evangelist

The Greek that is transliterated in English as “evangelist” is translated as “[a person who is] accustomed to speak the good news about God” in Eastern Highland Otomi, as “takes God’s word around” in Isthmus Mixe, and as “spoke the good word” Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac. (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)

inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Acts 21:8)

Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)

The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).

For this verse, translators typically select the exclusive form (excluding the addressee).

Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.

complete verse (Acts 21:8)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 21:8:

  • Uma: “The next day we (excl.) left going to the town of Kaisarea. There we (excl.) went to stay at the house of Filipus. Filipus was a person who carried the Good News, and he was one of the seven people chosen in Yerusalem the other day.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “The next day we (excl.) sailed again and we (excl.) arrived at Kesarea. We (excl.) went to the house of Pilip, a man whose work was proclaiming the good news about Isa. We (excl.) stayed there with him. This Pilip was one hep of the seven men chosen there in Awrusalam to apportion/divide the money for expenses in the past.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when it was morning we left again and we landed in Caesarea. And there we stayed in the house of Philip, the one who preaches the Good News. He was one of the seven men who were chosen long ago in Jerusalem as helpers to the apostles.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “In the morning then, we (excl.) left, and we (excl.) went to Cesarea. When we (excl.) arrived there, we (excl.) went to stay-with in the house of Felipe who was one of the seven whom they had chosen previously in Jerusalem. His work moreover, he preached the good news.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Next day, we (excl.) went on again. Arriving at Cesarea, where we (excl.) went to was the house of Felipe, a teacher of the Good News. He was one of those men chosen in the past in Jerusalem as distributors of aid to the poor. There is where we (excl.) stayed.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Acts 21:8

The distance from Ptolemais to Caesarea was 40 miles and would have been difficult to make in a day’s time. The verb translated left is a word which simply means “to leave,” without reference to whether one travels by ship or by land. From the standpoint of translation, it is better to use a general term, rather than a term denoting some specific kind of travel.

Evangelist (see Ephesians 4.11) simply means “a preacher of the Good News,” and it is rendered in this way by the Good News Translation in 2 Timothy 4.5. A verb which comes from this same stem is used to describe Philip’s work in 8.12,35,40. The New Testament itself does not clarify the distinction between this word and the other words used of those who preached the Good News, though it seems rather certain that evangelist did not mean in the New Testament what it means in contemporary English usage. It would seem best in most instances to translate this phrase as “Philip who preached the Good News.”

Luke further characterizes him as “one of the seven,” which means one of the seven men who had been chosen in Jerusalem. Both the New English Bible and the Jerusalem Bible speak of Philip as “one of the Seven,” but to translate even with a capital S is insufficient, for though the man who reads this for himself may immediately understand what is meant, it is quite likely that the person who hears this read will miss its significance. On the other hand, to translate as Phillips has (“one of the seven deacons”), may give a false meaning, since these men are not called deacons in Chapter 6. On the whole, it seems best to render this phrase as the Good News Translation has done, which makes clear the meaning that Luke had in mind, without adding an interpretation to what he said. It is important at this point to have some type of marginal reference to 6.1-6.

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 .