Acts 17

Acts 17 is the seventeenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It continues the second missionary journey of Paul, together with Silas and Timothy: in this chapter, the Christian gospel is preached in Thessalonica, Berea and Athens. Early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that Luke composed this book as well as the Gospel of Luke.Holman Illustrated Bible Handbook. Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. 2012. Critical opinion on the tradition was evenly divided at the end of the 20th century.

Text The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 34 verses.

Textual witnesses Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are: In Greek Codex Vaticanus (AD 325–350) Codex Sinaiticus (330–360) Codex Bezae (c. 400) Codex Alexandrinus (400–440) Papyrus 127 (5th century; extant verses 1–10)Continuation List Institute for New Testament Textual Research, University of Münster. Retrieved March 29, 2010 Codex Laudianus (c. 550) In Latin Codex Laudianus (~550; complete) León palimpsest (7th century; 1–25)Bruce M. Metzger, The Early Versions of the New Testament, Oxford University Press, 1977, p. 316.

Old Testament references

New Testament references

Locations

This chapter mentions the following places (in the order of their appearance): Amphipolis Apollonia Thessalonica Berea Athens

Timeline The second missionary journey of Paul took place in around AD 49.Robinson, J. A. T. (1919–1983), Redating the New Testament, Westminster Press, 1976. 369 pages.

Distances The distance from Philippi to Amphipolis is about by Via Egnatia (which length was over from Hellespont to DyrrhachiumHorace, Satires i., 5, 97; apud Nicoll, Expositor's Greek Testament on Acts 17.) and further on this road from Amphipholis to Apollonia in the district of Mydonia is about , then from Apollonia to Thessalonica,Moule, H. C. G., Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. Acts 17. Accessed 28 April 2019 as noted in Antonine Itinerary.Nicoll, W. R., Expositor's Greek Testament. Acts 17. Accessed 24 April 2019. From Thessalonica to Berea (modern Veria) is about westward. Paul then traveled to 'the sea', which would have been at least 42 km at the nearest point, and then south to Athens, approximately 300 km (most likely by sea, though it is possible that he walked the coastal road instead). The journey 'by night' from Thessalonica to Berea () presumably took more than one night.

In Thessalonica (17:1–9) Paul, Silas and Timothy continued to travel westwards from Philippi on Via Egnatia, passing several cities before arriving at Thessalonica, which had "a well-established Jewish community with a synagogue" (verse 1), which Paul visited, "as was his custom", on three successive sabbaths to speak about the gospel (verse 2). That he was allowed to speak on three successive sabbaths gives an indication of "the respect commanded by his character as a Rabbi, and, it may be, by his earnest eloquence".

After some initial success among synagogue members extending to the receptive Gentile adherents (verse 4), an outbreak of 'jealousy' (or 'fundamentalist zeal': Ζηλώσαντες, zēlosantes, verse 5) occurred among "the Jews", who took the city mob to launch an attack on Paul and Silas. When Paul and Silas could not be found, the mob took a man named "Jason", as one of Paul's followers, to the civic authorities (called politarchs in verse 6; a title attested in inscriptional evidence for Thessalonica)Horsley, G. H. R. (1994), The Politarchs, in Gill and Gempf (1994), pp. 419–431; apud Alexander 2007 p. 1050. with a charge of disturbance (verses 6–7) that Paul's teaching of "the Kingdom" (cf. Acts 28:31) was 'inherently incompatible with the personal oaths of loyalty to the emperor' as 'demanded of all inhabitants of the empire'.Barrett, C. K. (1994–9), The International Critical Commentary: Acts (2 vols.; Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark). ii. pp. 815–816; apud Alexander 2007 p. 1050.

In Berea (17:10–15) Paul's departure from Thessalonica "by night" (verse 10) reflected "the need [for] immediate action", which W. R. Nicoll attributes either to "obedience to the direct charge of the magistrates that Paul should not come again to Thessalonica, or [to the] danger of a revival of the tumult".Nicoll, W. R., The Expositor's Greek Testament on Act 17, accessed 18 May 2024 He may have journeyed to Berea because of its "comparative seclusion". His mission was initially dependent on 'the networks of the Jewish diaspora': each time he arrived in an unfamiliar city, Paul first visited a synagogue to preach the gospel among the Jewish people. The Jews in Berea were noted as "more noble" (Greek: eugenesteroi, v. 11: NRSV: "more receptive"), as they were willing to give a 'careful and open-minded examination' (Greek: anakrinontes, v. 11) of Paul's teaching, before many of them came to belief (verse 12). There is a contrast between "women of high standing and men" who believe (verse 12) and "the crowds" ('the urban proletariat'), who were agitated by the Jews of Thessalonica (verse 13).

In Athens (17:16–21) The absence of any mention of places between Berea and Athens provides presumptive evidence that Paul did indeed travel by sea, "rounding the promontory of Sunium, [entering] Athens by the Piræus".Plumptre, E. H. (1905), Acts 17 in Ellicott, C. J. (Ed.) (1905), Ellicott's Bible Commentary for English Readers, London : Cassell and Company, Limited, [1905–1906] Online version: , accessed 28 April 2019 That he spent some time waiting in Athens (verse 16) is confirmed by , which must have been written not long after this time. The philosophical scene (verse 18) was reminiscent of the classical period in Athens, when Socrates engaged in philosophical dialogue (Greek: dielegeto, "argued', verse 17) in the streets and agora of Athens, and the charge against Paul about proclaiming "foreign divinities" (Greek: xenon daimonion, verse 18) would recall the charge brought against Socrates of preaching "new divinities" (Greek: kaina daimonia: cf. Xenophon, Memorabilia 1.1.1–4; only here in the New Testament that daimonia has the neutral Greek sense 'divine beings' instead of 'evil spirits'). The Areopagus was the chief administrative body at that time in Athens.Gill, D. (1994), Achaia, in Gill and Gempf (1994) (eds.), The Book of Acts in its First Century Setting, ii. Graeco-Roman Setting (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans), p. 447; apud Alexander 2007, p. 1050

Verse 18 Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, "What does this babbler want to say?" Others said, "He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods," because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection. NKJV Epicureans and Stoics are from two most dominant and popular schools of philosophy in Athens at that time (more than Academics and Peripatetics) and also with the greater contrast of teachings with the doctrines of Christianity, that Paul preached ("encountered" or "in conflict with", from Greek: , ; cf. ).Meyer, Heinrich August Wilhelm (1880). Commentary on the New Testament. Acts 17. Translation by Peter Christie from Meyer's sixth edition. Accessed February 14, 2019. "Babbler": translated from , literally "seed-picker", figuratively "one who picks up scraps of knowledge".Strong's Concordance. 4691. Spermologos. Biblehub.com

Addressing the Areopagus (17:22–34)

The speech, known as the Areopagus sermon, refers to a sermon or explanation delivered by Apostle Paul at the Areopagus in Athens, and described in Acts 17:16–34.Christianity: an introduction by Alister E. McGrath pp. 137–141, 2006, Theology of the New Testament by Udo Schnelle (2009) p. 477 The Areopagus sermon is the most dramatic and fullest reported speech of the missionary career of Saint Paul and followed a shorter address in Lystra .Mercer Commentary on the New Testament by Watson E. Mills 2003 pp. 1109–1110 Paul explained concepts such as the resurrection of the dead and salvation, in effect a prelude to the future discussions of Christology. According to the record, after the sermon, a number of people became followers of Paul. These included a woman named Damaris, and Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus. This latter has at times been suggested as Dionysius the Areopagite, but that may be a historical confusion.Paul: A Brief History by Robert Paul Seesengood 2010 p. 120

Verse 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring'. NKJV "For in Him we live and move and have our being": is quoted from Cretica (Κρητικά) by Epimenides as found by J. Rendel Harris based on a 9th-century Syriac commentary by Isho'dad of Merv on the Acts of the Apostles.Harris, J. Rendel. "A Further Note on the Cretans", Expositor Apr. 1907, 332–337. Quote: J. Rendel Harris' hypothetical Greek text: Τύμβον ἐτεκτήναντο σέθεν, κύδιστε μέγιστε, Κρῆτες, ἀεὶ ψευδεῖς, κακὰ θηρία, γαστέρες ἀργαί. Ἀλλὰ σὺ γ᾽ οὐ θνῇσκεις, ἕστηκας γὰρ ζοὸς αίεί, Ἐν γὰρ σοὶ ζῶμεν καὶ κινύμεθ᾽ ἠδὲ καὶ ἐσμέν. Translation: They fashioned a tomb for you, holy and high one, Cretans, always liars, evil beasts, idle bellies. But you are not dead: you live and abide forever, For in you we live and move and have our being. "'For we are also His offspring'": Paul might take this quotation from either of two poets: Aratus, probably of Tarsus or Soli in Cilicia (~272 BC), thus Paul's countryman. The words ("For we too are his offspring") are found in a didactic poem titled "Phenomena", comprising the main facts of astronomical and meteorological science at that time, starting with an invocation to Zeus. Cleanthes (~300 BC), of Assos in Mysia, who wrote ("For we thine offspring are") in a hymn to Zeus.

Acts 17

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