Gevurot 17:21

21 Now all the Athenians and the visiting foreigners and tourists in Athens used to spend time doing nothing but shmoozing about the latest novelty in the news.

Gevurot 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.

Gevurot 17:21 In-Context

19 And having taken hold of Rav Sha’ul, they brought him to the Areopagus, saying, "Are we able to have da’as of what this new teaching is, which is being spoken by you?

20 "For some surprising things you bring to our hearing. Therefore, we desire to have da’as of what these things mean."

21 Now all the Athenians and the visiting foreigners and tourists in Athens used to spend time doing nothing but shmoozing about the latest novelty in the news.

22 And Rav Sha’ul, taking his stand in the middle of the Areopagus, said, "Anashim, Athenians, with respect to everything how very religious indeed I observe you to be.

23 "For passing through and looking carefully at your objects of worship, I found also an altar on which had been inscribed ‘To the unknown g-d.’ Therefore, what you worship without da’as, this I proclaim to you.