ris3n's Apologetics Codex
Acts 17.28-29
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Passage

Acts 17.28-29

Book: Acts · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

26. and he made of one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation; 27. that they should seek God, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us:

28. for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain even of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. 29. Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and device of man.

  1. The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked; but now he commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent: 31. inasmuch as he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. (Acts 17:26-31, ASV)
WEB

26. He made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the surface of the earth, having determined appointed seasons, and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27. that they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they might reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.

28. ‘For in him we live, and move, and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’ 29. Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold, or silver, or stone, engraved by art and design of man.

  1. The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked. But now he commands that all people everywhere should repent, 31. because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained; of which he has given assurance to all men, in that he has raised him from the dead.” (Acts 17:26-31, WEB)
KJV

26. And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; 27. That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

28. For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. 29. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.

  1. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: 31. Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. hath given: or, offered faith (Acts 17:26-31, KJV)
YLT

26. He made also of one blood every nation of men, to dwell upon all the face of the earth, having ordained times before appointed, and the bounds of their dwellings 27. to seek the Lord, if perhaps they did feel after Him and find,, though, indeed, He is not far from each one of us,

28. for in Him we live, and move, and are; as also certain of your poets have said: For of Him also we are offspring. 29. 'Being, therefore, offspring of God, we ought not to think the Godhead to be like to gold, or silver, or stone, graving of art and device of man;

  1. the times, indeed, therefore, of the ignorance God having overlooked, doth now command all men everywhere to reform, 31. because He did set a day in which He is about to judge the world in righteousness, by a man whom He did ordain, having given assurance to all, having raised him out of the dead.' (Acts 17:26-31, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: Paul, addressing the Areopagus (17:22)
  • Audience: the Athenians who brought him there, including Epicurean and Stoic philosophers (17:18-21), with the council of the Areopagus
  • Location: the Areopagus at Athens; the name belonged both to the hill of Ares northwest of the Acropolis and to the ancient council that took its name from it, and which of the two Luke means is debated
  • Time period: c. AD 50, on Paul's second missionary journey, shortly before his eighteen months in Corinth (Acts 18:11)

Theological reading

"For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain even of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and device of man." The two verses form a single argument against idolatry from the Athenians' own premise.

The premise. "We are also his offspring" (Strong's G1085) is quoted from Aratus of Soli (Phaenomena 5), a third-century BC poet, where it referred to Zeus. Paul uses it for the true God, as a statement that human beings owe their existence and nature to him.

The inference. "Being then the offspring of God" draws the conclusion. "Godhead" (G2304) is literally "the divine," a neuter term Greek writers used for deity in general; Paul uses the audience's own word. If human beings, who are living, thinking persons, come from God, then God cannot be like "gold, or silver, or stone." An image is shaped by "art and device of man" (G5078, G1761); it is something human beings make. To picture the divine in that way reverses the order: the creature becomes the pattern for the Creator. The psalmist made the same point: "Their idols are silver and gold, The work of men's hands... They that make them shall be like unto them" (Psalm 115:4, 8). Paul repeats the charge in Romans: they "changed the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man" (Romans 1:23).

Offspring in what sense. The word here is about creaturely origin, common to all people. It is not the New Testament language of adoption or new birth, which belongs to those who receive Christ: "as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God" (John 1:12). Paul does not tell the Athenians they are already reconciled to God; two verses later he commands them to repent (17:30).

In a city of statues. Athens was famous for statues of the gods, including the great figure of Athena on the Acropolis above. Paul's argument meets the city's religion at its most visible point. See Idolatry and Imago Dei.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

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People:

Lexicon:

Guides:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.