ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

Acts 17.27

Acts 17:27

Book: Acts · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

ASV

25. neither is he served by men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; 26. and he made of one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation;

27. that they should seek God, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us:

  1. for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain even of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. 29. Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and device of man. (Acts 17:25-29, ASV)
WEB

25. neither is he served by men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself gives to all life and breath, and all things. 26. He made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the surface of the earth, having determined appointed seasons, and the boundaries of their dwellings,

27. that they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they might reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.

  1. ‘For in him we live, and move, and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’ 29. Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold, or silver, or stone, engraved by art and design of man. (Acts 17:25-29, WEB)
KJV

25. Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; 26. And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

27. That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

  1. For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. 29. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. (Acts 17:25-29, KJV)
YLT

25. neither by the hands of men is He served, needing anything, He giving to all life, and breath, and all things; 26. He made also of one blood every nation of men, to dwell upon all the face of the earth, having ordained times before appointed, and the bounds of their dwellings --

27. to seek the Lord, if perhaps they did feel after Him and find,, though, indeed, He is not far from each one of us,

  1. for in Him we live, and move, and are; as also certain of your poets have said: For of Him also we are offspring. 29. 'Being, therefore, offspring of God, we ought not to think the Godhead to be like to gold, or silver, or stone, graving of art and device of man; (Acts 17:25-29, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: Paul, in the Areopagus address
  • Audience: the Athenian council of the Areopagus, with Epicurean and Stoic philosophers present
  • Location: Athens, at the Areopagus
  • Time period: the second missionary journey, c. AD 50 to 51

Theological reading

The New Testament's most calibrated statement about natural knowledge of God. God determined the times and boundaries of the nations "that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us."

The verb is psēlaphēseian, from psēlaphaō, the same rare word used at Luke 24:39 for handling the risen Christ and at 1 John 1:1 for what the apostles touched. Here it means groping, feeling one's way, the motion of a person finding a doorframe in the dark.

Three things are asserted at once, and all three should be kept.

The search is intended: the arrangement of times and boundaries has this as its purpose. The search is dim: groping, not seeing, is the verb chosen. And the object is near: "though He is not far from each one of us." The verse concedes obscurity and denies absence in the same breath.

The optative mood of psēlaphēseian, unusual in the New Testament, adds a note of contingency that most translations flatten. Whether it expresses genuine uncertainty about the outcome or is a stylistic touch fitting the elevated register of the speech is debated, and the codex does not rest an argument on the mood alone.

Apologetic use, and the concession to grant. This is the lexical anchor for a natural theology that claims real but limited knowledge from creation. It coheres with Romans 1:19-20, which asserts that what may be known of God is evident, while adding the dimness this verse names.

An objector who quotes this verse against overconfident natural theology has a point, and the point should be granted before the rest of the sentence is brought in. "They grope" is not a description of easy, obvious, universally successful knowledge. The reply is not to deny the dimness but to note that the same sentence says the groping can succeed and that the object is near, which is not what one would say of an absent thing.

Method note. The address quotes pagan poets (verse 28, Epimenides and Aratus) rather than Scripture, meets the audience on shared ground, and turns only at the resurrection. It is the New Testament's clearest model of contextualized apologetic argument. See Natural Theology and Apologetic Method Comparison.

Key words

  • psēlaphaō (G5584), to grope, handle, feel one's way; one of only four New Testament occurrences. See G5584 - pselaphao.
  • zēteō (G2212), to seek, search for; the primary verb of the purpose clause.
  • makran (G3112), far, at a distance; negated here.
  • heuriskō (G2147), to find; the possible outcome of the groping.

Cross-references

Notes