Acts 17:2-4

17:2 Paul went to the Jews in the synagogue, ¹  as he customarily did, and on three Sabbath days he addressed ²  them from the scriptures, 17:3 explaining and demonstrating ³  that the Christ ⁴  had to suffer and to rise from the dead, ⁵  saying, ⁶  “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.” ⁷  17:4 Some of them were persuaded ⁸  and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large group ⁹  of God-fearing Greeks ¹⁰  and quite a few ¹¹  prominent women.

¹ tn Grk “he went in to them”; the referent (the Jews in the synagogue) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Although the word διελέξατο (dielexato; from διαλέγομαι, dialegomai) is frequently translated “reasoned,” “disputed,” or “argued,” this sense comes from its classical meaning where it was used of philosophical disputation, including the Socratic method of questions and answers. However, there does not seem to be contextual evidence for this kind of debate in Acts 17:2. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21.

³ tn BDAG 772 s.v. παρατίθημι 2.b has “demonstrate, point out” here.

⁴ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

⁵ sn The Christ had to suffer and to rise from the dead. These two points (suffering and resurrection) would have been among the more controversial aspects of Paul’s messianic preaching. The term translated “had to” (δεῖ, dei) shows how divine design and scripture corresponded here.

⁶ tn The Greek words used here (καὶ ὅτι, kai {oti, “and that”) mark the switch from indirect to direct discourse. Contemporary English requires the use of an introductory verb of speaking or saying to make this transition.

⁷ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

⁸ tn Or “convinced.”

⁹ tn Or “a large crowd.”

¹⁰ tn Or “of devout Greeks,” but this is practically a technical term for the category called God-fearers, Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel and in many cases kept the Mosaic law, but did not take the final step of circumcision necessary to become a proselyte to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 743-44. Luke frequently mentions such people (Acts 13:43, 50; 16:14; 17:17; 18:7).

¹¹ tn Grk “not a few”; this use of negation could be misleading to the modern English reader, however, and so has been translated as “quite a few” (which is the actual meaning of the expression).