| Acts 17 | |
|---|---|
 Bronze plaque dedicated to the visit of apostle Paul to the Areopagus Hill in Athens. It cites the text of Acts 17:22–32. Image taken in 2016. | |
| Book | Acts of the Apostles |
| Category | Church history |
| Christian Bible part | New Testament |
| Order in the Christian part | 5 |
Acts 17 is the seventeenth chapter of theActs of the Apostles in theNew Testament of theChristianBible. It continues the second missionary journey ofPaul, together withSilas andTimothy: in this chapter, the Christiangospel is preached inThessalonica,Berea andAthens. The book containing this chapter isanonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed thatLuke composed this book as well as theGospel of Luke.[1]
The original text was written inKoine Greek. Thischapter is divided into 34 verses.
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:
This chapter mentions the following places (in the order of their appearance):
The second missionary journey of Paul took place in aroundAD 49.[6]
The distance fromPhilippi toAmphipolis is about 33 miles (53 km) byVia Egnatia (which length was over 500 miles (800 km) fromHellespont toDyrrhachium[7]) and further on this road from Amphipholis toApollonia in the district of Mydonia is about 30 miles (48 km), then 37 miles (60 km) from Apollonia toThessalonica,[8] as noted inAntonine Itinerary.[9] From Thessalonica to Berea (modernVeria) is about 80 kilometres (50 mi) westward.[10] Paul then traveled to 'the sea', which would have been at least 42 km at the nearest point, and then south toAthens, 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 (Acts 17:10) presumably took more than one night.
Paul, Silas and Timothy continued to travel westwards fromPhilippi onVia Egnatia, passing several cities before arriving atThessalonica, which had "a well-established Jewish community with asynagogue" (verse 1), which Paul visited, "as was his custom", on three successivesabbaths to speak about the gospel (verse 2).[11] That he was allowed to speak on three successive sabbaths gives an indication of "the respect commanded by his character as aRabbi, and, it may be, by his earnesteloquence".[12]
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.[10] 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 (calledpolitarchs in verse 6; a title attested in inscriptional evidence for Thessalonica)[13] with a charge of disturbance (verses 6–7)[10] 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'.[14]
Paul's departure from Thessalonica "by night" (verse 10) reflected "the need [for] immediate action", whichW. 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".[15] He may have journeyed to Berea because of its "comparative seclusion".[15] His mission was initially dependent on 'the networks of theJewish 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 andopen-minded examination' (Greek:anakrinontes, v. 11) of Paul's teaching, before many of them came to belief (verse 12).[10] 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).[10]
The absence of any mention of places betweenBerea andAthens provides presumptive evidence that Paul did indeed travel by sea, "rounding thepromontory ofSunium, [entering] Athens by thePiræus".[12] That he spent some time waiting in Athens (verse 16) is confirmed by1 Thessalonians 3:1–6, which must have been written not long after this time.[10] The philosophical scene (verse 18) was reminiscent of the classical period in Athens, whenSocrates 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 theNew Testament thatdaimonia has the neutral Greek sense 'divine beings' instead of 'evil spirits').[10] The Areopagus was the chief administrative body at that time in Athens.[16]
Epicureans andStoics are from two most dominant and popular schools ofphilosophy in Athens at that time (more thanAcademics andPeripatetics) and also with the greater contrast of teachings with the doctrines of Christianity, that Paul preached ("encountered" or "in conflict with", from Greek:συνέβαλλον,syneballon; cf.Luke 14:31).[18]
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The speech, known as theAreopagus sermon, refers to a sermon or explanation delivered byApostle Paul at theAreopagus inAthens, and described inActs 17:16–34.[20][21] The Areopagus sermon is the most dramatic and fullest reported speech of the missionary career of Saint Paul and followed a shorter address inLystraActs 14:15–17.[22] Paul explained concepts such as theresurrection of the dead andsalvation, 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 namedDamaris, and Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus. This latter has at times been suggested asDionysius the Areopagite, but that may be a historical confusion.[23]
Τύμβον ἐτεκτήναντο σέθεν, κύδιστε μέγιστε, |
They fashioned a tomb for you, holy and high one, |
