THE IVP BIBLE BACKGROUND COMMENTARY – CRAIG S Keener
17:16–21
Entering Athens
Athens’ fame rested mainly on the glories of its past; even as a philosophical center, its
primacy was challenged by other centers in the East like Alexandria and Tarsus. But Athens
remained the symbol of the great philosophers in popular opinion, so much so that later rabbis
liked to tell stories of earlier rabbis besting Athenian philosophers in debate. Romans did not
always trust philosophers, but Acts records other speeches to appeal to those with less
philosophical tastes. This speech is Paul’s defense of the gospel before Greek intellectuals.
17:16. City streets were often lined with statues of men and gods, and Athens was especially
decorated with the Hermae, pillars mounted with heads of Hermes; many visitors wrote of
the evidences of Athenian piety. From an aesthetic standpoint, Athens was unrivaled for its
exquisite architecture and statues. Paul’s concern is not aesthetics, however, but the impact of
idols on human lives.
17:17. Inscriptions attest the Jewish community in Athens, but it was not prominent.
17:18. Epicureans were influential only in the educated upper classes, and their views about
God were similar to deism (he was uninvolved in the universe and irrelevant); if there were
gods, they were only those known through sense knowledge, like stars or planets. Life’s goal
was pleasure—the lack of physical pain and emotional disturbance. Stoics were more
popular, opposed pleasure, and criticized Epicureans (though not as much as they had in
previous times). Here, as in 23:6, Paul practices the maxim “divide and conquer”: 17:22–29
is calculated to gain a Stoic hearing, but Paul and the Epicureans have little common ground.
Although Stoics still professed belief in the gods, philosophers were often considered
impious, because they questioned the old traditions, although allowing them for the masses.
The charge against Paul, “proclaimer of strange deities” (NASB), would remind Greek
readers of the charge of impiety against Socrates (cf. 17:19–20). Many centuries before, a
priestess had been stoned to death for this charge, and it still violated the Athenian psyche in
Paul’s day.
rabbis *Rabbi. Jewish teacher. Sometime after A.D. 70 the term became a technical one for those
ordained in the rabbinic movement, which probably consisted primarily of Pharisaic scribes. (To
accommodate customary usage this commentary sometimes applies the term to Jewish teachers of
the law in general, although such common usage may have technically been later; it also applies the
term to the teachings of Jewish legal experts collected in rabbinic literature.)
gospel Gospel. The term so translated means literally “good news”; it was the sort of good news
heralds would bring, and in Isaiah it refers to the specific message of God’s restoration and salvation
for his people. (“Gospel” as a literary genre, a type of book in the New Testament, is different; on this
sense of the term see the introduction to the Gospels.)
Epicureans Epicureans. A philosophical school that valued pleasure (the absence of pain and
disturbance) and disbelieved in the gods of ancient myths; see comment on Acts 17:18.
Stoics Stoicism. The most popular form of Greek philosophy in Paul’s day. Although most people
were not Stoics, many Stoic ideas were widely disseminated. For more detail, see comment on Acts
17:18.
NASB New American Standard Bible
“Babbler” (NIV, NASB) translates a Greek expression applied originally to birds pecking
up grain but came to apply to worthless persons; an English equivalent to the reproach might
be “birdbrain.” But in the same verse Luke lets these critics demonstrate their own stupidity:
they think Paul is preaching gods (plural), because he preaches Jesus and resurrection—
“Resurrection” (Anastasis) was also a woman’s name.
17:19–20. Socrates had also been “led” or “brought” to the Areopagus many centuries before,
as was well known. Socrates was the ideal philosopher, and Luke may portray Paul as a new
Socrates for his Greek audience; given the outcome of Socrates’ speech (which, like
Stephen’s, provoked his hearers to martyr him), this allusion builds suspense.
The Areopagus is here the council, not the site earlier used for this council (the literal hill
of Ares). In this period the council may have met in the Stoa Basilicos, in the Agora where
Paul had already been ministering (v. 17). Some scholars have suggested that the council was
an accrediting board that tested lecturers; whether or not this is true, it is clear that they still
serve some official function, and Paul’s speech there is of pivotal importance.
1
17:21–31
Before the Areopagus Council
Paul’s views are quite different from those of the Stoics, but he emphasizes the points of
contact, even when they are only verbal (e.g., Paul believed that God’s presence was
everywhere, but not in the Stoic sense, which could divinize creation itself)—until the climax
of his sermon. Defenders of Judaism had worked for centuries to make their faith
philosophically respectable, and here, as in his letters, Paul draws heavily on his Jewish
predecessors’ arguments.
17:21. Athens was proverbial for the curiosity of its inhabitants. By the first century,
Athenian desire for entertainment also extended to gladiatorial shows, drawing the criticism
of several famous moralists.
17:22. It was customary to begin a speech by complimenting the hearers in the opening
exordium, designed to secure their favor. This practice seems to have been forbidden at the
Areopagus, but this would not prevent Paul from starting on a respectful note. “Religious”
meant that they were religiously observant, not that he agreed with their religion (KJV
NIV New International Version
resurrection *Resurrection. Although some scholars earlier in the twentieth century derived the idea
of Jesus’ resurrection from Greek mystery cults, it is now widely understood that early Christian
belief shared little in common with the Mysteries’ myths, which simply reenacted a seasonal
revivification of fertility. Rather, Jesus’ resurrection was rooted in a Jewish hope, which in turn was
rooted in notions of God’s covenant, promise and justice from early in Israel’s history. Most
Palestinian Jews believed that God would resurrect the bodies of the dead (at least the righteous,
and many believed also the wicked), at the end of the age (Dan 12:2). There was, however, never any
thought that one person would rise ahead of everyone else; thus Jesus’ resurrection, as an
inauguration of the future kingdom within history, caught even the disciples by surprise.
1
Keener, Craig S. ; InterVarsity Press: The IVP Bible Background Commentary : New Testament.
Downers Grove, Ill. : InterVarsity Press, 1993, S. Ac 17:14-19
Stoics Stoicism. The most popular form of Greek philosophy in Paul’s day. Although most people
were not Stoics, many Stoic ideas were widely disseminated. For more detail, see comment on Acts
17:18.
KJV King James Version
“superstitious” does not convey the right idea). His hearers may not have been extremely
religious, though Stoics accepted the existence of the gods. Philosophers in Roman times
dealt mainly with ethics, whereas pagan religion involved ritual rather than ethics.
17:23. During a plague long before Paul’s time, no altars had successfully propitiated the
gods; Athens had finally offered sacrifices to an unknown god, immediately staying the
plague. These altars were still standing, and Paul uses them as the basis for his speech. Paul
does avoid, however, the practice of some of his Jewish predecessors and some second-
century Christian successors, of accusing pagan philosophers of plagiarizing their good ideas
from Moses!
17:24. Some philosophical trends in this era combined deities, moving toward a single
supreme god. Non-Palestinian Jews sometimes identified their God with the supreme God of
the pagans, hoping to show pagans that their highest religious aspirations were best met in
Judaism. Stoics believed that God permeated all things and therefore was not localized in
temples (cf. Is 66:1, cited in Acts 7:49).
17:25. Stoics and Greek-speaking Jews emphasized that God “needs nothing,” using the same
word Paul uses here.
17:26. Jews and many Greeks agreed that God was creator and divider of the earth’s
boundaries and of seasons’ boundaries. Stoics also believed that the universe periodically
dissolved back into God, but on this belief they had no point of contact with Judaism.
17:27–29. Jewish people usually spoke of God as a father to his people (in the Old
Testament, cf. e.g. Deut 32:6; Is 63:16; 64:8; Jer 3:4). But Greeks, Diaspora Jews and some
second-century Christian writers spoke of God as the world’s father in the sense of creator, as
here. The quote from the Greek poet Epimenides (v. 28) appears in Jewish anthologies of
proof texts useful for showing pagans the truth about God, and Paul may have learned it from
such a text. (Greeks cited Homer and other poets as proof texts in a manner similar to how
Jewish people cited Scripture.) Some philosophers criticized poets as too mythological, but
others freely used their wording to prove their own case.
17:30. Here Paul breaks with his audience’s views; although philosophers spoke of
conversion to philosophy through a change of thinking, Paul here clearly communicates the
Jewish doctrine of repentance toward God.
17:31. The Greek view of time was that it would simply continue, not that history had a
future climax in the day of judgment. Most offensive is Paul’s doctrine of the resurrection;
see comment on verse 32.
Old Testament *Old Testament. The common modern term for the Hebrew Bible (including Aramaic
portions) as defined by the Jewish and Protestant Christian canons; Jewish readers generally call this
the Tenach.
Diaspora *Diaspora. The Jewish dispersion outside Palestine. The technical term “Diaspora Judaism”
is thus used interchangeably with “non-Palestinian Judaism” in this commentary.
repentance Repentance. In the New Testament, this term does not merely mean “change of mind”
(as some have gathered from the Greek term); it reflects the Old Testament and Jewish concept of
“turning around” or “turning away” from sin. Jewish people were to repent whenever they sinned;
the New Testament uses the term especially for the once-for-all turning a Gentile would undergo
when converting to Judaism or any sinner would undergo when becoming a follower of Jesus.
resurrection *Resurrection. Although some scholars earlier in the twentieth century derived the idea
of Jesus’ resurrection from Greek mystery cults, it is now widely understood that early Christian
belief shared little in common with the Mysteries’ myths, which simply reenacted a seasonal
revivification of fertility. Rather, Jesus’ resurrection was rooted in a Jewish hope, which in turn was
17:32–34
2
Response of the Intellectuals
Although Paul’s message to the university community of his day does not produce massive
immediate results, his ministry to the Areopagus is clearly effective.
17:32. Among major schools of Greek thought, only Epicureans denied the soul’s
immortality: they believed that the soul was material, like the body, and died with it. Most
Greeks believed in a shadowy afterlife in the underworld (perhaps similar to the Old
Testament rephaim), sometimes coupled with reincarnation (as in Plato); under Plato’s
influence some Greeks sought to free the immortal soul from worldly existence so it could
escape back to the pure heavens from which it was created. Stoics believed that the soul lived
on after death (although, like everything else, it was eventually absorbed back into God), but
like other Greeks they could not conceive of a resurrection of the body.
17:33–34. The Areopagus included only those of highest status in this university community,
so the conversion of Dionysius is significant. Modern readers who judge Paul’s work in
Athens a failure on the basis of 1 Corinthians 2:1 have missed Luke’s point entirely (the
rooted in notions of God’s covenant, promise and justice from early in Israel’s history. Most
Palestinian Jews believed that God would resurrect the bodies of the dead (at least the righteous,
and many believed also the wicked), at the end of the age (Dan 12:2). There was, however, never any
thought that one person would rise ahead of everyone else; thus Jesus’ resurrection, as an
inauguration of the future kingdom within history, caught even the disciples by surprise.
2
Keener, Craig S. ; InterVarsity Press: The IVP Bible Background Commentary : New Testament.
Downers Grove, Ill. : InterVarsity Press, 1993, S. Ac 17:19-31
Epicureans Epicureans. A philosophical school that valued pleasure (the absence of pain and
disturbance) and disbelieved in the gods of ancient myths; see comment on Acts 17:18.
Old Testament *Old Testament. The common modern term for the Hebrew Bible (including Aramaic
portions) as defined by the Jewish and Protestant Christian canons; Jewish readers generally call this
the Tenach.
Plato Plato. A student of Socrates whose idealism and dualistic worldview became influential in
subsequent Greek thought. He flourished in the fourth century B.C.
Stoics Stoicism. The most popular form of Greek philosophy in Paul’s day. Although most people
were not Stoics, many Stoic ideas were widely disseminated. For more detail, see comment on Acts
17:18.
resurrection *Resurrection. Although some scholars earlier in the twentieth century derived the idea
of Jesus’ resurrection from Greek mystery cults, it is now widely understood that early Christian
belief shared little in common with the Mysteries’ myths, which simply reenacted a seasonal
revivification of fertility. Rather, Jesus’ resurrection was rooted in a Jewish hope, which in turn was
rooted in notions of God’s covenant, promise and justice from early in Israel’s history. Most
Palestinian Jews believed that God would resurrect the bodies of the dead (at least the righteous,
and many believed also the wicked), at the end of the age (Dan 12:2). There was, however, never any
thought that one person would rise ahead of everyone else; thus Jesus’ resurrection, as an
inauguration of the future kingdom within history, caught even the disciples by surprise.
emphasis of Acts is on his success, and the original readers of Acts could not simply turn to 1
Corinthians).
It is unlikely that women would be permitted in gatherings of the Areopagus; indeed, the
most educated and publicly seen women in Athens were probably still prostitutes and
foreigners. Whatever her background, Damaris may have been in the marketplace listening to
Paul’s speech to the Areopagus (see 17:19–20).
3
3
Keener, Craig S. ; InterVarsity Press: The IVP Bible Background Commentary : New Testament.
Downers Grove, Ill. : InterVarsity Press, 1993, S. Ac 17:31-33
