Discovery BoxActs 17:1-2 
Context17:1 After they traveled through 1 Amphipolis 2 and Apollonia, 3 they came to Thessalonica, 4 where there was a Jewish synagogue. 5 17:2 Paul went to the Jews in the synagogue, 6 as he customarily did, and on three Sabbath days he addressed 7 them from the scriptures,
Acts 17:17
Context17:17 So he was addressing 8 the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles 9 in the synagogue, 10 and in the marketplace every day 11 those who happened to be there.
1 tn BDAG 250 s.v. διοδεύω 1 has “go, travel through” for this verse.
2 sn Amphipolis. The capital city of the southeastern district of Macedonia (BDAG 55 s.v. ᾿Αμφίπολις). It was a military post. From Philippi this was about 33 mi (53 km).
3 sn Apollonia was a city in Macedonia about 27 mi (43 km) west southwest of Amphipolis.
4 sn Thessalonica (modern Salonica) was a city in Macedonia about 33 mi (53 km) west of Apollonia. It was the capital of Macedonia. The road they traveled over was called the Via Egnatia. It is likely they rode horses, given their condition in Philippi. The implication of v. 1 is that the two previously mentioned cities lacked a synagogue.
map For location see JP1 C1; JP2 C1; JP3 C1; JP4 C1.
5 sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.
6 tn Grk “he went in to them”; the referent (the Jews in the synagogue) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Although the word διελέξατο (dielexato; from διαλέγομαι, dialegomai) is frequently translated “reasoned,” “disputed,” or “argued,” this sense comes from its classical meaning where it was used of philosophical disputation, including the Socratic method of questions and answers. However, there does not seem to be contextual evidence for this kind of debate in Acts 17:2. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21.
8 tn Although the word διελέξατο (dielexato; from διαλέγομαι, dialegomai) is frequently translated “reasoned,” “disputed,” or “argued,” this sense comes from its classical meaning where it was used of philosophical disputation, including the Socratic method of questions and answers. However, there does not seem to be contextual evidence for this kind of debate in Acts 17:17. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21.
9 tn Or “and the devout,” 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, and the note on the phrase “God-fearing Greeks” in 17:4.
10 sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.
11 tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase in this verse.
