Acts 17:4

17:4 Some of them were persuaded 1  and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large group 2  of God-fearing Greeks 3  and quite a few 4  prominent women.

Acts 17:15

17:15 Those who accompanied Paul escorted him as far as Athens, 5  and after receiving an order for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left. 6 

1 tn Or “convinced.”

2 tn Or “a large crowd.”

3 tn Or “of devout Greeks,” but this is practically a technical term for the category called God-fearers, Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel and in many cases kept the Mosaic law, but did not take the final step of circumcision necessary to become a proselyte to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 743-44. Luke frequently mentions such people (Acts 13:43, 50; 16:14; 17:17; 18:7).

4 tn Grk “not a few”; this use of negation could be misleading to the modern English reader, however, and so has been translated as “quite a few” (which is the actual meaning of the expression).

5 map For location see JP1-C2; JP2-C2; JP3-C2; JP4-C2.

6 sn They left. See 1 Thess 3:1-2, which shows they went from here to Thessalonica.