cwconrad wrote:My initial thought here was that this ἀπὸ with the genitive was an intensive partitive usage. That seems to be what BDAG s.v. ἀπό, 1.f is indicating:
It could be noted for clarity's sake that BDAG classifies our Acts 12:1 (and 15:5 "τινες τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς αἱρέσεως τῶν Φαρισαίων") under 3.β.b together with the countries and regions of origin.
My own first reaction was to do something similar to BDAG too - to group the usages with the country / region of origin, but in the list of those disputing with Stephen:
Acts 6:9 wrote:Ἀνέστησαν δέ τινες τῶν ἐκ τῆς συναγωγῆς τῆς λεγομένης Λιβερτίνων, καὶ Κυρηναίων, καὶ Ἀλεξανδρέων, καὶ τῶν ἀπὸ Κιλικίας καὶ Ἀσίας, συζητοῦντες τῷ Στεφάνῳ.
there is a difference in construction between the adjectival forms (Κυρηναίων and Ἀλεξανδρέων) and the nominative ones (Κιλικίας and Ἀσίας).
The simple partitive genitive as in τινες τῶν ... Κυρηναίων, καὶ Ἀλεξανδρέων for disputants is what we regularly see, such as Mark 12:37 Τότε ἀπεκρίθησάν τινες τῶν γραμματέων καὶ Φαρισαίων, λέγοντες, Διδάσκαλε, θέλομεν ἀπὸ σοῦ σημεῖον ἰδεῖν.
I agree with you (Carl) that the two usages in Acts (12:1 and 15:5) that we are discussing are more than that. They seem to me to denote that only a select few were targeted by
Herod Agrippa I.
_________
Not so relevant as had initially thought it might be, but never-the-less it could not be harmful, so here is a short excerpt from The History of the Peloponnesian War with slightly more complex syntax combining both the substanivised adjectival form for the group to which they belong and the ἀπό with the nominal of the region from which they came.
Thucydides 6.2.3 wrote: Ἰλίου δὲ ἁλισκομένου τῶν Τρώων τινὲς διαφυγόντες Ἀχαιοὺς πλοίοις ἀφικνοῦνται πρὸς τὴν Σικελίαν, καὶ ὅμοροι τοῖς Σικανοῖς οἰκήσαντες ξύμπαντες μὲν Ἔλυμοι ἐκλήθησαν, πόλεις δ᾽ αὐτῶν Ἔρυξ τε καὶ Ἔγεστα. προσξυνῴκησαν δὲ αὐτοῖς καὶ Φωκέων τινὲς τῶν ἀπὸ Τροίας τότε χειμῶνι ἐς Λιβύην πρῶτον, ἔπειτα ἐς Σικελίαν ἀπ᾽ αὐτῆς κατενεχθέντες.
On the fall of Ilium, some of the Trojans escaped from the Achaeans, came in ships to Sicily, and settled next to the Sicanians under the general name of Elymi; their towns being called Eryx and Egesta. With them settled some of the Phocians carried on their way from Troy by a storm, first to Libya, and afterwards from thence to Sicily.
Helps: Imagining the word order of Φωκέων and τινὲς changed may help with this phrase - Φωκέων² τινὲς¹ τῶν ἀπὸ Τροίας (these three words specify which Phoceans are being talked about) τότε χειμῶνι (instrumental dative)... κατενεχθέντες ( < aorist passive participle of καταφέρειν agreeing with τινὲς)