Acts 17:1. Paul and Silas journey through Amphipolis and Apollonia to Thessalonica, where some of the Jews raise an uproar against them and Jason their host 1. _they had passed through_ The verb occurs in N. T. only here and in Luke 8:1. The use of the same expressions is a noticeable point in supp... [ Continue Reading ]
_as his manner was_ See Acts 13:5; Acts 13:14; Acts 14:1, &c. _went in unto them_ And was no doubt asked (cf. Acts 13:15) to offer any exhortation to the people which he might feel moved to do. _three sabbath days_ Of course the Jews would assemble on that day in greater number, and for the other... [ Continue Reading ]
_opening_ St Luke (and he only in the N. T.) Luke 24:32 uses this verb of making plain what before was not understood. We may see from that passage what had been St Paul's work in Thessalonica, "He began at Moses and all the prophets and expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concernin... [ Continue Reading ]
_And some of them believed_( WERE PERSUADED)] For St Paul's teaching was by arguments of which they all were able to form an estimate. _and consorted with_ The notion conveyed by the Greek and by the English so far as its derivation is concerned is of "casting in their lot with the disciples," deci... [ Continue Reading ]
_But the Jews which believed not_ In the oldest MSS. the last three words are unrepresented in the Greek. These are very likely a gloss which has crept into the later texts, the reader who made it on his margin wishing to note that not all the Jews were adverse to the Apostle. _moved with envy_( JE... [ Continue Reading ]
_they drew Jason_ The word is expressive of considerable violence. Better, " DRAGGED." It is used of Saul (Acts 8:3) "haling" men and women, and committing them to prison. _certain brethren_ We see therefore that in these three weeks a congregation or church had been formed. _the rulers of the cit... [ Continue Reading ]
_hath received_ As guests into his house, and therefore he may be counted a sympathizer with their teaching. _these all_ Implying that Paul and Silas, whom they had not found, would also be included in their accusation, if they could be caught. _another king, one Jesus_ So far as this chapter give... [ Continue Reading ]
_And they troubled the people_ i.e. spread alarm among them at the prospect of insurrection, and made them eager to punish the Apostles.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And when they had taken security of Jason_ i.e. having made him responsible either by his finding securities to be bound with and for him, or by making him give some deposit as a pledge for his good conduct, they took measures for securing, so far as those at present in custody were concerned, that... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul and Silas sent away to Berea. Noble character of the Bereans. The Jews from Thessalonica follow after Paul, and by reason of their enmity he is conducted to Athens 10. _sent away Paul and Silas_ The after-conduct of the Thessalonian Jews shews that they were resolved to bring the missionaries... [ Continue Reading ]
_more noble_ Applied first to nobility of birth (which is the primary sense of _nobilis_), the word in its secondary sense implies, as here, nobility of character. _received the word_ i.e. the word of God. It was the same teaching which had been given to the Jews in Thessalonica. This we see becaus... [ Continue Reading ]
_also of honourable women_ The same word is found Acts 13:50, of the women of Antioch in Pisidia, and signifies that they were of honourable estate, distinguished for their position, influence and wealth. _which were Greeks_ The adjective refers specially to the women, but it probably is intended t... [ Continue Reading ]
_the word of God_ The Thessalonian Jews would not have termed it so, to such an extent had prejudice and long training in the later Jewish teaching blinded their eyes. When Moses was read there was a vail over their hearts, and they saw not the glory. _and stirred up the people_ In the oldest texts... [ Continue Reading ]
_immediately_ As from Thessalonica so from Berœa, the departure is made in all haste, so much has the charge of conspiring against Cæsar's power disturbed the whole people. _to go as it were to the sea_ This rendering of the _Text. Rec_. conveys the idea that for a while the travellers made as thoug... [ Continue Reading ]
_they that conducted Paul_ The use of the Greek verb (which is only found here in N. T. in this sense) gives the idea that the whole care and ordering of the journey was in their hands rather than the Apostle's. _brought him unto Athens_ And of course saw him safely settled where he could wait for... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul, provoked by the prevalence of idolatry at Athens, first addresses the Jews and then the Gentiles. Some of the philosophers question him on his teaching, and bring him to the areopagus that they may hear him more at full 16. _his spirit was stirred in him_ But the stirring was of the sharpest.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Therefore disputed_( REASONED) _he in the synagogue_ Going first to the Jews, and naturally expecting sympathy from them in his excitement against idolatry. _the devout persons_ As before, the proselytes of the gate. Cp. Acts 13:50, and above Acts 17:4. _and in the market daily_ One cannot but be... [ Continue Reading ]
_philosophers of the Epicureans and of the Stoicks_ In St Paul's day these two systems of philosophy were most prominent throughout the Roman world, and were regarded as conflicting though in many points they bear a strong likeness to one another. Both were the result of a desire to find some better... [ Continue Reading ]
_And they took him_ Better, _took_ HOLD OF _him_. (As _R. V._) But there is no need to suppose that any violence was used or intended. The same verb is used often of taking by the hand to aid or protect (so Mark 8:23; Acts 23:19), and is the word by which the action of Barnabas is described (Acts 9:... [ Continue Reading ]
_strange things_ The original is not an adjective, but a participle, and signifies "something which strikes a person as strange." So that the effect is indicated which had been produced on the minds of the hearers. The words had filled them with surprise. In the middle voice the word is found 1 Pete... [ Continue Reading ]
This verse is a parenthesis explanatory of what has gone before. The audience had been struck with the strange teaching, and that it was strange was enough. Novelty was their life's pursuit. So without having any regard for the importance of the teaching, they were ready to listen because it was new... [ Continue Reading ]
_in the midst of Mars" hill_ Better, _in the midst of the Areopagus_. See on Acts 17:19. There is no need for translating the name in one way there, and in another here. _Ye men of Athens_ The language of the Apostle's address takes exactly the form which it would have assumed in the mouth of one of... [ Continue Reading ]
Speech of St Paul at Athens Taking notice of the extreme religious scrupulousness, which had led the Athenians to raise an altar to an unknown God, the Apostle declares to them the God whom alone they ought to worship, and whom as yet they did not know. This God was the Maker and Preserver of all t... [ Continue Reading ]
_For as I passed by_( ALONG)] The word refers to the whole of the Apostle's walk about the city. _and beheld your devotions_ Better, " AND NOTICED THE OBJECTS OF YOUR WORSHIP." (With _R. V._) The verb is that which in the previous verse is translated "I perceive," only that here it is strengthened... [ Continue Reading ]
_God that made the world_, &c. Better, THE _God_, &c., which is specially needed when the neuter pronouns are read in the previous verse. This was no Epicurean god, who dwelt apart and in constant repose; nor was the world a thing of chance as those philosophers taught, but God's own handiwork, and... [ Continue Reading ]
_neither is worshipped with_( SERVED BY) _men's hands_ The verb implies the sort of service yielded by a steward to his master, or a minister to his King, a service in which the superior is not independent of his inferior, and could not well do without him. This is seen in the next clause. God is no... [ Continue Reading ]
_and hath made of one blood_ All the best MSS. omit the word "blood." And this seems to bring out more fully what the Apostle desires to dwell on; the Fatherhood of God. It is not that men are all of one family and so all equal in God's eyes, and ought to be in the eyes of one another. But when we r... [ Continue Reading ]
_that they should seek the Lord_ The best authorities read "_seek_ GOD." This was the lesson which God meant His creation and providence to teach, that through His works men should see Him. _if haply they might feel after him, and find him_ The world was to be man's book in which he should read God... [ Continue Reading ]
_for in him we live_ i.e. _through_or _by_Him. All our existence is through His care, therefore He must be near to all of us. The preposition is rendered _by_in Acts 17:31, "_By_that man whom he hath ordained." _and move_ More literally, _are moved_. The word does not refer to the motion of persons... [ Continue Reading ]
_we ought not to think_, &c. As man is of more honour than material things, how far above these must the Godhead be. The Athenians, the Apostle would teach them, had formed not too high but too low a conception of themselves.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the times of this ignorance_ There is no pronoun in the original, and the conjunctions are feebly represented by "and." The sense is more nearly conveyed by "Having however overlooked the times of ignorance." (Cp. Romans 3:25.) "To wink at" is now used with the meaning of "to connive at." St Pa... [ Continue Reading ]
_because he hath appointed_, &c. The day of judgment had long ago been appointed in God's foreknowledge, but through Christ man's resurrection and immortality have been made more clear. He knows now, who knows of Christ, that the Son of Man has been raised up, as the first-fruits of a general resurr... [ Continue Reading ]
Effect of St Paul's speech. Some mocked, but others believed 32. _some mocked_ Just as (Acts 2:13) did some men on the day of Pentecost. To the Epicurean this life was all, and the Stoic's teaching, that all should finally be absorbed into the Godhead, forbade the belief that the dead should rise a... [ Continue Reading ]
_Dionysius the Areopagite_ i.e. one of the members of the upper council of Athens. He must have been a man of position and influence, for no one could be a member of this council unless he had filled some high office of state, and was above 60 years of age. Tradition (Euseb. _H. E_. iii. 4; iv. 23)... [ Continue Reading ]