διοδεύσαντες δὲ : “and they went along the _Roman_ road” (Ramsay): verb only found in Luke, Luke 8:1, and here, but frequent in LXX, and used also by Polyb. and Plut., _cf._ Genesis 13:17, etc., so in 1 Macc. three times. The famous road, the _Via Egnatia_, Horace, _Sat._, i., 5, 97, extended for a... [ Continue Reading ]
κατὰ τὸ εἰωθὸς : phrase peculiar to St. Luke, only here and in Luke 4:16. St. Paul follows his usual principle: “to the Jew first”. ἐπὶ σάββατα τρία : “for three Sabbath days” or “weeks,” R.V., margin, the latter strongly supported by Zahn, _Einleitung_, i., 152. This may be the exact period of work... [ Continue Reading ]
διανοίγων, _sc._, αὐτάς, a favourite word with St. Luke, _cf. Luke 16:14_; here, as in Luke 24:32; Luke 24:45, he alone uses it of making plain to the understanding the meaning of the Scriptures, “opening their meaning”. καὶ παρατιθ. “and quoting to prove” (Ramsay), _i.e._, bringing forward in proof... [ Continue Reading ]
προσεκληρώθησαν : “there were in addition gathered to them” (Ramsay), giving the verb a passive meaning answering to its form; or “these were allotted to them, associated with them, as disciples [by God],” _cf._ Ephesians 1:11. The verb is often used in Philo, also found in Plutarch, Lucian, but onl... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀπειθ., see critical note. ζηλώσαντες : the jealousv is apparent, whether the word is read or not (_cf._ [305]), a jealousy aroused not only by the preaching of a Messiah, but also by the success of such preaching. προσλαβ., _cf._ Acts 18:26 for similar sense of the verb, _cf._ 2Ma 8:1; 2Ma 10:15. τ... [ Continue Reading ]
ἔσυρον : the word indicates the violence of the mob. πολιτάρχας : the word is an excellent instance of the accuracy of St. Luke; it is not used by any classical author of the magistrates of any city (in classical Greek we have only the form πολίαρχος and πολίταρχος), but an inscription on an arch sp... [ Continue Reading ]
ὑποδέδεκται : no notion of secrecy as Erasmus and Bengel, but as in Luke 10:38; Luke 19:6; only found in these three passages in Luke, and in James 2:25, _cf._ LXX, Tob 7:8, Judges 13:13 (see Hatch and Redpath for both instances), 1Ma 16:15, and 4Ma 13:17, often in classical Greek without any notion... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐτάραξαν : the people would be disturbed at intelligence which might point to a revolution, and the politarchs, lest they should themselves be liable to the same charge of treason for not defending the honour of the emperor. No charge would be more subtle in its conception, or more dangerous in the... [ Continue Reading ]
λαβόντες τὸ ἱκανὸν = _satis sccipere_ (_cf._ Mark 15:15, and Wetstein, _in loco_). Blass regards the phrase as a commercial one, due to the frequency of commercial intercourse, and _cf._ Acts 5:31; Acts 18:15; Acts 19:38 (Acts 24:24, [307]); properly a pecuniary surety, or sureties, here security fo... [ Continue Reading ]
εὐθέως … ἐξέπεμ.: there was need of immediate action, either in obedience to the direct charge of the magistrates that Paul should not come again to Thessalonica, or from danger of a revival of the tumult. That St. Paul left Thessalonica with grief and pain is evident from 1 Thessalonians 2:17-20, b... [ Continue Reading ]
εὐγενέστεροι : only in Luke and Paul in the N.T., so in classics the word is used of noble birth, Luke 19:12; 1 Corinthians 1:26 (Job 1:3), or of nobility of character as here, _cf._ also its use in 4MMalachi 3:5; 4Ma 9:23; 4Ma 9:27 (and εὐγενῶς in 2Ma 14:42, and several times in 4 Macc.). We may co... [ Continue Reading ]
See critical note and Ramsay, _Church in the Roman Empire, u. s._ As at Thessalonica, so here the Apostles' work extended beyond the limits of the synagogue. Ἑλληνίδων : the term relates to the men as well as to the women the Jewish men had already been included in the first word πολλοί, see Alford,... [ Continue Reading ]
οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς Θ. Ἰ.: as before in the first journey, the bitter and enduring malice of the Jews followed Paul from one place to another, and the use of his name alone shows that he was their chief aim. κἀκεῖ : the word is often taken with σαλεύοντες, for it was not their advent which had happened previ... [ Continue Reading ]
εὐθέως δὲ τότε : evidently the same riot and danger followed as at Thessalonica; St. Luke often passes over the difficulties and dangers which drove Paul from place to place (Ramsay). ὡς : if we read ἕως, R.V., see critical note, “as far as to the sea,” but ὡς ἐπί might well mean _ad mare versus, ad... [ Continue Reading ]
καθιστῶντες, see critical note, _i.e._, the Berœan brethren. In N.T. only here in this sense, _cf._ Joshua 6:23; 2 Chronicles 28:15, so also in classical Greek and in later Greek (instances in Wetstein); they accompanied Paul probably for protection as well as guidance (it has sometimes been suppose... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐκδεχομένου, _cf._ 1 Corinthians 11:33; 1 Corinthians 16:11, rare in classical Greek in this sense. παρωξύνετο : “was provoked,” R.V., only found elsewhere in N.T. in St. Paul's own description of ἀγάπη, 1 Corinthians 13:5; cf. 1 Corinthians 15:39 (see note) and Hebrews 10:24 for the cognate noun, s... [ Continue Reading ]
μὲν οὖν … τινὲς δὲ, see Rendall, p. 162, Appendix on μὲν οὖν, for the antithesis; a simple instance of two parties acting in opposition. Page however finds the antithesis to μὲν οὖν in Acts 17:19. ἐπιλαβ. δὲ (so W. H.), and regards τινὲς δὲ … συνέβαλλον αὐτῷ as almost parenthetical, see below on Act... [ Continue Reading ]
συνέβαλλον αὐτῷ : a word peculiar to St. Luke; three times in his Gospel, four times in Acts; it need not have necessarily a hostile sense as in Luke 14:31, but simply means that amongst the chance comers in the Agora there were some who “engaged in discussions,” with him (so Blass like Latin, _cons... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐπιλαβ.: as to whether we regard this as done with hostile intent, or not, will depend upon the view taken of the meaning of the Areopagus. If the latter means “the Hill of Mars,” to which the Apostle was taken for a quiet hearing and for unimportant discussion, then the former is clearly inadmissib... [ Continue Reading ]
ξενίζοντα : rather perhaps startling or bewildering than strange so too in Polyb., _cf._ 1 Peter 4:12, but see Grimm-Thayer, _sub v._ Ramsay renders “some things of foreign fashion” as if the words were connected with the opinion that the Apostle was an announcer of foreign gods, _cf._ also 2Ma 9:6,... [ Continue Reading ]
Ἀθην. δὲ πάντες : “now all Athenians,” without any article, a characteristic of the whole people, _cf._ Acts 27:4, but see Ramsay, _Expositor_, October, 1895, p. 274, and Blass, _Gram._, p. 157. ἐπιδημοῦντες : “sojourning there,” R.V., A.V. takes no notice of the word = resident strangers: “ _unde i... [ Continue Reading ]
σταθεὶς, Lucan, see Acts 1:15. ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ Ἀ. π., _i.e._, in the midst of the Council or Court of Areopagus, see above on Acts 17:19, _cf._ Acts 4:7, Peter stood in the midst of the Sanhedrim. Ramsay pertinently remarks that the words “in the middle of Mars' hill” are far from natural or clear, and... [ Continue Reading ]
διερχόμενος γὰρ : “for as I passed along,” R.V., through the streets, or perhaps “was wandering through” Renan has _passant dans vos rues_, see also on Acts 17:16 above, and also on Acts 8:40. A.V., “as I passed by” does not give the force of the word, and apparently means “passed by the objects of... [ Continue Reading ]
ὁ Θεὸς ὁ ποιήσας : “the God Who made all,” R.V., the definiteness of the words and the revelation of God as Creator stand in marked contrast to the imperfect conception of the divine nature grasped by the Athenian populace, or even by the philosophers: ἐφθέγξατο φωνὴν μίαν, διʼ ἧς πάντα κατέστρεψε τ... [ Continue Reading ]
οὐδὲ … θεραπεύεται : used in LXX and in classical Greek of the service of the Gods, significantly twice in _Epist. Jer_ [313], 17:27, 39, of the worshippers and priests of the idols overlaid with silver and gold, which are contrasted with the true God in that they can save no man from death, or show... [ Continue Reading ]
“And he hath made of one every nation of men for to dwell,” R.V., so also A.V. takes ἐποίησε separately from κατοικεῖν, not “caused to dwell”; ἐποίησε, _cf._ Acts 17:24, he made, _i.e._, created of one; see Hackett's note. κατοικεῖν : infinitive of purpose. ἐξ ἑνὸς (αἵματος), see critical note. Rend... [ Continue Reading ]
ζητεῖν = ὅπως ζητῶσι, telic infinitive, Winer-Moulton, xliv. 1. Κύριον, see critical note. Θεόν : the more fitting word before this audience Ramsay renders “the God”. εἰ ἄρα γε : “if haply,” A. and R.V., ἄρα strengthened by γε; in classical Greek we have ἆρα followed by γε, but not ἄρα. This ἄρα and... [ Continue Reading ]
St. Chrysostom comments (_Hom._, xxxviii.): Τί λέ γω μακράν; οὕτως ἐγγύς ἐστιν, ὡς χωρὶς αὐτοῦ μὴ ζῆν. ἐν αὐτῷ γὰρ ζῶμεν κ. τ. λ.… καὶ οὐκ εἶπε, διʼ αὐτοῦ, ἀλλʼ ὃ ἐγγύτερον ἦν, ἐν αὐτῷ. In the three verbs it has been sometimes maintained there is an ascending scale; in God we possess the gift of lif... [ Continue Reading ]
γένος οὖν ὑπάρχοντες : for ὑπάρχειν, see above on Acts 17:24; is the inference simply that because we are dependent upon God for all things, it is absurd to suppose that the divine nature can be like to the work of men's hands? This is correct so far as it goes, but is not the further thought implie... [ Continue Reading ]
τοὺς μὲν οὖν χρ.: a contrast drawn between the past times of ignorance, and the present times with God's summons to repentance, but instead of a finite verb we have the participle ὑπεριδών, and so δέ is omitted in the apodosis; see Rend all, _in loco_, and Appendix on μὲν οὖν, p. 163, and to the sam... [ Continue Reading ]
διότι καθότι, R.V., see critical note, only found in St. Luke = _quia_ (Blass) in Luke 1:7; Luke 19:9; Acts 2:24; Acts 2:45; Acts 4:35 = according as: see Plummer on Luke 1:7, and Blass, _Gram._, p. 268. ἔστησεν ἡμέραν : hence the command to repent, _cf._ 1Ma 4:59 and Blass, _in loco_. μέλλει κρίνει... [ Continue Reading ]
οἱ μὲν ἐχλ.… οἱ δὲ : verb only here in N.T., implies outward gesture as well as words of scorn (χλεύη, χεῖλος, _cf._ μυκτηρίζω, μυκτήρ). We usually think of the οἱ μέν as the Stoics, and the οἱ δέ as the Epicureans; _e.g._, Wetstein _after_ describing the Epicureans adds οἱ δέ = Stoici: _cf._ Cicero... [ Continue Reading ]
οὕτως : may mean, with this scanty result, or simply, after these events, in this state of the popular mind, with an expectation of being heard again (Alford); “ancipiti auditorum obsequio; nullo edito miraculo”: Bengel. ἐκ μέσου αὐτῶν : at the opening Paul stood ἐν μέσῳ Acts 17:22, τοῦ Ἀ. π.: “the... [ Continue Reading ]
τινὲς δὲ : may contrast the favourable with the unfavourable, or perhaps merely continuous. κολληθέντες, see above on Acts 5:13, implies close companionship upon which their conversion followed, see additional note. Διονύσιος ὁ Ἀ.: “quam doctrinam scurræ rejecerunt, Areopagita vir gravis accipit”. D... [ Continue Reading ]