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Acts 17 General Notes
Special concepts in this chapter
Misunderstandings about the messiah
It is recorded that Paul was "explaining that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise again from the dead." There was a common misconception that the Messiah was to be a conquering king. This is true of Christ at his return, but the Scriptures also say that the messiah would be a suffering servant. Therefore, Paul explained to them the truth about the messiah. (See: rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/christ)
Athenian religion
The Athenians were said to be "religious," but they did not worship Yahweh. They worshiped many different false gods. Often, when they conquered different countries, they incorporated the gods worshiped in other nations into their collection of gods. (See: rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/falsegod)
Other possible translation difficulties in this chapter
Contextualization
This passage is famous in many cultures because Paul "contextualizes" the gospel for a non-Jewish audience. This means that Paul makes the gospel relatable or understandable to those with no understanding of the Jewish religious system, without really losing meaning or power. The translator may wish to take extra care in preserving aspects of this "contextualization" if possible.