Acts 17:19

Took him. Gr. epilamband, “to take hold of.” It is not to be supposed that any violence was used or intended. Paul was alone, and if it is true that his eyesight was a problem to him (see on ch. 9:18), he may have been somewhat dependent upon others in getting readily from place to place. Epilamband is often used of taking by the hand to aid or protect (see Mark 8:23; Acts 23:19), and is employed by Luke to describe the action of Barnabas when he “took” Paul “and brought him to the apostles” (ch. 9:27). Moreover, the whole context shows that the action of the crowd was in no sense an arrest, for when his speech was done, “Paul departed from among them” (Acts 17:33), evidently having been under no sort of duress.

Areopagus. Gr. Areios Pagos, “hill of Ares,” Ares being the Greek equivalent to the Latin Mars, the god of war; hence, Areios Pagos is translated “Mars’ hill” in v. 22. For its location see on v. 16. The site was famous as the meeting place of the Athenian council of Areopagus, which took its name from the hill on which it met. This council, which claimed to owe its origin to Athena, the patron goddess of the city, was the oldest and most revered tribunal in Athens. It numbered among its members men of the highest official rank. Originally it had consisted only of those who had served in the high office of archon and had attained 60 years of age. Pericles had in some measure limited its wide authority (5th century B.C.), and it was as the spokesman of the party who opposed Pericles’ ideas of progress that Aeschylus wrote the tragedy Eumenides, which stressed the divine authority of the council. Exactly what authority this council may have exercised in Paul’s day is not known.

Opinion is divided as to whether Paul was taken to the hill or before the council. The Greek text has the definite article before Areios Pagos, giving the translation “the Areopagus,” which may refer to the hill, or to the council of the Areopagus, which had long since been simply called “the Areopagus.” The hill itself was comparatively small, and crowded with altars, so the council usually met in the Stoa Basileios, “King’s Porch,” and assembled on Mars’ Hill only to deliver its judgment. If Paul was taken before the council, it is extremely unlikely that there were any judicial proceedings. His appearance would rather be for the purpose of presenting his teaching before the supreme intellectual body of the university city. If, on the other hand, he was taken only to the hill, he could still have been heard by the rather select group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers who wished to decide on the value of his strange teaching. There, distant from the bustle of the agora (see on v. 17), the apostle would be free to expound his doctrine. Some suppose that the court was sitting when Paul was brought to the hill, particularly since a member of the court was converted by Paul’s preaching (see on v. 34). But there is no evidence on this point.

May we know? An idiomatic expression, which may here be rendered: “Is it possible for us to know?” — a question that may have been courteous, sarcastic, or ironical.

The Epicureans and Stoics had no doubts about their own ability to understand all that Paul might say to them, but they were obviously eager to hear about his strange teaching.

New doctrine. Gr. kainos, “new” in quality; hence here, by implication, something different from the usual barren philosophies peddled by the Athenians and so highly prized by them.