17:32 Now when they heard about 16 the resurrection from the dead, some began to scoff, 17 but others said, “We will hear you again about this.” 17:33 So Paul left the Areopagus. 18 17:34 But some people 19 joined him 20 and believed. Among them 21 were Dionysius, who was a member of the Areopagus, 22 a woman 23 named Damaris, and others with them.
1 tn According to L&N 15.1, “A strictly literal translation of κινέω in Ac 17:28 might imply merely moving from one place to another. The meaning, however, is generalized movement and activity; therefore, it may be possible to translate κινούμεθα as ‘we come and go’ or ‘we move about’’ or even ‘we do what we do.’”
2 sn This quotation is from Aratus (ca. 310-245
3 tn Or “the divine being.” BDAG 446 s.v. θεῖος 1.b has “divine being, divinity” here.
4 tn Or “a likeness.” Again idolatry is directly attacked as an affront to God and a devaluation of him.
5 tn Grk “by the skill and imagination of man,” but ἀνθρώπου (anqrwpou) has been translated as an attributive genitive.
6 tn Or “craftsmanship” (cf. BDAG 1001 s.v. τέχνη).
7 tn Or “thought.” BDAG 336 s.v. ἐνθύμησις has “thought, reflection, idea” as the category of meaning here, but in terms of creativity (as in the context) the imaginative faculty is in view.
8 tn Or “has deliberately paid no attention to.”
9 tn Or “times when people did not know.”
10 tn Here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).
11 sn He now commands all people everywhere to repent. God was now asking all mankind to turn to him. No nation or race was excluded.
12 tn Or “fixed.”
13 sn The world refers to the whole inhabited earth.
14 tn Or “appointed.” BDAG 723 s.v. ὁρίζω 2.b has “of persons appoint, designate, declare: God judges the world ἐν ἀνδρὶ ᾧ ὥρισεν through a man whom he has appointed Ac 17:31.”
15 tn The participle ἀναστήσας (anasthsa") indicates means here.
16 tn The participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") has been taken temporally.
17 tn L&N 33.408 has “some scoffed (at him) Ac 17:32” for ἐχλεύαζον (ecleuazon) here; the imperfect verb has been translated as an ingressive imperfect (“began to scoff”).
18 tn Grk “left out of their midst”; the referent (the Areopagus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
19 tn Although the Greek word here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which normally refers to males, husbands, etc., in this particular context it must have a generic force similar to that of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), since “a woman named Damaris” is mentioned specifically as being part of this group (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. ἀνήρ 1.a).
20 tn Grk “joining him, believed.” The participle κολληθέντες (kollhqente") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. On the use of this verb in Acts, see 5:13; 8:29; 9:26; 10:28.
21 tn Grk “among whom.” Due to the length of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) has been translated as a third person plural pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.
22 tn Grk “the Areopagite” (a member of the council of the Areopagus). The noun “Areopagite” is not in common usage today in English. It is clearer to use a descriptive phrase “a member of the Areopagus” (L&N 11.82). However, this phrase alone can be misleading in English: “Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, and a woman named Damaris” could be understood to refer to three people (Dionysius, an unnamed member of the Areopagus, and Damaris) rather than only two. Converting the descriptive phrase to a relative clause in English (“who was a member of the Areopagus”) removes the ambiguity.
23 tn Grk “and a woman”; but this καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.