Acts 17:18

17:18 Also some of the Epicurean ¹  and Stoic ²  philosophers were conversing ³  with him, and some were asking, ⁴  “What does this foolish babbler ⁵  want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods.” ⁶  (They said this because he was proclaiming the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.) ⁷ 

Acts 19:27

19:27 There is danger not only that this business of ours will come into disrepute, ⁸  but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis ⁹  will be regarded as nothing, ¹⁰  and she whom all the province of Asia ¹¹  and the world worship will suffer the loss of her greatness.” ¹² 

Acts 22:3

22:3 “I am a Jew, ¹³  born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up ¹⁴  in this city, educated with strictness ¹⁵  under ¹⁶  Gamaliel ¹⁷  according to the law of our ancestors, ¹⁸  and was ¹⁹  zealous ²⁰  for God just as all of you are today.

Acts 25:24

25:24 Then Festus ²¹  said, “King Agrippa, ²²  and all you who are present here with us, you see this man about whom the entire Jewish populace ²³  petitioned ²⁴  me both in Jerusalem ²⁵  and here, ²⁶  shouting loudly ²⁷  that he ought not to live any longer.

Acts 28:27

28:27 For the heart of this people has become dull, ²⁸ 

and their ears are hard of hearing, ²⁹ 

and they have closed their eyes,

so that they would not see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their heart

and turn, ³⁰  and I would heal them.”’ ³¹ 

¹ sn An Epicurean was a follower of the philosophy of Epicurus, who founded a school in Athens about 300 b.c. Although the Epicureans saw the aim of life as pleasure, they were not strictly hedonists, because they defined pleasure as the absence of pain. Along with this, they desired the avoidance of trouble and freedom from annoyances. They saw organized religion as evil, especially the belief that the gods punished evildoers in an afterlife. In keeping with this, they were unable to accept Paul’s teaching about the resurrection.

² sn A Stoic was a follower of the philosophy founded by Zeno (342-270 b.c.), a Phoenician who came to Athens and modified the philosophical system of the Cynics he found there. The Stoics rejected the Epicurean ideal of pleasure, stressing virtue instead. The Stoics emphasized responsibility for voluntary actions and believed risks were worth taking, but thought the actual attainment of virtue was difficult. They also believed in providence.

³ tn BDAG 956 s.v. συμβάλλω 1 has “converse, confer” here.

⁴ tn Grk “saying.”

⁵ tn Or “ignorant show-off.” The traditional English translation of σπερμολόγος (spermologo") is given in L&N 33.381 as “foolish babbler.” However, an alternate view is presented in L&N 27.19, “(a figurative extension of meaning of a term based on the practice of birds in picking up seeds) one who acquires bits and pieces of relatively extraneous information and proceeds to pass them off with pretense and show – ‘ignorant show-off, charlatan.’” A similar view is given in BDAG 937 s.v. σπερμολόγος: “in pejorative imagery of persons whose communication lacks sophistication and seems to pick up scraps of information here and there scrapmonger, scavenger…Engl. synonyms include ‘gossip’, ‘babbler’, chatterer’; but these terms miss the imagery of unsystematic gathering.”

⁶ tn The meaning of this phrase is not clear. Literally it reads “strange deities” (see BDAG 210 s.v. δαιμόνιον 1). The note of not being customary is important. In the ancient world what was new was suspicious. The plural δαιμονίων (daimoniwn, “deities”) shows the audience grappling with Paul’s teaching that God was working through Jesus.

⁷ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

⁸ tn Or “come under public criticism.” BDAG 101 s.v. ἀπελεγμός has “come into disrepute Ac 19:27.”

⁹ sn Artemis was the name of a Greek goddess worshiped particularly in Asia Minor, whose temple, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, was located just outside the city of Ephesus.

¹⁰ tn BDAG 597 s.v. λογίζομαι 1.b has “εἰς οὐθὲν λογισθῆναι be looked upon as nothing…Ac 19:27.”

¹¹ tn Grk “Asia”; see the note on this word in v. 22.

¹² tn Or “her magnificence.” BDAG 488 s.v. καθαιρέω 2.b has “καθαιρεῖσθαι τῆς μεγαλειότητος αὐτῆς suffer the loss of her magnificence Ac 19:27”; L&N 13.38 has “‘and to have her greatness done away with’ Ac 19:27.”

¹⁵ tn Grk “a Jewish man.”

¹⁶ tn BDAG 74 s.v. ἀνατρέφω b has “of mental and spiritual nurture bring up, rear, train…ἀνατεθραμμένος ἐν τ. πόλει ταύτῃ 22:3.”

¹⁷ tn Or “with precision.” Although often translated “strictly” this can be misunderstood for “solely” in English. BDAG 39 s.v. ἀκρίβεια gives the meaning as “exactness, precision.” To avoid the potential misunderstanding the translation “with strictness” is used, although it is slightly more awkward than “strictly.”

¹⁸ tn Grk “strictly at the feet of” (an idiom).

¹⁹ tn Or “brought up in this city under Gamaliel, educated with strictness…” The phrase παρὰ τοὺς πόδας Γαμαλιὴλ (para tou" poda" Gamalihl) could be understood with what precedes or with what follows. The punctuation of NA²⁷ and UBS⁴, which place a comma after ταύτῃ (tauth), has been followed in the translation.

²⁰ tn Or “our forefathers.”

²¹ tn Grk “ancestors, being.” The participle ὑπάρχων (Juparcwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

²² tn BDAG 427 s.v. ζηλωτής 1.a.α has “of pers. …ζ. τοῦ θεοῦ one who is loyal to God Ac 22:3.”

²² sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.

²³ sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.

²⁴ tn Probably best understood as rhetorical hyperbole. BDAG 825 s.v. πλῆθος 2.b.γ states, “people, populace, population…τὸ πλῆθος the populace…ἅπαν τὸ πλ. τῶν ᾿Ιουδαίων Ac 25:24.” However, the actions of the leadership are seen by Luke as representing the actions of the entire nation, so the remark is not inaccurate.

²⁵ tn Or “appealed to” (BDAG 341 s.v. ἐντυγχάνω 1.a).

²⁶ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

²⁷ sn Here means “here in Caesarea.”

²⁸ tn Or “screaming.”

²⁹ tn Or “insensitive.”

³⁰ tn Grk “they hear heavily with their ears” (an idiom for slow comprehension).

³¹ sn Note how the failure to respond to the message of the gospel is seen as a failure to turn.

³² sn A quotation from Isa 6:9-10.