Hechos 17:21

21 (Entonces todos los atenienses y los huéspedes extranjeros, ninguna otra cosa entendían, sino en decir o en oír alguna cosa nueva.

Hechos 17:21 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 17:21

For all the Athenians
The natives of Athens, who were born and lived there, and were inhabitants of the city, and free of it:

and strangers which were there;
who came there from several parts of the world, to get wisdom and knowledge, to learn the several arts and sciences, and to attend the several sects of philosophers they made choice of:

spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some
new thing;
that is, they did so for the most part; and this was the complexion and taste of the generality of them; and with this agrees what Demosthenes himself says of them ^F13,

``we, says he (for the truth shall be said), sit here, (ouden poiountev) , "doing nothing"----inquiring in the court, (ei ti legetai newteron) , "whether any new thing is said."''

The character of such persons is given, and they are described in a very lively manner by Theophrastus ^F14. The Jewish doctors, at this time, were much of the same cast in their divinity schools; the usual question asked, when they met one another, was, (vwdx hm) , "what new thing" have you in the divinity school today ^F15?

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FOOTNOTES:

F13 Respons. ad Philippi Epistolam.
F14 Ethic. character. p. 13.
F15 T. Hieros. Taanith, fol. 75. 4. Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 14. fol. 212. 4.

Hechos 17:21 In-Context

19 Y tomándole, le trajeron al Areópago, diciendo: ¿Podremos saber qué sea esta nueva doctrina que dices

20 Porque pones en nuestros oídos unas nuevas cosas, queremos pues saber qué quiere ser esto

21 (Entonces todos los atenienses y los huéspedes extranjeros, ninguna otra cosa entendían, sino en decir o en oír alguna cosa nueva.

22 Estando pues Pablo en medio del Areópago, dijo: Varones atenienses, en todo os veo como más superticiosos

23 porque pasando y mirando vuestros santuarios, hallé también un altar en el cual estaba esta inscripción: AL DIOS NO CONOCIDO. Aquel pues, que vosotros honráis sin conocerle, a éste os anuncio yo