside OT citations (e.g. Joel's "I will pour out my Spirit," 2:17–18). The two men at the ascension (1:10–11) are angelos-class messengers and are not marked, following the Gabriel/messenger precedent; Kefa (Peter)'s sermons are human speech and are not marked.
• `added` — words added for English grammar (Rule 11), shown in italics.
• `…` — a transliterated term carried with its gloss, e.g. Hakeldama (Field of Blood), the Aramaic place-name the text itself glosses (1:19).
• `…` — a live double sense kept open rather than resolved, e.g. wind/spirit for πνεῦμα and tongues/languages for γλῶσσαι at Pentecost (2:4, 11), where both senses stay in play.
• `…` — divine speech (Rule 30): the direct first-person speech of the risen Yeshua (Jesus) (1:4–5, 1:7–8) and the embedded first-person divine speech inside OT citations (e.g. Joel's "I will pour out my Spirit," 2:17–18). The two men at the ascension (1:10–11) are angelos-class messengers and are not marked, following the Gabriel/messenger precedent; Kefa (Peter)'s sermons are human speech and are not marked.
F4. Pentecost, "tongues," and the festival name
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Two terms in chapter 2 shape the reading:
• Pentecost (2:1): πεντηκοστή is rendered "Pentecost" — the Greek name of the pilgrim festival Shavuot (Feast of Weeks) — with a Shavuot gloss at first occurrence.
• "Tongues / languages" (2:4, 11): γλῶσσαι is rendered tongues/languages, keeping both senses live, while διάλεκτος (2:6, 8), "language/dialect," is unambiguous. The wordplay with the wind/spirit of 2:2–4 is noted in Tier 2.
• Pentecost (2:1): πεντηκοστή is rendered "Pentecost" — the Greek name of the pilgrim festival Shavuot (Feast of Weeks) — with a Shavuot gloss at first occurrence.
• "Tongues / languages" (2:4, 11): γλῶσσαι is rendered tongues/languages, keeping both senses live, while διάλεκτος (2:6, 8), "language/dialect," is unambiguous. The wordplay with the wind/spirit of 2:2–4 is noted in Tier 2.
F5. Kyrios — Divine Name Policy in Acts (Option C)
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When Acts quotes or echoes Hebrew Bible passages containing the Tetragrammaton (the four-letter Hebrew divine name יהוה, transliterated YHWH), the Greek text uses κύριος (kyrios). Per the TT's Divine Name Policy (Option C, RULES-GS.md):
• The main text renders kyrios as "the Lord" in OT-quotation and OT-echo contexts.
• A Tier 2 note identifies the source and states that the underlying Hebrew has the Tetragrammaton.
• When kyrios refers to Yeshua (Jesus) or to a human master (not an OT YHWH reference), no YHWH note is needed.
• Ambiguous cases are flagged per Rule 13.
The headline case is Acts 2:34 (citing Psalm 110:1): "The Lord (κύριος = YHWH, the speaker) said to my lord (the Messiah, the addressee)" — two distinct referents under one Greek word. The TT renders to preserve both, flags the ambiguity (Rule 13), and notes it in Tier 2, since the sermon's Davidic-Messiah argument turns on it. Other YHWH-referent citations in chs 1–3 include Joel 2:32 ("everyone who calls on the name of the Lord," quoted at 2:21) and Psalm 16:8 ("I saw the Lord," 2:25).
• The main text renders kyrios as "the Lord" in OT-quotation and OT-echo contexts.
• A Tier 2 note identifies the source and states that the underlying Hebrew has the Tetragrammaton.
• When kyrios refers to Yeshua (Jesus) or to a human master (not an OT YHWH reference), no YHWH note is needed.
• Ambiguous cases are flagged per Rule 13.
The headline case is Acts 2:34 (citing Psalm 110:1): "The Lord (κύριος = YHWH, the speaker) said to my lord (the Messiah, the addressee)" — two distinct referents under one Greek word. The TT renders to preserve both, flags the ambiguity (Rule 13), and notes it in Tier 2, since the sermon's Davidic-Messiah argument turns on it. Other YHWH-referent citations in chs 1–3 include Joel 2:32 ("everyone who calls on the name of the Lord," quoted at 2:21) and Psalm 16:8 ("I saw the Lord," 2:25).
F6. Active rules with Acts-specific applications
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| Rule | Name | Acts-specific application |
|---|---|---|
| (unnumbered) | Prime Directive | Do not harmonize Judas's death (1:18–19) with Matthew 27:3–10; do not resolve the two ascension accounts (Luke 24 / Acts 1). Render Acts on its own terms. |
| 1 | Controlled Lexical Consistency | Locked glossary terms (kyrios, Christos, metanoia, aphesis, koinōnia, pneuma, baptisma) rendered consistently across all Acts chapters per the GS glossary. |
| 2 | Ambiguity Preservation | wind/spirit (πνεῦμα) and tongues/languages (γλῶσσαι) kept open rather than resolved. |
| 3 | No imported theology | The Pentecost narrative and the sermons are translated as the text presents them — without importing later doctrine and without dismissing the narrative. Restraint both ways. |
| 11 | Mark Grammatical Additions | Words added for English grammar appear in italics (`added`). |
| 13 | Uncertainty Levels | Debated terms (the double-κύριος of 2:34; εἰς ἄφεσιν, 2:38; ἀποκατάστασις, 3:21) carry confidence labels (Probable / Possible / Uncertain). |
| 14 | Annotate Wordplay | The πνεῦμα/γλῶσσαι Pentecost wordplay noted in Tier 2. |
| 22 | Text-Critical Restraint | Western (Codex Bezae) variants noted in Tier 2 without silent adoption. See E2. |
| 25 | Divine Name Policy — GS Option C | κύριος rendered "the Lord" in OT-quotation/echo contexts, with a Tier 2 note identifying YHWH in the underlying Hebrew. See F5. |
| 30 | Divine-speech marking | The risen Yeshua's speech (1:4–8) and embedded first-person divine speech in OT citations (Joel, 2:17–18) marked; the ascension messengers and the apostles' speech are not. See F3. |