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Acts 17 · a question people ask

Paul "reasoned with them from the Scriptures" (17:2). Which Scriptures?

In the text

The chapter doesn't say. It says he reasoned "from the Scriptures" for three Sabbath days (17:2), "explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead" (17:3), and that at Beroea they were "examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so" (17:11). No passage is named or quoted in these verses, and these notes don't supply one.

The verses

“Paul, as was his custom, went in to them; and for three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.””
Acts 17:2-3 · World English Bible
“Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.”
Acts 17:11 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Acts 17

Acts 17: To an unknown God

At Athens some said Paul seemed to be "advocating foreign deities" (17:18): behind advocating is a noun Strong's gives as "a proclaimer". And Paul's first words about what he brings use its verb: "What therefore you worship in ignorance, I announce to you" (17:23), the verb of "This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ" (17:3).

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Last reviewed October 7, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions