RSV ~ Acts 17 Notes
Acts 17:1 | ISB Notes
Thessalonica: The leading city of the Roman province of Macedonia (northern Greece). Nearly 100 miles west of Philippi, the Church established there (A.D. 50) received two NT letters from Paul: 1 and 2 Thessalonians.
Acts 17:2 | ISB Notes
his custom: Much of Paul’s missionary activity centered on local Jewish synagogues. See note on Acts 13:5.
Acts 17:5 | ISB Notes
Jason: One of the believing Jews who hosted Paul and Silas. The raid on his house failed to turn up the missionaries, who apparently hid themselves elsewhere. Other Thessalonian converts are named in 20:4.
Acts 17:6 | ISB Notes
the world upside down: Jason is charged with harboring political dissidents suspected of insurrection. He was released only after the city authorities collected “security” (17:9) that made him legally responsible for his missionary guests.
Acts 17:7 | ISB Notes
another king: The unstated assumption is that the expected Messiah (“the Christ”, 17:3) was to come from the royal line of David and restore his glorious kingdom (2 Sam 7:1217; Mk 11:10). Here the proclamation of Christ’s kingship is heard as a political threat to Rome and a direct challenge to the imperial rule of Caesar Claudius (A.D. 41-54). From the perspective of the NT, this was a misunderstanding: although Christ demands the highest allegiance of every believer, his universal rule over the world is not of the world (Jn 18:36), so his heavenly kingship does not eliminate the need for earthly rulers to govern the temporal affairs of human society (Rom 13:1; 1 Pet 2:17).
See essay: Kingdom Restoration at Acts 15.
Acts 17:10 | ISB Notes
Beroea: A Macedonian city nearly 60 miles west of Thessalonica.
Acts 17:11 | ISB Notes
examining the Scriptures: The Beroeans measured the claims of the gospel against the standard of OT revelation and found them to be in agreement (Lk 24:44; Jn 5:39). In their zealous pursuit of the truth, they searched the Scriptures every day and not just on the Sabbath. Some have inferred from this passage that the Beroeans relied on the Bible alone as the sole foundation of revealed doctrine.
The inference is unwarranted: Luke tells us that Scripture was central to their faith, but not its exclusive basis. It is only logical that Jews would test the messianic message of the gospel by searching the messianic prophecies of the OT.
Acts 17:14 | ISB Notes
Silas and Timothy remained: Leaving these two in Beroea and Luke back in Philippi (16:12, 40), Paul ventured on to Athens alone (17:16).
Acts 17:16 | ISB Notes
Athens: A leading city of the province of Achaia (southern Greece). It reached the height of its fame in the fifth century B.C. but was still celebrated as a cultural center of philosophy, art, and literature during NT times. The city was filled with shrines and statues of Greek deities. Athenian interest in new and novel ideas was proverbial in antiquity (17:21).
Acts 17:18 | ISB Notes
Epicurean: The disciples of Epicurus (d. 271 B.C.) believed the goal of life was to avoid pain and discomfort as much as possible. By NT times, Epicurean philosophy had degraded into a pursuit of sensual pleasure. Most followers felt that if gods existed, they were disinterested in human affairs. Against this philosophy, Paul insists that God does exist; he is near to everyone; and he will judge the world for its conduct (17:24, 28, 31).
Stoic philosophers: Intellectuals committed to living a disciplined life in accord with nature. Their view of God was pantheistic, i.e., they believed the entire world was divine or imbued with divinity. Against this philosophy, Paul makes a clear distinction between the Creator and his creation (17:24, 26, 28).
babbler: A derogatory term for someone who collected ideas but lacked wisdom and intellectual sophistication.
Acts 17:19 | ISB Notes
the Are-opagus: Or, “the hill of Ares” (the Greek god of war). It refers both to a low hill in Athens and to a council of elders who met there as professional consultants to discuss Greek education, philosophy, and religion.
Acts 17:23 | ISB Notes
the objects of your worship: The Greeks venerated a vast pantheon of gods. Because they feared offending the gods through neglect, they built shrines for unnamed gods to ensure that every deity was properly honored.
To an unknown god: One tradition links the Cretan poet and philosopher Epimenides with such an altar. The story is told that a panel of elders summoned him from Crete to drive away a plague that ravaged Athens in the sixth century B.C. Epimenides counseled the city leaders on this matter, and when his advice proved successful in lifting the plague, the Athenians built memorial altars on the slope of the Are-opagus (17:19) to honor and remember the unnamed god who saved them. Paul, who excerpts from the writings of Epimenides in 17:28 and Tit 1:12, alludes to this tradition to build a bridge for the gospel, stating that God, although unknown to Athens by name, deserves the honor of all. Unlike the lifeless idols of Greece, Yahweh is the living Creator of all things and does not inhabit man-made shrines or statues (17:24; CCC 287).
Acts 17:26 | ISB Notes
every nation of men: The entire human family stems from one common ancestor, the first man, Adam (Gen 2:7- 8).
• The mention of national boundaries recalls how God made 70 nations spring from the sons of Noah and apportioned land for them in Europe (Japheth), Africa (Ham), and Asia (Shem) after the Flood (Gen 10; Deut 32:8; CCC 57, 360).
Acts 17:27 | ISB Notes
they should seek God: God revealed himself openly to Israel but expected all nations to recognize his existence and goodness by reflecting on the visible world (14:17; Rom 1:1920; CCC 32, 2566).
Acts 17:28 | ISB Notes
In him … our being: Probably a citation from the Greek poet Epimenides, who wrote in the sixth century B.C. The line summarizes Paul’s teaching that God created and sustains the world (CCC 301).
we are indeed his offspring: Cited from the Phaenomena, a work by the Greek writer Aratus, who wrote in the third century B.C. Paul cites Greek poetry elsewhere, in 1 Cor 15:33 and Tit 1:12.
Acts 17:32 | ISB Notes
the resurrection: A strange and scandalous notion to Athenian ears. The Greeks believed only in the immortality of the soul; the body, they thought, was a prison from which the soul would be happily liberated at death (CCC 996).
Acts 17:34 | ISB Notes
Dionysius: One tradition identifies him as the first bishop of Athens. Other traditions link him with mystical writings from Syria that probably date to the fifth century A.D.