Actes 17:21

21 Or, tous les Athéniens et les étrangers qui demeuraient parmi eux, ne s'occupaient qu'à dire et à écouter quelque nouvelle.

Actes 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.

Actes 17:21 In-Context

19 Et l'ayant pris, ils le menèrent à l'aréopage, en disant: Pourrions-nous savoir quelle est cette nouvelle doctrine que tu annonces?

20 Car nous t'entendons dire certaines choses étranges; nous voudrions donc savoir ce que cela peut être.

21 Or, tous les Athéniens et les étrangers qui demeuraient parmi eux, ne s'occupaient qu'à dire et à écouter quelque nouvelle.

22 Alors Paul, se tenant au milieu de l'aréopage, dit: Hommes athéniens, je remarque qu'en toutes choses vous êtes singulièrement religieux.

23 Car en passant, et en regardant vos divinités, j'ai trouvé même un autel sur lequel il y a cette inscription: AU DIEU INCONNU. Celui donc que vous honorez, sans le connaître, c'est celui que je vous annonce.