Acts 17:26

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; AND HATH MADE OF ONE BLOOD ALL NATIONS, [ pan (G3956 ) ethnos (G1484 ), 'EVERY NATION'] OF MEN FOR TO DWELL ON ALL THE FACE OF THE EARTH. Holding, with the Old Testament teaching, that in the blood is the life (Genesis 9:4; Leviticus 17:11; Deuteronomy 12:...

− 26._And he hath made of one blood. _Paul doth now show unto the men of Athens to what end mankind was created, that he may by this means invite and exhort them to consider the end of their life. This is surely filthy unthankfulness of men, seeing they all enjoy the common life, not to consider to what end God hath given them life; and yet this beastly blockishness doth possess the more part, so that do not consider to what end they be placed in the world, neither do they remember the Creator of heaven and earth, whose good things they do devour. Therefore, after that Paul hath intreated of the nature of God, he putteth in this admonition in due season, that men must be very careful to know God, because they be created for the same end, and born for that purpose; for he doth briefly assign unto them this cause of life, to seek God. Again, forasmuch as there was not one kind of religion...

22-31 Here 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 case, his business was to lead his hearers by prophecies and miracles to the knowledge of the Redeemer, and faith in him; in the former, it was to lead them, by the common works of providence, to know the Creator, and worship Him. The apostle spoke of an altar he had seen, with the inscription, "TO THE UNKNOWN GOD." This fact is stated by many writers. After multiplying their idols to the utmost, some at Athens thought there was another god of whom they had no knowledge. And are there not many now called Christians, who are zealous in their devotions, yet the great object of their worship is to them an unknown God? Observe what glorious things Paul here says of that G...

Verse Acts 17:26. _HATH MADE OF ONE BLOOD_] In AB, some others, with the _Coptic, AEthiopic, Vulgate, Itala, Clement_, and _Bede_, the word αιματος, _blood_, is omitted. _He hath made of one_ (meaning Adam) _all nations of men_; but αιμα, _blood_, is often used by the best writers for _race, stock, kindred_: so Homer, Iliad, vi. ver. 211: Ταυτης τοι γενεης τε και αἱματος ευχομαι ειναι. _I glory in being of that same race and blood._ So Virgil, AEn. viii. ver. 142, says; _Sic genus amborum scindit se SANGUINE ab uno._ _Thus, from one stock, do both our stems divide._...

AND HATH MADE OF ONE BLOOD - All the families of mankind are descended from one origin or stock. However different their complexion, features, or language, yet they are derived from a common parent. The word blood is often used to denote “race, stock, kindred.” This passage affirms that all the human family are descended from the same ancestor; and that, consequently, all the variety of complexion, etc., is to be traced to some other cause than that they were originally different races created. See Genesis 1; compare Malachi 2:10. The design of the apostle in this affirmation was probably to convince the Greeks that he regarded them all as brethren; that, although he was a Jew, yet he was not enslaved to any narrow notions or prejudices in reference to other people. It follows from the tru

EXPOSITION ACTS 17:1 AMPHIPOLIS. This was the ancient capital of that division of Macedonia (Macedonia Prima); see Acts 16:12, note. It was situated on the Via Egnatia, thirty-four miles southwest from Philippi, and three miles from the AEgean Sea. It lay in a peninsula, surrounded on three sides by the Strymon, whence its name, _Amphipolis; _its modern name is _Neokhoria, _now a village. Its original name was Ἐννέα ̔οδοί, The Nine Ways. Originally a Thracian city, it was conquered by the Athenians, then by the Lacedaemonians, then fell under the dominion of Philip of Macedon, and finally, with the rest of Macedonia, became part of the Roman empire. APOLLONIA; now probably _Polina, _thirty miles due west

AND HATH MADE OF ONE BLOOD,.... That is, of one man's blood; the Vulgate Latin version reads, "of one"; and the Arabic version of De Dieu reads, "of one man"; of Adam, the first parent of all mankind, and who had the blood of all men in his veins: hence the Jews u say, "the first man was דמו של עולם, "the blood of the world";'' and this by propagation has been derived from him, and communicated to all mankind. They also say w, that "the reason why man was created alone (or there was but one man created) was, on account of families, that they might not be stirred up one against another;'' that is, strive and contend with one another about pre-eminence: and they add, "that the righteous might not say we are the sons of the righteous, and ye are the sons of the wicked.'' And it is a certain truth that follows upon this, that no man has any reason to vaunt over another, and boast of hi...

BLOOD "Blood" is not in the best manuscripts. R.V. omits....

ACTS 17:26 evx e`no,j {B} The Western text, with the support of a wide range of early versions and patristic witnesses, adds ai[matoj after e`no,j. This reading passed into the Textus Receptus and lies behind the AV. In support of the longer text is the palaeographical consideration that ai[matoj may have been accidentally omitted because it ends in the same letters as the preceding e`no,j. It is also possible, though perhaps not probable, that someone deliberately deleted the word, since it appears to contradict the statement in Genesis that God made man from dust — not blood ( Genesis 2:7). Likewise, there...

CHAPTER 17 _ 1. The Gospel in Thessalonica (Acts 17:1)._ 2. The Gospel in Beroea (Acts 17:10). 3. Paul in Athens (Acts 17:15). Three cities in which the Gospel is next preached are before us in this chapter. But there is a marked difference between these three places. In Thessalonica there was much hostility, the result of the success of the Gospel. In Beroea a more noble class of Jews were found. Their nobility consisted in submission to the Scriptures, the oracles of God, and in a ready mind. There was a still greater blessing among the Jews and the Gentiles. In Athens the Apostle Paul met idolatry, indifference and ridicule. An interesting fact is learned concerning the activity of the apostl