Bible Commentary

Acts 17:26

The Pulpit Commentary on Acts 17:26

The Pulpit Commentary · Joseph S. Exell and contributors · Public domain

He made for hath made, A.V.; of one for of one blood, A.V. and T.R.; every nation for all nations, A.V.; having determined their appointed seasons for and hath determined the times before appointed, A.

V. From the unity of God Paul deduces the unity of the human race, all created by God, all sprung from one ancestor, or one blood (whichever reading we take), and so not to have their several national gods, but all to be united in the worship of the one true and living God, the Father of them all.

It may be remarked by the way that the languages of the earth, differing like the skins and the features of the different races, and corresponding to those various bounds assigned by God to their habitations, yet bear distinct and emphatic testimony to this unity.

They are variations, more or less extended, of the speech of man. Bounds of their habitation; τὰς ὀροθεσίας κ. τ. λ.: the word only occurs here; elsewhere, though rarely, τὰ ὀροθέσια.

Recommended reading

More for Acts 17:26

Continue with other commentaries and DiscipleDeck content connected to this verse, chapter, or topic.

Other commentaries

The Pulpit Commentary on Acts 17:1-34Acts 17:1-34 · The Pulpit CommentaryEXPOSITIONThe Pulpit Commentary on Acts 17:16-34Acts 17:16-34 · The Pulpit CommentaryPaul at Athens. Consider— I. The connection of the whole with THE HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY. The Greek mind evangelized. The function of Greek thought in the development of doctrine. The contrast between the gospel and ph…The Pulpit Commentary on Acts 17:16-34Acts 17:16-34 · The Pulpit CommentaryThe cross of Christ in the metropolis of art and philosophy. There is a singular interest in this first encounter of the gospel with the art and philosophy of Athens, and it is instructive to note the attitude taken by…The Pulpit Commentary on Acts 17:16-34Acts 17:16-34 · The Pulpit CommentaryPaul at Athens. Paul stands in Athens, amidst the master-pieces of Greek art and the memorials of Greek wisdom. It is not admiration or aesthetic delight which is awakened in him, but moral indignation. Christianity is…Matthew Henry on Acts 17:22-31Acts 17:22-31 · Matthew Henry Concise CommentaryHere we have a sermon to heathens, who worshipped false gods, and were without the true God in the world; and to them the scope of the discourse was different from what the apostle preached to the Jews. In the latter ca…Paul at AthensActs 17:22-31 · Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole BiblePAUL AT ATHENS. We have here St. Paul's sermon at Athens. Divers sermons we have had, which the apostles preached to the Jews, or such Gentiles as had an acquaintance with and veneration for the Old Testament, and were…
commentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Acts 17:1-34EXPOSITIONJoseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Acts 17:16-34Paul at Athens. Paul stands in Athens, amidst the master-pieces of Greek art and the memorials of Greek wisdom. It is not admiration or aesthetic delight which is awakened in him, but moral indignation. Christianity is…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Acts 17:16-34Paul at Athens. Consider— I. The connection of the whole with THE HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY. The Greek mind evangelized. The function of Greek thought in the development of doctrine. The contrast between the gospel and ph…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Acts 17:16-34The cross of Christ in the metropolis of art and philosophy. There is a singular interest in this first encounter of the gospel with the art and philosophy of Athens, and it is instructive to note the attitude taken by…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryMatthew Henry on Acts 17:22-31Here we have a sermon to heathens, who worshipped false gods, and were without the true God in the world; and to them the scope of the discourse was different from what the apostle preached to the Jews. In the latter ca…Matthew HenrycommentaryPaul at AthensPAUL AT ATHENS. We have here St. Paul's sermon at Athens. Divers sermons we have had, which the apostles preached to the Jews, or such Gentiles as had an acquaintance with and veneration for the Old Testament, and were…Matthew HenrycommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Acts 17:22-29God revealed: his nature and relation. Paul's spirit was "stirred" with holy indignation, and with pure and strong compassion, as he witnessed the abounding signs of superstition in the streets of Athens. But he had the…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Acts 17:23-32The gospel's kindly encounter with novel foes. The opportunity now presented to Paul he must at once have recognized to be one of the grandest and most critical of his career. He was for a while separated from his two l…Joseph S. Exell and contributors