What Does Acts 17:34 Mean?
But some men stuck fast to him and leaned their full weight upon him, among whom were Dionysius of the Rock of Ares and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.THE KEY
The Greek pairs trust with sticking close, showing belief taking shape as attachment.
THE MEANING
When something reaches conviction, trust draws a person toward what they recognize as true. The verse gives that response distinct faces, Dionysius, Damaris, and others, showing conviction gathering real, varied people.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that trust is only private agreement loosens here: the verse places believing beside attachment.
THE ROOT
κολληθέντες
kollēthentes
GROWS FROM
κολλάω
kollaō
To glue, join, or adhere.
“stuck fast” in this verse is kollēthentes. The word comes from the verb for joining or sticking fast. Set beside “believed,” it presents trust as an attachment that takes hold, while keeping the two actions distinct.
ALSO GROWS
ekollēthē: “Clave” or “was joined.”
ἐκολλήθη
Ruth uses this same Greek verb family for her attachment to Naomi, giving “clave” the image of a bond that holds.
kollōmenos: “The one joining” or “the one joined.”
κολλώμενος
In 1 Corinthians 6:17, this form describes one who is joined to the Lord, carrying the same joining image into a bond of union.
ἐπίστευσαν
episteusan
GROWS FROM
πιστ-
pist-
Trust, reliance, confidence.
“leaned their full weight upon” in this verse is episteusan. This form of πιστεύω (pisteuō) belongs to the same word family as πίστις (pistis), trust. In the established sense, this trust leans its full weight; beside “clave,” it appears as a response that fastens itself to what it receives.
ALSO GROWS
pistis: Trust, reliance.
πίστις
This related noun names the trust that the verb “believed” expresses in the verse.
pistos: Firm, reliable, steady.
πιστός
The related word shows the family’s movement from trusting to being someone or something that can be relied on.
THE PATTERN
Trust becomes visible as attachment: what a person leans on also becomes what they cling to.
My living soul clings after you, and your right hand grasps me.And they lifted up their voice, and wept again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.But the one glued to the Lord is one breath.THE THREAD
But the one glued to the Lord is one breath.“Is joined” shares the Greek verb family κολλάω (kollaō), “to join or adhere,” with Acts’ “clave.” The same joining image carries trust toward union, showing how attachment takes hold of the whole person.
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