Acts 17:33

17:32-34 The apostle was treated with more outward civility at Athens than in some other places; but none more despised his doctrine, or treated it with more indifference. Of all subjects, that which deserves the most attention gains the least. But those who scorn, will have to bear the consequences, and the word will never be useless. Some will be found, who cleave to the Lord, and listen to his faithful servants. Considering the judgement to come, and Christ as our Judge, should urge all to repent of sin, and turn to Him. Whatever matter is used, all discourses must lead to Him, and show his authority; our salvation, and resurrection, come from and by Him.

Acts 17:33-34 . So Paul departed from among them — Leaving his hearers divided in their judgment, and the generality of them in that deplorable state of ignorance, folly, and superstition, in which he found them; being himself astonished, no doubt, that men who professed wisdom were so little able to discern truth. Howbeit, certain men clave unto him — And inquired further into the evidence of that extraordinary doctrine which he taught concerning Jesus and his resurrection; the consequence of which was, that they believed the gospel, and made a public and courageous confession of it. Among whom was Dionysius the Areopagite — One of the judges of that court; and a woman named Damaris — One of considerable rank and character in the city; and others with them — Whose names it is not necessary here to mention. These, it seems, were the only persons Paul met with in this famous mart of learning, capable of seeing and acknowledging the absurdity of the prevailing idolatry! It is not said that Paul wrought any miracles at Athens; and the little success with which he preached, gives reason to suppose that he wrought none. Doubtless, this was by divine appointment, and probably to try what reception the gospel would meet with from learned and inquisitive men, when offered to them merely on the footing of its own reasonableness.

The truth is, if such an experiment was anywhere to be made, in order to confute those in after times who should affirm that the general reception of the gospel, in the first stage, was owing not to miracles, but to the absurdities of heathenism, and to the reasonableness of the gospel doctrine, Athens surely was the place where the trial could be made with most advantage, and Paul’s oration in the Areopagus was the discourse which should have convinced reasonable men. Nevertheless, at Athens, where the human faculties were carried to the greatest perfection, the apostle was not able to convince his hearers of the folly of idolatry, nor of the reasonableness of worshipping and serving the one living and true God, by purity of mind and goodness of life!

33. So Paul departed—Whether he would have opened, to any extent, the Gospel scheme in this address, if he had not been interrupted, or whether he reserved this for exposition afterwards to earnest inquirers, we cannot tell. Only the speech is not to be judged of as quite complete.

Verse 33. - Thus for so, A.V. and T.R.; went out for departed , A.V. The meaning is that he left the assembly in the Areopagus. At ver. 22 we were told that he stood ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ Ἀρείου πάγου (where see note); now he went out ἐκ μέσου αὐτῶν , leaving them still sitting on their benches, while he walked down the steps to the city again from the place where he stood. Acts 17:33

Acts 17:33-34 . Οὕτως ] i.e. with such a result. κολληθέντες αὐτῷ ] having more closely attached themselves to him. Comp. Acts 5:13 , Acts 9:26 . ὁ Ἀρεοπαγ .] the assessor of the court of Areopagus. This is to be considered as the well-known distinctive designation (hence the article) of this Dionysius in the apostolic church. Nothing further is known with certainty of him. The account of Dionysius of Corinth in Eus. H. E. iii. 4, iv. 23, comp. Constitt. ap. vii. 46. 2, that he became bishop of Athens, where he is said to have suffered martyrdom (Niceph. iii. 11), is unsupported. The writings called after him ( περὶ τῆς οὐρανίας ἱεραρχίας κ . τ . λ .), belonging to the later Neoplatonism, have been shown to be spurious. According to Baur, it was only from the ecclesiastical tradition that the Areopagite came into the Book of Acts, and so brought with him the fiction of the whole scene on the Areopagus. Δάμαρις ] wholly unknown, erroneously held by Chrysostom to be the wife of Dionysius (which is just what Luke does not express by the mere γυνή ). Grotius conjectures Δάμαλις ( juvenca ), which name was usual among the Greeks.

But even with the well-known interchange of λ and ρ (Lobeck, ad Phryn. p. 179), we must assent to the judgment of Calovius: “Quis nescit nomina varia esse, ac plurima inter se vicina non tamen eadem.” As a man’s name we find Δαμαρίων in Boeckh, Inscr. 2393, and Δαμάρης , 1241, also Δαμάρετος in Pausan. v. 5. 1; and as a woman’s name, Δαμαρέτη , in Diod. xi. 26.

Acts 17:33 . 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 two expressions correspond to and explain each other, … he that ‘went forth from the midst of them’ must have been standing ‘in the midst of them’ ”; cf. Ramsay, Expositor , September, 1895, and for the bearing of the words see above on Acts 17:22 . For similar phrase with μέσου as frequent in St. Luke’s writings, Friedrich, p. 22. Ramsay thinks that some danger is indicated, but nothing is said of this; the words apparently refer to no trial, although, perhaps, to some kind of preliminary inquiry, see above, Acts 17:22 .