What Does Acts 17:4 Mean?
And some of them trusted, and were drawn to Paul and Silas; and of the reverent Greeks a great multitude, and of the foremost women, not a few.
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
And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.THE KEY
The verse shows trust becoming belonging: the persuaded are joined to others as if finding their place in a shared portion.
THE MEANING
Trust takes shape as joined life: conviction draws a person into company and a shared portion. The gathering includes many Greeks and women of prominence, showing belonging widening across different people. The verse names one way trust becomes visible: people are no longer alone in what they receive.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie that belief is only a private opinion dissolves here: the persuaded are joined to others in a shared company.
THE ROOT
προσεκληρώθησαν
proseklerōthēsan
GROWS FROM
κληρ- (klēr-), the word-family of κλῆρος (klēros)
lot, allotted share, or portion
“were drawn to” in this verse is proseklerōthēsan. The verb’s word-family carries the image of an allotted share, giving this joining the texture of finding a place within a company. The verse lets belonging mean more than proximity: these people enter a shared portion of life.
ALSO GROWS
klēros: lot; allotted share or portion
κλῆρος
The noun names the share carried in the verb’s word-family, illuminating how joining can mean receiving a place among others.
klēronomia: inheritance; allotted possession
κληρονομία
This related word extends the image of a portion into something held in common, deepening the sense of belonging.
ἐπείσθησαν
epeisthēsan
GROWS FROM
πειθ- (peith-), the word-family of πείθω (peithō)
persuade, be persuaded, or bring to confidence
“trusted” in this verse is epeisthēsan. The word translated “believed” carries the movement of being persuaded and brought into trust. In this verse, that movement leads directly into joining: trust becomes visible in the company these people enter.
ALSO GROWS
pépoitha: I trust; I am confident
πέποιθα
This related form makes the confidence within persuasion explicit, showing trust as something a person leans into.
apeitheō: be unpersuaded; disobey
ἀπειθέω
This related word names the contrary movement, remaining unpersuaded, clarifying the response expressed in this verse.
THE PATTERN
Trust takes visible shape as people are joined into shared company and belonging.
I am joined to all who stand in awe of you, and to those who guard your precepts.And all who trusted were together, and had all things in common.So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but fellow citizens of the set-apart ones, and of the household of God.THE THREAD
For he was counted with us, and had drawn the lot of this service.Acts 17:4 uses a verb from κληρ- (klēr-, the word-family of κλῆρος, klēros: an allotted share) to describe people joining Paul and Silas. Acts 1:17 uses κλῆρος (klēros) for a share in ministry, letting the joining in Acts 17 sound like receiving a place within a common portion.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us