Acts 17:34

Howbeit. That is, on the other hand, in happy contrast with those who rejected Paul’s message.

Clave. Gr. kallad (see on chs. 5:13; 9:26). There was a drawing power in the apostle’s character and words that attracted men to him. Some have accounted Paul’s Athenian speech a failure, but such judgment is not fair in view of the converts he gained.

Dionysius the Areopagite. That is, a member of the council of the Areopagus (see on v. 19). In earlier times, at least, the constitution of the council required its members to have filled a high magisterial function, such as that of archon, and to be above 60 years of age. Probably, therefore, this convert was a man of some note. According to a tradition, ascribed by Eusebius (Ecclesiastical History iii. 4. 9, 10; iv. 4. 23) to a bishop of Corinth, this Dionysius became the first bishop of Athens. An elaborate treatise on The Celestial Hierarchy is extant under this man’s name, but is of a much later date, probably of the 4th or 5th century. The legend of the Seven Champions of Christendom has transformed Dionysius into the Saint Denis of France.

Damaris. Possibly, Damalis, “heifer,” a fairly common Greek name. There is no identification of this female convert. Chrysostom and others believed her to be the wife of Dionysius, but this has no basis in any known fact.

Others with them. The contrast between this and the “great multitude” at Thessalonica (v. 4) and the “many” at Beroea (v. 12), is significant. No less striking is the lack of any mention of Athens in Paul’s epistles. The nearest to mention is the probable inclusion of the Athenian Christians among “the saints which are in all Achaia” (2 Cor. 1:1). When Paul came to Corinth, he found audiences of a lower intellectual level, and he preached to them accordingly. He “determined not to know any thing among” them, “save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2). He concentrated his message upon the cross of Christ, and the Spirit of God gave him marked success. But at Athens, Paul was led of the same Spirit to talk to the philosophers, and adapted his address to their mental habits. He did not gain numerous converts, as above noted, but a church was founded, which remained a constant and honorable memorial to the power of the gospel to rescue men from slavery to sin and temptation and to make them free in Christ Jesus.