Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 17:19
And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, [is]?
19. 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 Mar 8:23; Act 23:19), and is the word by which the action of Barnabas is described (Act 9:27) when “he took Paul and brought him to the apostles.” Moreover the whole context shews that the action of the crowd was in no sense that of an arrest, for we read ( Act 17:33) when his speech was done “Paul departed from among them,” evidently having been under no kind of restraint.
and brought him unto Areopagus ] More clearly expressed if we read “ the Areopagus.” This place, the name of which is translated “Mars’ hill” below in the text and here in the margin of the A.V., was an eminence to the west of the Acropolis at Athens. It was famous in classic literature as the meeting-place of the Athenian council of Areopagus which took its name from the place where it met. To this hill of Mars (Ares) the philosophers led St Paul, probably at a time when it was unoccupied (though some suppose that the court was sitting), that they might the better hear him away from the bustle of the market-place, and that he might more conveniently address a larger audience.
May we know ] The verb here rendered “may” = literally “are we able.” But there is no doubt that its force is well given by the A.V. For the literal force “to be able” often merged itself in that of “to wish” or “to be willing.” Cp. Luk 11:7, where the verb is translated “I cannot (= I am not able to) rise and give thee,” but the sense is “ I don’t wish to rise,” for after importunity he does arise and do all that is asked. The Stoics and Epicureans were not likely to doubt their own ability to understand all that St Paul might say to them.
what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is ] Better (with R. V.), “ what this new doctrine is which is spoken by thee.” The sense conveyed by the verb ( ) is often in N. T. that of announcing or publishing, and the word is not unfrequently used of messages spoken by God or by his prophets (cp. Luk 1:45; Luk 1:55; Luk 1:70; Luk 24:25; Act 3:21; Act 3:24; Jas 5:10). The Apostle was not speaking to the Athenians about the doctrine, his words were the doctrine.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And brought him unto Areopagus – Margin, or Mars hill. This was the place or court in which the Areopagites, the celebrated supreme judges of Athens, assembled. It was on a hill almost in the middle of the city; but nothing now remains by which we can determine the form or construction of the tribunal. The hill is almost entirely a mass of stone, and is not easily accessible, its sides being steep and abrupt. On many accounts this was the most celebrated tribunal in the world. Its decisions were distinguished for justice and correctness; nor was there any court in Greece in which so much confidence was placed. This court took cognizance of murders, impieties, and immoralities; they punished vices of all kinds, including idleness; they rewarded the virtuous; they were especially attentive to blasphemies against the gods, and to the performance of the sacred mysteries of religion. It was, therefore, with the greatest propriety that Paul was brought before this tribunal, as being regarded as a setter forth of strange gods, and as being supposed to wish to Introduce a new mode of worship. See Potters Antiquities of Greece, book 1, chapter 19; and Travels of Anacharsis, vol. i. 136, 185; ii. 292-295.
May we know – We would know. This seems to have been a respectful inquiry; and it does not appear that Paul was brought there for the sake of trial. There are no accusations; no witnesses; none of the forms of trial. They seem to have resorted thither because it was the place where the subject of religion was usually discussed, and because it was a place of confluence for the citizens, and judges, and wise men of Athens, and of foreigners. The design seems to have been, not to try him, but fairly to canvass the claims of his doctrines. See Act 17:21. It was just an instance of the inquisitive spirit of the people of Athens, willing to hear before they condemned, and to examine before they approved.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 19. They took him, and brought him unto Areopagus] The Areopagus was a hill not far from the Acropolis, already described, where the supreme court of justice was held; one of the most sacred and reputable courts that had ever existed in the Gentile world. It had its name, , Areopagus, or the Hill of Mars, or Ares, from the circumstance, according to poetic fiction, of Mars being tried there, by a court of twelve gods, for the murder of Halirrhothius, son of Neptune: the meaning of which is, that Ares, a Thessalian prince, having slain Halirrhothius, the son of a neighbouring prince, for having violated his daughter Alcippe, was here tried by twelve judges, by whom he was honourably acquitted: in the Athenian laws the death of the ravisher was the regular forfeiture for his crime. The justice administered in this court was so strict and impartial, that, it was generally allowed, both the plaintiff and defendant departed satisfied with the decision. “Innocence, when summoned before it, appeared without apprehension; and the guilty, convicted and condemned, retired with out daring to murmur.” The place in which the judges sat was uncovered; and they held their sittings by night, to the end that nothing might distract their minds from the great business on which they were to decide; and that the sight of the accused might not affect them either with pity or aversion. In reference to this, all pleaders were strictly forbidden to use any means whatever to excite either pity or aversion, or to affect the passions; every thing being confined to simple relation, or statement of facts. When the two parties were produced before the court, they were placed between the bleeding members of victims slain on the occasion, and were obliged to take an oath, accompanied by horrible imprecations on themselves and families, that they would testify nothing but truth. These parties called to witness the eumenides, or furies, the punishers of the perjured in the infernal world; and, to make the greater impression on the mind of the party swearing, the temple dedicated to these infernal deities was contiguous to the court, so that they appeared as if witnessing the oaths and recording the appeal made to themselves. When the case was fully heard, the judges gave their decision by throwing down their flint pebbles, on two boards or tables, one of which was for the condemnation, the other for the acquittal, of the person in question.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The city of Athens was divided into five wards, or parts; one of which was called
Areopagus, from the temple of Mars, which stood upon a hill in it: nigh unto which temple, or in some part of it, was their chiefest court kept; and here they judged of all religious affairs: here they condemned Diagoras, Protagoras, and Socrates; and hither they bring Paul, though rather to inquire of him (there being the resort of learned men) concerning his doctrine, than to condemn him for it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
19. they took him, and brought himto Areopagus“the hill where the most awful court ofjudicature had sat from time immemorial to pass sentence on thegreatest criminals, and to decide on the most solemn questionsconnected with religion. No place in Athens was so suitable for adiscourse on the mysteries of religion” [HOWSON].The apostle, however, was not here on his trial, but toexpound more fully what he had thrown out in broken conversations inthe Agora.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And they took him,…. Not that they laid hands on him, and carried him away by violence, as a derider of their gods, and an introducer of new ones, in order to punish him; but they invited him to go with them, and they took him along with them in a friendly manner, and had him to a more convenient place for preaching and disputation, and where were many learned men to hear and judge of his doctrine; and this appears from their desire to hear what his doctrine was, and from his quiet departure, after he had ended his discourse:
and brought him unto Areopagus. The Arabic version seems to understand this of a person, rendering it, “and brought him to the most skilful, and the judge of the doctors”; to be heard and examined before him, about the doctrine he preached, who was most capable of judging concerning it; and this might be Dionysius, who is called the Areopagite, and was converted by the apostle, Ac 17:34. The Ethiopic version renders it, “they brought him to the house of their god”; to one of their idols’ temple, the temple of Mars, which is not much amiss; for we are told g, that Areopagus was a street in Athens, in which was the temple of Mars, from whence it had its name; but the Syriac version renders it best of all, “they brought him to the house of judgment, or “court of judicature”, which is called Areopagus”; and so it is called “Martium judicium”, or Mars’s “court of judicature”, by Apuleius h, and “Martis curia”, or the “court of Mars”, by Juvenal i, for it was a court where causes were tried, and the most ancient one with the Athenians, being instituted by Cerops, their first king; and is thought to be near as ancient, if not fully as ancient, yea, as more ancient than the sanhedrim, or the court of seventy elders, appointed by Moses among the Jews. It was called Areopagus, because Ares, or Mars, was the first that was judged there k. The case was this, Alcippe, the daughter of Mars, being ravished by Habirrhothius, the son of Neptune, and caught by Mars in the very fact, was killed by him; upon which Neptune arraigned Mars for the murder, and tried him in this place, by a jury of twelve deities, by whom he was acquitted l. Hither Paul was brought, not to be tried in a legal manner; for it does not appear that any charge was exhibited against him, or any legal process carried on, only an inquiry was made about his doctrine, and that only to gratify their curiosity:
saying, may we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? for they had never heard of Jesus, nor of salvation by him, nor of the resurrection of the dead; these were all new things to them, and therefore they were the more curious to ask after them, new things being what they were fond of: wherefore they call his doctrine new, not so much by way of reproach, as suggesting it to be a reason why they inquired after it, and why they desired him to give them some account of it; and that it should be a new doctrine with them, or if they reproached it with the charge of novelty, it need not be wondered at in them, when the Jews charged and reproached the doctrine of Christ in like manner, Mr 1:27.
g Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 3. c. 5. h Milesiarum 10. i Satyr. 5. k Pausaniae Attica, p. 52. l Apellodorus de deorum origine, l. 3, p. 193.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
And they took hold of him ( ). Second aorist middle participle of , old verb, but in the N.T. only in the middle, here with the genitive to lay hold of, but with no necessary sense of violence (Acts 9:27; Acts 23:27; Mark 8:23), unless the idea is that Paul was to be tried before the Court of Areopagus for the crime of bringing in strange gods. But the day for that had passed in Athens. Even so it is not clear whether “ unto the Areopagus ( “) means the Hill of Mars (west of the Acropolis, north of the agora and reached by a flight of steps in the rock) or the court itself which met elsewhere as well as on the hills, usually in fact in the Stoa Basilica opening on the agora and near to the place where the dispute had gone on. Raphael’s cartoon with Paul standing on Mars Hill has made us all familiar with the common view, but it is quite uncertain if it is true. There was not room on the summit for a large gathering. If Paul was brought before the Court of Areopagus (commonly called the Areopagus as here), it was not for trial as a criminal, but simply for examination concerning his new teaching in this university city whether it was strictly legal or not. Paul was really engaged in proselytism to turn the Athenians away from their old gods to Jesus Christ. But “the court of refined and polished Athenians was very different from the rough provincial magistrates of Philippi, and the philosophers who presented Paul to their cognizance very different from the mob of Thessalonians” (Rackham). It was all very polite.
May we know? ( ). Can we come to know (ingressive second aorist active infinitive).
This new teaching ( ). On the position of see Robertson, Grammar, pp. 700f. The question was prompted by courtesy, sarcasm, or irony. Evidently no definite charge was laid against Paul.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Areopagus. The Hill of Mars : the seat of the ancient and venerable Athenian court which decided the most solemn questions connected with religion. Socrates was arraigned and condemned here on the charge of innovating on the state religion. It received its name from the legend of the trial of Mars for the murder of the son of Neptune. The judges sat in the open air upon seats hewn out in the rock, on a platform ascended by a flight of stone steps immediately from the market – place. A temple of Mars was on the brow of the edifice, and the sanctuary of the Furies was in a broken cleft of the rock immediately below the judges’ seats. The Acropolis rose above it, with the Parthenon and the colossal statue of Athene. “It was a scene with which the dread recollections of centuries were associated. Those who withdrew to the Areopagus from the Agora, came, as it were, into the presence of a higher power. No place in Athens was so suitable for a discourse upon the mysteries of religion” (Conybeare and Howson). 23
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And they took him,” (epilabomenoi de autou) “Then they took hold of him,” out of contempt and curiosity of what this imagined barbarian Jew might have to say, out and away from the agora, or the market place masses.
2) “And brought him to Areopagus, saying,” (epi ton Areion pagon egagon legontes) “And led him up to the Areopagus repeatedly saying,” that is to Mars Hill, challenging him; That was like challenging a greyhound to chase a rabbit, or a fish to swim, or an eagle to fly. He was always ready to preach the gospel, and defend the faith, Rom 1:14-16; Php_1:17.
3) “May we know what this new doctrine,” (dun a meth a gnonai tis he kaine oute didoche) “Can we (may we) know what this new teaching (you are doing) is?” That was like asking a doughnut man are your doughnuts fresh? It was all the invitation that this “always ready to witness saint needed, to trigger his testimony, and perhaps the greatest oration ever given by a missionary of God, instant “in season and out of season,” 2Ti 4:2.
4) “Whereof thou speakest is?” (hupo sou laloumene) “That by you is being spoken repeatedly,” Act 20:20-21; Rom 10:8-13. The clashing ideas of these questioning, and equally wrong, Epicureans and Stoics, made an appropriate setting for Paul’s affirmation of life and accountability of every man after death, based on the actual, factual, and evidentiary resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, and His coming judgement, Rom 2:16; 2Ti 4:1; Heb 9:27-28; 2Th 1:6-9; Rom 2:4-9.
EPICUREANS AND STOICS
These two classes of men represented the two opposite points of the sphere of life. Both represented facts, but separated ones. One was a class of men and minds who had started from the Very high truth that good was sure to be the highest happiness, and had degenerated quickly into the mere pursuit of happiness and pleasure, as if they were good and would bring good of themselves. These were Epicureans. And their opposites were Stoics, a class of men and minds who had started from the noble truth that the highest good involves and is hardship and bravery, and had as quickly degenerated into mere proud endurance – pride in their own strength as the only good, and scorn for any gentleness or pleasure. One said, “It is a bright world, let us enjoy it; another, “it is a hard world, let us just endure it.”
– Frederick Brooks
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
−
19. They brought him to Mars’ Street. Though this verse a place appointed for judgment, yet Luke doth not mean that Paul was brought before the seat of the judges, that he might plead his cause before the judges of Mars’ Street. − (281) But that he was brought thither, where was most commonly a great assembly of people, that the serious disputation might be had before a great and famous audience. And admit we grant that he was brought before the judgment-seat, yet the end doth declare that he was not presented to the judges, but that he had free liberty to speak as before an audience. And that which followeth shortly after, touching the nature and conditions [manners] of the men of Athens, doth sufficiently declare that their curiosity was the cause; that Paul had such audience given him, that he had such a famous place granted him to preach Christ in, that so many came together. For in any other place it had been a crime worthy of death, to speak in the market or in any other public place, having gathered a company of people together; but there, because those who did carry about trifles had liberty granted them to prate, by reason of the immoderate desire they had to hear news, Paul was permitted to intreat of the mysteries of faith, being requested. −
Gave themselves to nothing else. The two vices which Luke reciteth do almost go together. For it falleth out seldom that those who are desirous of novelties are not also babblers. For that saying of Horace is most true, “Fly a demander of questions, for the same is also a blab.” And surely we see that curious men are like rent barrels. − (282) Furthermore, both vices came of idleness; not only because the philosophers spent whole days in disputing, but because the common sort was too much set upon novelty; neither was there any craftsman so base there, which would not thrust in himself to set in order the status of Grecia. And surely that which Luke saith here is witnessed by all writers, both Greek and Latin, that there was nothing more light, covetous, or froward than that people. Wherefore, there could never be any certain government set down in that city, which was, notwithstanding, the mistress of sciences. Therefore, in principal power, − (283) they had, notwithstanding, no long liberty; neither did they ever cease off from attempting things and making many hurly-burlies, until they brought themselves and all Grecia to utter ruin. For when their state was decayed, yet did not they forsake their boldness. Therefore, Cicero doth laugh at their folly, because they did no less fiercely set forth their decrees then, than when they were lords over Grecia. Now, though there were small hope to do any good among curious men, yet Paul did not neglect the opportunity, if, peradventure, he might gain some of a great company to Christ. Neither was this any small praise for the gospel in the most noble place of the city, and, as it were, in a common theater, to refute and openly to reprove all forged and false worshippings, which had reigned there even until this day.
(281) −
“
Areopagitis,” the Areopagites.
(282) −
“
Doliis pertusis,” broken, leaking casks.
(283) −
“
In summa potentia,” though in supreme power, (an independent state.)
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(19) They took him, and brought him unto Areopagus.The name may stand either for the Hill of Mars, simply as a locality, or for the Court which sat there, and was known as the Court of the Areopagus, and which, as the oldest and most revered tribunal in Athens, owing its origin to Athena, and connected with the story of Orestes and the worship of the propitiated Erinnyes (the Avengers) as the Eumenides (the Gentle Ones), still continued to exercise jurisdiction in all matters connected with the religion of the state, and numbered among its members men of the highest official rank. It had originally consisted only of those who had filled the office of Archon and were over sixty years of age. Its supreme authority had been in some measure limited by Pericles, and it was as the organ of the party who opposed the ideas of freedom and progress of which he was the representative, that schylus wrote the tragedy of the Eumenides, in which the divine authority of the Court was impressed upon mens minds. Here, however, the narrative that follows presents no trace of a formal trial, and hence it has been questioned whether the Apostle was brought before the Court of the Areopagus. Unless, however, there had been some intention of a trial, there seems no reason for their taking him to the Areopagus rather than to the Pnyx or elsewhere; and the mention of a member of the Court as converted by St. Pauls preaching, makes it probable that the Court was actually sitting at the time. The most natural explanation of the apparent difficulty is, that as the charge of bringing in strange deities was one which came under the jurisdiction of the Areopagus Court, the crowd who seized on St. Paul hurried him there, not presenting a formal indictment, but calling for a preliminary inquiry, that his speech accordingly, though of the nature of an apologia, was not an answer to a distinct accusation, and that having heard it, the Court looked on the matter as calling for no special action, and passed to the order of the day.
May we know . . .?The form of the question, courteous in semblance, but with a slight touch of sarcasm, is eminently characteristic in itself, and shows also that there was no formal accusation, though the words that followed suggested the thought that there possibly might be materials for one. What had been said was strange enough to require an explanation.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
19. Took him Not violence, but guidance.
Areopagus Capriciously rendered by our translators Mars’ hill, in Act 17:22. The term is compounded of , belon g ing to Mars, and , hill, and the place was so named because, according to mythology, on that height the god Mars, having slain the son of Neptune, pleaded his case before the twelve great gods. Here the most ancient and reverend court known in Greece, consisting of the weightiest characters of the state, held its solemn sessions by night alone. Among its duties was the sacred one of judging the lawfulness of any religious rite or dogma. Paul was not arraigned before the court, but only invited by Athenian curiosity to speak in the place. Yet certainly one of the Areopagite judges was present, and, perhaps, others, in their judicial seats.
May we know Literally, can we know, a most respectful form of request.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And they took hold of him, and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is, which is spoken by you? For you are bringing certain strange things to our ears. We would know therefore what these things mean.’
But they were interested to know what he was teaching, and indeed to check up on it so as to ensure that it could be allowed to be taught among the people in Athens, especially the students who were among them (who could report back anything that seemed seditious to their families). So they brought him to their historic meetingplace in the marketplace, the Areopagus, and their questioned him concerning his teaching. They wanted to know the detail of his system of philosophy, which was totally new to them and which they could see concerned what they looked on as strange ideas.
‘Certain strange things.’ Not just the resurrection. They were interested in a good deal more.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Act 17:19. They brought him unto Areopagus, The original word is the same with that rendered Mars-hill, Act 17:22. The name of this senate was taken from the place in which it was assembled, being a hill not far distant from the city; for the word , pagos, in composition, signifies a rock, hill, or eminence. With respect to the first part of the name, authors are not so well agreed: some derive it from the Greek word ‘, which signifies Mars, because he is supposed to have been the first person who was arraigned in this court. But others, with more probability, derive it from the same name, as Mars was the god of war and bloodshed, and as all wilful murders fell under the cognizance of this court; and the word itself is used to signifymurders. When this court was first instituted, is uncertain, some making it as ancient as Cecrops, and others bringing it down as low as Solon. It has indeed been objected to the latter opinion, that one of Solon’s laws makes mention of the Areopagus as already existing. The difficulty is how to reconcile these accounts. The case might have been this: Solon, we know, was employed by the Athenians to new-model their commonwealth, by reforming the illconstitutions, and supplying such as were defective; so that, in the number of his regulations, was that against the admission of foreign gods without a licence from the Areopagus; and having thus enlarged its jurisdiction, he was afterwards regarded as the founder. The number of persons that composed this assembly, is variously represented. By some it is restrained to nine, by others enlarged to thirty-one, by others to fifty-one; but when Socrates was condemned by this court, there were no less than two hundred and eighty one giving their votes against him. Aristides observes, that this court was the most sacred and venerable tribunal in all Greece: so impartial and exact were their proceedings in all matters of law, that, as Demosthenes informs us, there never had been in his time, so much as one of their determinations, which either plaintiff or defendant had reason to complain of. They had three meetings in the Areopagus every month. They sat in the open air, which was customary in such courts as took cognizance of murder; that the judges might not contract any pollutionfrom conversing with men so profane: and they heard all causes at night, and in the dark, that they might not be influenced by seeing either the plaintiff or defendant. There are some remains of the place wherein this assembly met,still visible in the foundations, which form a semicircle, built with square stones of a prodigious size. See on Act 17:34
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Act 17:19-20 . ] Grotius aptly says: “manu leniter prehensum.” Comp. Act 9:27 , Act 23:19 . Adroitly confiding politeness. Act 17:21 proves that a violent seizure and carrying away to judicial examination is not indicated, as Adami (see in Wolf) and others imagined, but that the object in view was simply to satisfy the curiosity of the people flocking to the Areopagus. And this is evinced by the whole proceedings, which show no trace of a judicial process, ending as they did partly with ridicule and partly with polite dismissal (Act 17:31 ), after which Paul departed unhindered. Besides, the Athenians were very indulgent to the introduction of foreign, particularly Oriental, worships (Strabo, x. p. 474; Philostr. Vit. Apollon . vi. 7; Hermann, gottesd. Alterth . 12), provided only there was not conjoined with it rejection of the native gods, such as Socrates was formerly accused of. To this the assertion of Josephus, c. Rev 2 , is to be limited: , which, perhaps, is merely a generalization from the history of Socrates. And certainly Paul, as the wisdom of his speech (Act 17:22 ff.) attests, prudently withheld a direct condemnatory judgment of the Athenian gods. Notwithstanding, Baur and Zeller have again insisted on a judicial process in the Areopagus alleging that the legend of Dionysius the Areopagite, as the first bishop of Athens (Eus. iv. 23), had given rise to the whole history; that there was a wish to procure for Paul an opportunity, as solemn as possible, for the exposition of his teaching, an arena analogous to the Sanhedrim (Zeller), etc.
Concerning the , collis Martins , so called (Paus. i. 28. 5), the seat of the supreme judicature of Athens, situated to the west of the Acropolis, and concerning the institution and authority of that tribunal, see Meursius, de Areop . Lugd. Bat. 1624; Bckh, de Areop . Berol. 1826; Hermann, Staatsalterth . 105. 108. On the present locality, see Robinson, I. p. 11 f.; Forbiger, Geogr . III. p. 937 ff.
. . .] invitation in the form of a courteous question, by way of securing the contemplated enjoyment.
. . ] what (as respects its more precise contents) this new doctrine (namely), that which is being announced by you . In the repetition of the article (Stallb. ad Plat. Rep . p. 407 B) there is here implied a pert, ironical emphasis.
] startling . , . Thom. Mag. Comp. Polyb. iii. 114. 4 : . , Diod. Sic. xii. 53; 2Ma 9:6 ; 3Ma 7:3 .
] namely, whilst you are here, hence the present .
] see on Act 17:18 ; Act 2:12 , and Tittmann, Synon . N.T . p. 129 f. The plural indicates the individual points , after the collective character of which inquires. Krger, lxi. 8. 2; Stallbaum, ad Plat. Gorg . p. 508 C, Euthyphr . p. 15 A.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
19 And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is ?
Ver. 19. Brought him unto Areopagus ] A cruel court where Socrates lost his life for the very same crime that St Paul is here charged with; viz. an endeavour to introduce new deities. (Laertius.) That the apostle came off not only with safety, but some success (for Dionysius, one of the judges, was converted), see a sweet providence. Paul wanted a place to preach in; they brought him to Areopagus as a delinquent, where he hath an opportunity of doing God a great deal of good service. So Charles V, emperor, sent the confession of the Protestant Churches to divers princes of Europe to ask their opinions; hereby the gospel was exceedingly spread and propagated; which gave occasion to Luther to deride Pontificiorum stultam sapientiam, the foolish wisdom of the Papists, in a certain epistle to the elector of Saxony. (Scultet. Annal. 274.)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
19. . ] No violence is implied: see reff.
] There is no allusion here to the court of Areiopagus, nor should the words have been so rendered in E. V. especially as the same below ( Act 17:22 ) is translated ‘ Mars’ Hill .’ We have in the narrative no trace of any judicial proceeding , but every thing to contradict such a supposition. Paul merely makes his speech, and, having satisfied the curiosity of the multitude who came together on Mars’ Hill, departs unhindered: they brought him up to the hill of Mars . Wordsworth believes he finds a trace of a judicial proceeding in , denoting rather a public apology than a private discussion: and in the conversion of Dionysius the Areopagite . But what words other than those would St. Paul have been likely to use in making a speech to a concourse of Athenians? for no one supposes it to have been a private discussion. And why should not Dionysius have been present? As a convert of note, he would naturally have his title attached.
The following note is borrowed from Mr. Humphry’s Commentary: ‘It might be expected that on the hill of Mars the mind of the stranger would be impressed with the magnificence of the religion which he sought to overthrow. The temple of the Eumenides was immediately below him: opposite, at the distance of 200 yards, was the Acropolis, which, being entirely occupied with statues and temples, was, to use the phrase of an ancient writer (Aristides), , as one great offering to the gods. The Persians encamped on the Areiopagus when they besieged the Acropolis (Herod. viii. 52): from the same place the Apostle makes his first public attack on Paganism, of which the Acropolis was the stronghold. Xerxes in his fanaticism burnt the temples of Greece (schyl. Pers.: Cic. de Leg. ii. 10). Christianity advanced more meekly and surely: and though the immediate effect of the Apostle’s sermon was not great, the Parthenon in time became a Christian church (Leake, Athens, p. 277). Athens ceased to be a , and the repugnance of the Greeks to images became so great, as to be a principal cause of the schism between the churches of the east and west in the eighth century.’
The hill of Mars was so called according to Paus. i. 28. 5, . It was on the west of the Acropolis. The Areiopagus, the highest criminal court of Athens, held its sittings there. To give any account of it is beside the purpose, there being no allusion to it in the text. Full particulars may be found sub voce in Smith’s Dict. of Gr. and Rom. Antt.
. . ] A courteous method of address (not ironical, as Kuin. and Stier).
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Act 17:19 . .: 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 inadmissible; if, however, the Areopagus meant the Council of Areopagus, then that action would seem to have been indicative at least of malice and dislike. The verb in the N.T. is used only in the middle, with accusative or genitive, and most frequently by St. Luke, five times in his Gospel, seven times in Acts, twice by St. Paul, only once by St. Matthew and by St. Mark. In each case it can be determined by the context whether it is used in a favourable or unfavourable sense. So too in LXX (always with genitive), where it is frequently used, the context alone decides. Certainly Act 9:27 presents a close verbal parallel in language, as the participle . is followed as here by (Weiss), but the context there expresses beyond all doubt a friendly action. Grotius (so Weiss, Wendt, Felten, Zckler, Bethge) attributes friendliness to the action here, and renders “manu leniter prehensum,” so too F. C. Conybeare, “Areopagus,” Hastings’ B.D., renders it “took Paul by the hand,” but in three of the four parallels to which he refers is expressed, and for the fourth see above. But the view taken of the following words will help us to decide, Ramsay, St. Paul , p. 245, and Expositor , September, 1895, pp. 216, 217. . , Curtius, Gesammelte Abhandlungen , ii., p. 528, note, and Ramsay, Expositor, u. s. , p. 217, point out that with accusative would be the correct expression for taking any one before an official court, cf. Act 9:21 , Act 16:19 , Act 17:6 , Act 18:12 a regular Lucan preposition in this sense cf. also Herod., iii. 46, 156; viii. 79. But it does not therefore follow that a regular trial was instituted, as Chrys., Theophylact and others have held, since there is nothing in the context to indicate this. But the form of expression certainly does seem to indicate that Paul was taken not to the Hill of Mars, as is generally held, but before a court or council. And there is substantial evidence for believing that the term Areopagus (as Blass admits) was not merely local, but that it was sometimes used as = the Council or Court of Areopagus, cf. Cicero, Ad Atticum , i., 14, 5; De Nat. Deorum , ii., 29; Rep. , i., 27. Moreover, there is good reason to believe that the council, although deriving its name from the hill, did not always meet on the hill, and also that it had the power of taking official action in questions bearing upon public teaching in the city ( cf. Renan, Saint Paul , pp. 193, 194, and authorities cited). It is therefore not an improbable inference that Paul would be brought before such a court for inquiry into his teaching; beyond this inference perhaps we cannot go; even to call the inquiry a (so Curtius) may be to apply a technical term unwarranted by the context, which bears no trace of a criminal procedure, cf. Curtius, u. s. , pp. 528, 529; Ramsay, u. s. ; Plumptre and Rendall, in loco . But where did the council meet for the discharge of such duties as inquiries into the qualification of teachers, as a public court for the maintenance of public order? Probably in the Stoa Basileios; here Demosthenes informs us that some of its duties were transacted (see Expositor , October, 1895, p. 272, and Curtius, u. s. , p. 528), and the scene before us is full of the life of the Agora with the corona of people thronging to listen, rather than of the sacred or solemn associations of the Hill of Mars, or of the quietude of a spot far removed from the busy life of the market-place. So too the name “Areopagus” might have been easily transferred to the council sitting in a place other than the hill, so that . . might easily become informally and colloquially, and the word as used here by St. Luke may really be another proof that, as in , the author catches the very word which the Athenians would use, Ramsay, Expositor , September, 1895, p. 216, and Renan, u. s. , p. 194, note. But it has further been urged both by Curtius and Ramsay (so also Renan, u. s. ) that the Hill of Mars would be a most inconvenient place for public assemblies and speakers, see Ramsay, u. s. , p. 213, and Curtius, u. s. , p. 529, and even if the spot had been suitable for such purposes, there would have been a want of fitness in the Athenians taking this to harangue them on a spot so inseparably associated with the dignity and glory of their city; see also below on Act 17:22 ; Act 17:33 . : like the Latin, Possum scire? the question may have been asked in courtesy, or in sarcasm, or ironically; in the repetition of the article the irony may be accentuated. .: “which it spoken by thee,” R.V., the Apostle was not speaking about the doctrine, A.V., his words were the doctrine (Lumby). Felten regards the question as courteously put, and sees in it a decisive proof that Paul was not put upon his trial, since a man could not be tried on a charge of which his accusers had no knowledge. But this would not prevent a preliminary inquiry of some kind before the court, prompted by dislike or suspicion.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
took. Greek. epilambanomai. See note on Act 9:27; Act 23:19.
Areopagus = the hill of Mars, or the Martian hill. Greek. Areios pagoa. Compare Act 17:22. Where the great council of the Athenians was held.
May = Can.
know. Greek. ginosko, as in Act 17:13.
new. Greek. kainos. See note on Mat 9:17.
whereof, &c. = which is spoken (Greek. laleo. App-121.) by (Greek. hupo. App-104.) thee.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
19. .] No violence is implied: see reff.
] There is no allusion here to the court of Areiopagus, nor should the words have been so rendered in E. V.-especially as the same below (Act 17:22) is translated Mars Hill. We have in the narrative no trace of any judicial proceeding, but every thing to contradict such a supposition. Paul merely makes his speech, and, having satisfied the curiosity of the multitude who came together on Mars Hill, departs unhindered:-they brought him up to the hill of Mars. Wordsworth believes he finds a trace of a judicial proceeding in , denoting rather a public apology than a private discussion: and in the conversion of Dionysius the Areopagite. But what words other than those would St. Paul have been likely to use in making a speech to a concourse of Athenians? for no one supposes it to have been a private discussion. And why should not Dionysius have been present? As a convert of note, he would naturally have his title attached.
The following note is borrowed from Mr. Humphrys Commentary:-It might be expected that on the hill of Mars the mind of the stranger would be impressed with the magnificence of the religion which he sought to overthrow. The temple of the Eumenides was immediately below him: opposite, at the distance of 200 yards, was the Acropolis, which, being entirely occupied with statues and temples, was, to use the phrase of an ancient writer (Aristides), , as one great offering to the gods. The Persians encamped on the Areiopagus when they besieged the Acropolis (Herod. viii. 52): from the same place the Apostle makes his first public attack on Paganism, of which the Acropolis was the stronghold. Xerxes in his fanaticism burnt the temples of Greece (schyl. Pers.: Cic. de Leg. ii. 10). Christianity advanced more meekly and surely: and though the immediate effect of the Apostles sermon was not great, the Parthenon in time became a Christian church (Leake, Athens, p. 277). Athens ceased to be a ,-and the repugnance of the Greeks to images became so great, as to be a principal cause of the schism between the churches of the east and west in the eighth century.
The hill of Mars was so called according to Paus. i. 28. 5, . It was on the west of the Acropolis. The Areiopagus, the highest criminal court of Athens, held its sittings there. To give any account of it is beside the purpose, there being no allusion to it in the text. Full particulars may be found sub voce in Smiths Dict. of Gr. and Rom. Antt.
. .] A courteous method of address (not ironical, as Kuin. and Stier).
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Act 17:19. ) The court of justice was held on a hill (in Greek ) opposite the citadel of Cecrops, outside the city, and received its appellation from Mars (). Thither they brought Paul, almost as if he were one to be put on his trial.- ) A formula of questioning, as among the Latins, Possumne scire? Moreover it has, in the intention of these Attic questioners, a degree of irony; for a seed-picker, such as they supposed Paul to be, is full of chinks [Terence Eun. i. 2, 25, plenus rimarum, one who can keep nothing to himself]: nor did they think that anything could be said to them, which they did not know thoroughly before.-) They desire to hear, if he has anything new.- , which is spoken of by thee) deliberately and earnestly.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Areopagus
Mars’ hill.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Areopagus: or, Mars’-hill, Act 17:22, “It was the highest court in Athens.”
May: Act 17:20, Act 24:24, Act 25:22, Act 26:1, Mat 10:18
new: Mar 1:27, Joh 13:34, 1Jo 2:7, 1Jo 2:8
Reciprocal: Isa 21:12 – if Joh 18:38 – What Act 17:34 – the Areopagite
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
9
Act 17:19. Areopagus and Mars’ hill (verse 22) were names for the same place, which was the highest court in Athens in the days of the apostles. Not only were criminal cases tried in this court, but also any subject thought to affect the public welfare.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Act 17:19. Brought him unto Areopagus. On this spot, writes Howson (St. Paul), a long series of awful causes connected with crime and religion had been determined, beginning with the legendary trial of Mars [Ares], which gave to the place the name of Mars Hill. A temple of this god was built on the brow of the eminence, and an additional solemnity was given to the place by the sanctuary of the Furies (Eumenides) in a broken cleft of the rock, immediately below the Judges seats. It has been much disputed whether or no Paul was arraigned formally as an accused before the Areopagites on the charge of introducing strange gods into the city,a religio, consequently illicita. In discussing this question, the powers and functions of the once famous court in the days of Paul must be considered. The position of the Athenian magistrates, in the time of Paul, was one of peculiar difficulty, owing to the hostile attitude of the city in the wars which resulted in the establishment in supreme power of Augustus and his successors. Its privileges as a free city were only left to is by the clemency of the emperors, who were unwilling to punish a place which possessed the memories of Athens. These privileges, however, were only held during the Caesars pleasure. The once famous and powerful Court of the Areopagus at most could only pretend to a jurisdiction over the city and its immediate neighbourhood. It seems, however, to have laid claim to and wielded powers far greater and more comprehensive than a merely local magisterial jurisdiction. Far beyond Athens, the decisions of the Council of the Areopagites in matters connected with law, morals, medicine, religious rites, etc., were received with respectful attention. They seem rather to have exercised the functions of an influential and widely respected academy or university, than the restricted and jealously watched duties of a local criminal court in a suspected privileged city. Before such a body of men Paul was probably courteously invited to set forth at length those strange religious doctrines he had been preaching with such marked success in the Macedonian cities of Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea. The question of the judges, the speech of Paul, and the terms in which his subsequent dismissal by the court is related, in no way bear out the supposition that anything like a formal trial took place that day on the hill of Mars.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Act 17:19-21. And The crowd increasing to a greater number than could conveniently hear him, in the place where they then were; they took and brought him unto Areopagus Or, the hill of Mars, dedicated to Mars, the heathen god of war, the place where the Athenians held their supreme court of judicature, of which the original number of judges was twelve, but it was afterward increased to three hundred, who were generally men of the greatest families in Athens, and were famed for justice and integrity. Paul, however, was certainly not carried thither to be tried as a criminal, but to be heard discoursing concerning his new doctrine: for they said, May we know what this new doctrine is? For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears Exceedingly different from what we have ever received from any of those many professors, of various learning, which this city has produced: we would know, therefore, what these things mean And wish to hear them from thine own mouth, rather than by the uncertain report of others. This course, it must be observed, the Athenians took with Paul, not from the love of truth, but from mere curiosity: for, as the historian proceeds to observe, all the Athenians, and strangers sojourning there And catching their distemper; spent their time in nothing else but either to tell To others; or to hear For themselves; some new thing Greek, , literally, some newer thing. New things quickly grew cheap, and they wanted those that were newer still. The apostle, therefore, being thus called to declare the new doctrine whereof he spake, to an assembly consisting of senators, philosophers, rhetoricians, and statesmen, willingly embraced the opportunity; and, in a most eloquent discourse, prepared his illustrious auditors for receiving that doctrine which appeared to them so strange, by showing them the absurdity of the commonly-received idolatry, and by speaking on that delicate subject with an address, and temper, and strength of reasoning, which would have done honour to the greatest orators of Greece or Rome. Macknight.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
19-21. Notwithstanding the contempt with which Paul was regarded by some of his hearers, he succeeded in arresting the serious attention of a few. (19) “And they took him and led him to the Areopagus, saying, Can we know what this new doctrine is, of which you speak? (20) For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. We wish to know, therefore, what these things mean. (21) For all the Athenians, and the strangers dwelling there, spent their time in nothing else than telling or hearing something new.” The Areopagus was a rocky eminence, ascended by a flight of stone steps cut in the solid rock, on the summit of which were seats in the open air, where the judges, called Areopagites, held court for the trial of criminals, and of grave religious questions. The informal character of the proceedings on this occasion shows that it was not this court which had summoned Paul, but that those who were interested in hearing him selected this as a suitable place for the purpose. This is further evident from the note of explanation here appended by Luke, that the Athenians and strangers dwelling there, spent their time in nothing else than telling and hearing something new. It was more from curiosity, therefore, that they desired to hear him, than because they really expected to be benefited by what they would hear.
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
19. They now lead Paul up to the summit of the Areopagus, that he may stand before that grave assembly of philosophers, orators, poets, statesmen, warriors and sages, recognized by the people as the legitimate custodians of all truth and proper arbiters of every new doctrine, or new religion which might be introduced. When I was there I climbed Mars Hill, that I might stand in the footprints of Paul when he addressed the most cultured congregation ever assembled beneath the skies.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 19
Areopagus; or Mars-hill, as it is called below; a public part of the city,–the seat of an august tribunal, called also the Areopagus. Whether Paul was taken before this court as a party accused, or only invited to address an assembly in or near the edifice, is uncertain.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
17:19 And they took him, and brought him unto {k} Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, [is]?
(k) This was a place called, as one would say, Mars hill, where the judges sat who were called Areopagita upon important matters, who in ancient time arraigned Socrates, and afterward condemned him of impiety.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The exact location of the Areopagus (Gr., Areios Pagos; lit. court or council of Ares, the Greek god of war) is difficult to determine. The Athenians used the word in two ways in Luke’s day. It referred to the Hill of Ares (i.e., Mars Hill) on which the Council of the Areopagus conducted its business in ancient times. It also referred to the group of about 30 citizens known as the Council of the Areopagus who met in the Royal Portico of the Agora. [Note: Barclay, pp. 141-42.] The question is, does "the Areopagus" refer to the people or the place? Luke’s description is ambiguous, though I favor the people in view of the context.
The Council of the Areopagus had authority over religion, morals, and education in Athens. Its members wanted to know what Paul was advocating. Enemies of Socrates had poisoned him for teaching strange ideas in Athens, so Paul was in some danger.