At the end of the Athenian narrative in Acts 17, Luke describes the audience's response to Paul's speech. While some mock him because he preached the resurrection of the dead, others express their interest in hearing more (17.32). After this Paul leaves the Areopagus gathering and then Luke records that ‘some of them joined him and became believers, including Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them’ (17.34). Reading these verses at face value we seemingly have the foundation of the Christian community in Athens. Some commentators have disputed this, but Teresa Morgan and Alexander Weiß have both suggested – though without further elaboration – that the participle κολληθέντɛς (‘joined’) in 17.34 suggests ‘rather more than that the converts just “join” the apostles’.Footnote 1 After a brief discussion of the inconclusive nature of the evidence used by those who dispute the establishment of a Christ group in Athens, I will analyse Luke's use of the participle κολληθέντɛς (‘joined’) in Acts 17.34 in light of the term's usage in Luke-Acts, the Septuagint, early Christian writings and other relevant texts, in order to suggest something more substantial regarding the function of the participle in this text.
1. Arguments against the Establishment of a Christian Community in Athens
1.1 1 Cor 16.15 and the Achaian ‘First Fruits’
Citing Paul's note about the household of Stephanas being the ‘first fruits’ (ἀπαρχή) of Achaia, Ben Witherington states: ‘There is no evidence of an ongoing vital Christian community being founded in Athens at this time, as is shown by 1 Cor. 16.15.’Footnote 2 Richard Pervo cites this verse as proof of the unhistorical nature of the Acts account.Footnote 3 Eckhard Schnabel and Craig Keener admit that it is possible Paul's comment shows that the first church was established in Corinth, but that some conversions occurred in Athens.Footnote 4 There are, however, other possible explanations for the seeming contradiction, including: (1) that ‘Achaia’ particularly refers to Corinth as the capital of the province; (2) that Athens, as a free city, was not technically part of Achaia;Footnote 5 and (3) that ἀπαρχή may not primarily have a temporal emphasis, but rather carry the sense of being a ‘model’.Footnote 6 The context of 1 Corinthians 16 supports this last sense because Paul is urging the Corinthians to ‘be subject to such as these’ (1 Cor 16.16). Their leadership, maturity and service are clearly the primary characteristics in view.Footnote 7 The present tense of ἐστίν also suggests a focus on Stephanas’ and his household's status as ‘first fruits’ at the time of Paul's writing, rather than their early conversion. In light of these arguments, 1 Cor 16.15 should not be appealed to in order to disprove categorically the establishment of a Christ group in Athens.
1.2 No Baptisms
Ernst Haenchen and F. F. Bruce both express doubts about the establishment of a Christian community in the city, noting that no baptisms are mentioned.Footnote 8 Luke's silence in this regard, however, does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about the fledgling assembly. Baptisms are recorded at Philippi (Acts 16.15, 33) and Corinth (18.8), but they are not recorded in Thessalonica (17.1–9) or in the Galatian region (chs. 13–14), although we have testimony to the churches there in Paul's letters. The ‘partial and elliptical’Footnote 9 nature of the accounts of Paul's time in Athens, recorded in Acts 17 and 1 Thess 3, should caution against making any arguments from silence.
These arguments against the establishment of a Christian community in Athens do not categorically disprove such an establishment. The limited reports that Luke gives on any of the cities of Paul's mission should lead to caution in arguing against the beginnings of a church in Acts 17.
It still remains, however, to argue positively that a viable Christian community resulted from Paul's ministry in Athens. In what follows, Luke's use of the participle κολληθέντɛς (‘joined’) in his description of those who ‘believed’ (ἐπίστɛυσαν) in Acts 17.34 will be investigated in the light of the broader use of the term, to argue that something more than an odd assortment of believers was established in the city. This argument will be further supported by comparison with Luke and Paul's records of Paul's ministry.
2. Use of κολλάω by Luke, other New Testament Writers, the Septuagint and Greco-Roman Sources
A search for κολλάω and its cognates in the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae produces 2,521 occurrences of the word family in texts ranging from the sixth century bce to the nineteenth century ce.Footnote 10 The Septuagint and the New Testament have thirty-seven and twelve occurrences, respectively.Footnote 11 Roughly half of the total number of references are found in texts that can be clearly identified as Christian.Footnote 12 In order to narrow the scope of enquiry for the purpose of this study, Christian and non-Christian Greek texts from the first and second centuries will be prioritised alongside the Septuagint and New Testament. Of the occurrences of the word family in non-Christian Greek texts, medical works are the most common text type, and some philosophical works also have relevant content.Footnote 13
The broad meaning of κολλάω is ‘join’,Footnote 14 and it will be seen that this takes different nuances depending on the context in which the word is used. Commentators are correct in saying that it is not a technical term for conversion, but can denote proximity or association.Footnote 15 In Acts 17.34, it is the word ‘believed’ (ἐπίστɛυσαν) that conveys the understanding that some of Paul's hearers were converted. The primary interest of this investigation, though, is whether the ‘association’ that Luke has in view in Acts 17.34 lends itself to being understood as the establishment of the Christian assembly in Athens. In light of this primary interest, while it is necessary to assess some of the broad uses of the κολλάω word family, the particular focus of analysis of other occurrences of the word will be on contexts where group dynamics or social relationships are in view.
2.1 New Testament
Κολλάω appears twelve times in the New Testament, including seven times in Luke-Acts, of which five are in Acts.
2.1.1 Luke
The references in Luke's Gospel do not directly relate to the type of context found in Acts 17. Luke 10.11 refers to ‘dust clinging’ (τὸν κονιορτὸν τὸν κολληθέντα) to the feet of the disciples, and Luke 15.15 to the prodigal son, in his destitution, hiring himself out to the citizen of the foreign country.Footnote 16 Though not the same type of association as envisioned in the early Christian communities in Acts, the expectation of commitment is similar to other uses of κολλάω that will be discussed below.
2.1.2 Acts
Κολλάω occurs five times in Acts (5.13; 8.29; 9.26; 10.28; 17.34) with four of these clearly appearing in the context of social relations, while the fifth (8.29) should probably be interpreted as a reference to proximity.Footnote 17
Acts 5.13
τῶν δὲ λοιπῶν οὐδɛὶς ἐτόλμα κολλᾶσθαι αὐτοῖς
None of the rest dared to join them.
Acts 5.12–13 records three related phenomena: (1) the apostles were performing many signs and wonders; (2) the Christians were gathering together in Solomon's Portico; and (3) ‘the rest’ did not dare to join them but still held them in high esteem. Verses 14–16 continue on to say that ‘more than ever believers were added to the Lord’, and these believers would bring out the sick to be healed by Peter.Footnote 18
Daniel Schwartz proposes that there is a tension between verses 13 and 14, and raises the question of how the issue of whether people were keeping their distance from the Christian community or were converting in droves should be resolved.Footnote 19 The solution he suggests relies on the story of Ananias and Sapphira that immediately precedes these verses. Acts 4.32–7 records how the Christians were of ‘one heart and soul’ (ἦν καρδία καὶ ψηχὴ μία, v. 32) and ‘had everything in common’ (ἦν αὐτοῖς πάντα κοινά, v. 32). Barnabas even sold a field and gave the money to the apostles (v. 37). Ananias and Sapphira do a similar thing, except they only give a portion of the money they made from the sale while claiming to give the full amount. They couple fall down dead (πɛσὼν ἐξέψυξɛν, 5.5; ἔπɛσɛν … καὶ ἐξέψυξɛν, 5.10) immediately after being rebuked by Peter (5.5, 10), which results in great fear coming upon all who hear about it (5.5, 11). Schwartz suggests that after the Ananias and Sapphira episode, there was a growing body of people who believed in the Christian message but would not ‘join’ (κολλᾶσθαι) them in the sense of sharing their property with the community.Footnote 20 He notes that in the Qumran community, ‘it was the transfer of property to the community which constituted entrance into full membership’.Footnote 21
Two aspects of Schwartz's argument need qualification. Firstly, nowhere in Acts is it stated that the transfer of property was required to join the Christian community. Rather, in response to the question, ‘What shall we do?’’, Peter had answered, ‘Repent and be baptised’ (Acts 2.38). The common sharing of goods and property was an action done by those who had first ‘believed’ (Acts 2.47; 3.32), making ‘belief’ the marker of belonging and the sharing of goods an expression, but not necessarily a requirement, of fellowship. It would be wrong, then, to understand the use of κολλάω to refer necessarily to the common sharing of goods in these community texts. The connection Schwartz makes between Acts 5.13–14 and the Ananias and Sapphira episode, however, highlights the significance of the decision to join the community. The non-believers in Acts 5 had witnessed the death of two members of the believing community, considered the group's practice of shared property, hesitated to publicly join them, but then finally joined (as is suggested by their belief, 5.14).
Secondly, Schwartz overstates the ‘tension’ in these verses. The public context of the events – Solomon's Portico – makes sense of the tension he is concerned with. The non-believers who are present do not want to be mistaken for believers, but they cannot avoid hearing and seeing the Christian community and proclamation. Some, despite their original fear or hesitation, eventually believe and join. This scenario resonates strongly with that in Athens: Paul publicly proclaimed the Christian message (Acts 17.17); people were interested but not convinced (17.18–20); Paul proclaimed further (17.22–31); some were convinced and joined while others were not and so did not join (17.32–4).
The scenario that Schwartz describes for 5.13 should not colour every other use of κολλάω in Acts. In 9.26, where Paul tries to join the disciples, property is not mentioned at all, and neither is it in 17.34. Schwartz’s proposal does, however, add extra weight to the present argument that this verb is used in 17.34 to describe the formation of a Christian community in Athens. Joining the Christian community did not require a financial commitment, as Schwartz suggests, but it was a public commitment. Joining the Christian group did include inevitable identification as one who was among the group meeting in the public assembly in Solomon's Portico. Furthermore, this ‘joining’ may have cost an individual more than a simple financial outlay, as the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira demonstrated, and thus those who joined recognised the ‘whole of life’ nature of the commitment.
Acts 8.29
ɛἶπɛν δὲ τὸ πνɛῦμα τῷ Φιλίππῳ⋅ Προσέλθɛ καὶ κολλήθητι τῷ ἅρματι τούτῳ.
The Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go and join this chariot.’
This verse is an outlier amongst the other verses in Acts in which κολλάω appears. Whereas the others envision people joining people, this one has Philip being instructed to approach and join the chariot of the Ethiopian eunuch. Since it is the chariot, not the Ethiopian eunuch, that is the object of the verb, it seems that κολλήθητι is operating simply as a reference to proximity rather than joining in a communal sense. The context provides further confirmation of this interpretation, in that the remote location (αὕτη ἐστὶν ἔρημος, 8.26), Philip's immediate and miraculous departure (8.39–40) and the eunuch's continuation of his journey (8.39) deny any suggestion of community formation or ongoing relationship.
Acts 9.26
Παραγɛνόμɛνος δὲ ɛἰς Ἰɛρουσαλὴμ ἐπɛίραζɛν κολλᾶσθαι τοῖς μαθηταῖς
When [Saul] had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples.
Whereas Acts 5.13 had presented the population of Jerusalem as hesitating to join the Christian community, 9.26 presents the now-converted Paul as desiring to join the disciples in Jerusalem. The disciples’ fear could be explained by a ‘proximity’ understanding of κολλᾶσθαι, because, if Paul's conversion was not genuine (as they expected), then his presence would be a threat to the believers as it was in 8.1–3.Footnote 22 The context, however, shows that Paul had been genuinely converted (9.1–19), had already engaged in missionary efforts in Damascus (9.19–25), and, after ‘joining’ the Jerusalem community under Barnabas’ sponsorship (9.27), was ‘boldly speaking in the name of the Lord’ (παρρησιαζόμɛνος ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ κυρίου, 9.28). Paul's conflict with the Hellenists (9.29), a group to which he used to belong (6.9; 7.58–8.1), demonstrates most dramatically how his ‘joining’ the Jerusalem Christians was evidence of his changed affiliation, faith and life direction. Again, the type of association in view in this passage is one centred around shared belief and practices that differentiate the group from those around it. Paul, the former Hellenist and zealous persecutor of the Christians, was converted and as a result no longer associated with the Hellenists but rather with his former victims.Footnote 23
Acts 10.28a
ὑμɛῖς ἐπίστασθɛ ὡς ἀθέμιτόν ἐστιν ἀνδρὶ Ἰουδαίῳ κολλᾶσθαι ἢ προσέρχɛσθαι ἀλλοφύλῳ
‘You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a gentile.’
This verse records the beginning of Peter's speech to those gathered at Cornelius’ house in Caesarea, in which he explains that, despite the ‘unlawful’ (ἀθέμιτον) nature of Jewish–gentile association, he was willing to accept Cornelius’ invitation because God had made it clear to Peter in a vision (10.10–16) that he should not view anyone as ‘unclean’ (10.28–9). While the Hebrew scriptures and pre-rabbinic texts did not view gentiles as ritually impure – that is, causing defilement through contact – they did give strong discouragements from associating closely with gentiles because of their moral impurity caused by sexual immorality and idolatry (Jub. 22.16–22; 30.7; Jos. Asen. 8.5; Let. Aris. 139, 142).Footnote 24 These warnings particularly centred on eating with (Jub. 22.16–22) and intermarrying with (Jos. Asen. 8.5) gentiles. In the first century ce, however, the lines of ethnic separation seemed to be strengthening. In the Mishnah, gentile homes are declared to be, at least in some cases, unclean (M. Ohalot 18.7).Footnote 25 Later Talmudic sources claimed that scribal decrees at ‘the time of the students of Shammai and Hillel’ (i.e. the first century ce) declared ‘prohibitions with regard to gentiles’ bread and their oil, their wine and their daughters … [which] were all decreed upon due to the concern that Jews might participate in idol worship with gentiles as a result of intermingling with them’ (B. Avodah Zarah 36b; cf. B. Shabbat 17b).Footnote 26 The vision recorded in Acts 10 and the accusation by those of the ‘circumcision party’ who heard about Peter's actions (11.2–3) make it clear that food and mixed dining were key considerations in the context of Peter's visit to Cornelius. Even though Cornelius was a ‘God-fearer’ and well spoken of by the Jews (10.22), his role as centurion would have created the possibility of practices that would have compromised Peter's Jewish sensibilities.
The kind of ‘association’ that is in view in this statement by Peter, then, is not likely to be merely proximity, as avoiding proximity with gentiles would be all but impossible in the Roman world and ideas of gentile ritual impurity were only in an early stage of development.Footnote 27 Rather, the concern is whether the close relationship in the context of hospitality may lead to idolatry.Footnote 28 Schnabel notes that the present tense of the infinitives κολλᾶσθαι and προσέρχɛσθαι indicates ‘a continuous, extensive association’.Footnote 29 While the sense of duration may be significant, I would suggest that the primary concern is whether the association is going to significantly impact on the Jewish individual's ability to remain faithful to God. The ‘association’ that is ‘unlawful’ is one that changes the individual's behaviour and practice of their Jewish faith. While this may not exactly align with the picture of joining an established community in Acts 5.13 and 9.26, the same idea of a shift in practice is in view in all three instances.
Peter's use of κολλᾶσθαι in the context of his visit to Cornelius’ house, then, is relevant to the context of Acts 17.34. Even though he is speaking negatively about ‘associating’ with gentiles, the point of his statement is that he has learnt that his former understanding needed to change. The Christian community was now to include both Jews and gentiles (who had now been made clean). The aspect of the association that was formerly problematic, that the religious practices of the two disparate groups would become more unified, is precisely the positive aspect of the new scenario: Jews and gentiles are united under Christ by the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 17.34 records the outcome of Paul's ministry in the synagogue, Agora and Areopagus: Jews and Greeks ‘joining’ the herald of the new faith.
2.1.3 Other NT Authors
Occurrences of the κολλάω word group elsewhere in the New Testament testify to the breadth of contexts in which the term can be used. They include sexual/marital union (Matt 19.5; 1 Cor 6.16), commitment to ‘what is good’ (Rom 12.9), union with the Lord (1 Cor 6.17) and the piling up of sins (Rev 18.5). In each of these instances, there is a weighty sense of the union. Paul's argument in 1 Cor 6.6–17 points to the fact that sexual union with a prostitute and spiritual union with the Lord are not fleeting unions. Rather, the dramatic imagery of the two becoming one highlights the seriousness of the union.
2.2 Septuagint
The occurrences of the κολλάω word family in the Septuagint show a similar breadth of contexts as seen in the New Testament examples. As observed regarding the New Testament examples, some of the uses of κολλάω do not shed a great amount of light on Luke's use in Acts. The sexual/marital context appears again (3 Kgdms 11.2; Tob 6.19; Sir 19.2), and there are a number of references to things clinging to one another as a negative result of sin, grief or God's judgement. For example, Ps 101.6 (102.5 LXX) says, ‘From the sound of my groaning, my bones cling to my flesh’ (ἀπὸ φωνῆς τοῦ στɛναγμοῦ μου, ἐκολλήθη τὸ ὀστοῦν μου τῇ σαρκί μου).Footnote 30
What is noteworthy is that in a number of instances of one of the cognates of κολλάω being used to denote the joining of someone or something to another, the statement is made emphatic by the contrast drawn between joining and not joining, or clinging and not clinging. The examples are provided below:
Ruth 2.8
καὶ ɛἶπɛν Βοος πρὸς Ρουθ Οὐκ ἤκουσας, θύγατηρ; μὴ πορɛυθῇς ἐν ἀγρῷ συλλέξαι ἑτέρῳ, καὶ σὺ οὐ πορɛύσῃ ἐντɛῦθɛν⋅ ὧδɛ κολλήθητι μɛτὰ τῶν κορασίων μου
And Boaz said to Ruth, ‘Did you not hear, daughter? Do not go to glean in another field, and do not go from here, but stay close to my young women.
2 Kgdms 20.2
καὶ ἀνέβη πᾶς ἀνὴρ Ισραηλ ἀπὸ ὄπισθɛν Δαυιδ ὀπίσω Σαβɛɛ υἱοῦ Βοχορι, καὶ ἀνὴρ Ιουδα ἐκολλήθη τῷ βασιλɛῖ αὐτῶν ἀπὸ τοῦ Ιορδάνου καὶ ἕως Ιɛρουσαλημ.
And all the men of Israel rose up from following David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah followed their king steadfastly from the Jordan to Jerusalem.
4 Kgdms 3.3Footnote 31
πλὴν ἐν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ Ιɛροβοαμ υἱοῦ Ναβατ, ὃς ἐξήμαρτɛν τὸν Ισραηλ, ἐκολλήθη, οὐκ ἀπέστη ἀπ᾽αὐτῆς.
However, he clung to the sin of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he caused Israel to sin, and did not turn from it.
4 Kgdms 18.6
καὶ ἐκολλήθη τῷ κυρίῳ, οὐκ ἀπέστη ὄπισθɛν αὐτοῦ καὶ ɛφύλαξɛν τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ, ὅσας ἐνɛτɛίλατο Μωυσῇ
and he held fast to the Lord, he did not turn from following him and he kept the commandments he had given Moses.
Sirach 2.3
κολλήθητι αὐτῷ καὶ μὴ ἀποστῇς ἵνα αὐξηθῇς ἐπ᾽ ἐσχάτων σου
Cling to him and do not depart, so that your last days may be prosperous.
In these passages, the verb has been used in contexts describing exclusive and ongoing commitments. Boaz emphatically instructs Ruth twice not to go elsewhere, but urges her to join his young women (Ruth 2.8). The fickle nature of the men who abandon David serves to highlight the faithfulness of the men who continued to follow him (2 Sam 20.2). The condemnation of Jehoram is that in clinging to the sins of Jeroboam he would not turn from them (4 Kgdms 3.3). Conversely, Hezekiah is praised for clinging to the Lord and not departing from him (4 Kgdms 18.6).
The examples, such as 4 Kgdms 18.6 (above), of κολλάω referring to clinging to the Lord regularly mention turning from other gods. The instruction for the Israelites to cling to the Lord in Deut 6.13 is followed immediately by the command ‘You shall not go after other gods’ in 6.14.Footnote 32 So even though these instances of κολλάω that refer to ‘clinging to the Lord’ do not lead us to interpret κολλάω in Acts as a technical term for conversion, they do suggest something more than mere proximity or an unspecified association. The context here, including both positive and negative commands, shows that the type of association in view is a commitment that includes a turning from former, or potential other, associations in order to commit to the association of choice.
The idea of a permanent or committed union is developed in the examples above through the contrast with not joining another group or god. Other occurrences of κολλάω, however, develop the same sense in different ways. The description of the leviathan in Job 41 uses the term to describe the impenetrable nature of the beast's scales and flesh, with κολλῶνται, προσκολλῃθήσɛται and κɛκόλλɛνται appearing in vv. 16, 17 and 23. If the term did not carry some sense of permanence or solidity, the rhetorical force of the poetic imagery would fall down.
Finally, the term is also used to describe the way in which curses from the Lord have clung to a family or the nation of Israel for a long time. For example, when Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, deceived Naaman to get some payment from him (which Elisha had previously refused), the prophet cursed him, saying, ‘And the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever’, with the result that ‘he went out of his presence a leper, like snow’ (4 Kgdms 5.27).Footnote 33
2.3 Early Christian Sources
Many of the occurrences of κολλάω in the early Christian sources are quotations of the biblical texts found in sermons and commentaries. There are some, however, that are concerned with social relations, like the those found in Acts 5, 9, 10 and 17. The Epistle of BarnabasFootnote 34 and 1 Clement provide some relevant examples to compare with the social context found in Acts 17.34.Footnote 35
2.3.1 The Epistle of Barnabas
A cluster of uses of κολλάω is found in ch. 10 of the Epistle, which discusses the correct interpretation of the Mosaic dietary laws.Footnote 36 Here, Barnabas interprets the laws allegorically, explaining that the different unclean animals represent types of people to whom the Israelites were commanded to ‘cling’ or not ‘cling’:
Barn 10.3
οὐ μὴ κολληθήσῃ, φησίν, ἀνθρώποις τοιούτοις, οἵτινές … ὅταν σπαταλῶσιν, ἐπιλανθάνονται τοῦ κυρίου, ὅταν δὲ ὑστɛροῦνται, ἐπιγινώσκουσιν τὸν κύριον
‘You must not cling’, he says, ‘to such people, who … when they live in luxury, they forget the Lord, but when they are in need, they remember the Lord.
Barn 10.4
[regarding the eagle, hawk, kite and crow as unclean birds] οὐ μὴ, φησίν, κολληθήσῃ οὐδὲ ὁμοιωθήσῃ ἀνθρώποις τοιούτοις, οἵτινɛς … ἁρπάζουσιν τὰ ἀλλότρια ἐν ἀνομίᾳ αὐτῶν.
‘You must not’, he says, ‘cling to such people or be like them, people who … by their lawless behaviour seize food that belongs to others.’
Barn 10.8
[regarding the weasel] οὐ μὴ, φησίν, γɛνηθῇς τοιοῦτος, οἵους ἀκούομɛν ἀνομίαν ποιοῦντας ἐν τῷ στόματι δι᾽ ἀκαθαρσίαν, οὐδὲ κολληθήσῃ ταῖς ἀκαθάρτοις ταῖς τὴν ἀνομίαν ποιούσαις ἐν τῷ στόματι
‘You must not’, he says, ‘be like those who are reputed to perform a lawless deed in their mouth because of their uncleanness, nor cling to unclean women who perform the lawless deed in their mouth.’
Barn 10.11
κολλᾶσθɛ μɛτὰ τῶν φοβουμένων τὸν κύριον
Cling to those who fear the Lord.
While 10.8 may more closely reflect 1 Cor. 6.16 in the type of ‘clinging’ that is in view, the entire thrust of the passage is that the dietary laws should be interpreted as instructions not to ‘cling to’ or associate with unrighteous people, and not to be like them. In this instance, the association in view is not a fleeting connection, but one that would shape the lifestyle and practices of the Israelites. Clinging to lawless and unrighteous people is placed in stark contrast to clinging to God, his commandments and the people who follow them closely. This type of clinging is no mere proximity, but rather a close relationship that shapes the lifestyle and community that one adopts.
2.3.2 1 Clement
Clement of Rome uses κολλάω with the same kind of emphasis in his letter to the Corinthian church, a letter concerned with the need for unity rather than fractiousness in the Christian community.Footnote 37
1 Clem 15.1
τοίνυν κολληθῶμɛν τοῖς μɛτ᾽ ɛὐσɛβɛίας ɛἰρηνɛύουσιν, καὶ μὴ τοῖς μɛθ᾽ ὑποκρίσɛως βουλομένοις ɛἰρήνην.
Therefore we should cling to those who keep the peace with piety, not those who wish for peace out of hypocrisy.
1 Clem 30.3
κολληθῶμɛν οὖν ἐκɛίνοις, οἷς ἡ χάρις ἀπὸ τοῦ θɛοῦ δέδοται.
We should, therefore, cling to those who have been bestowed with God's gracious gift.
1 Clem 46.1–4
Τοιούτοις οὖν ὑποδɛίγμασιν κολληθῆναι καὶ ἡμᾶς δɛῖ, ἀδɛλφοί.2 γέγραπται γάρ⋅ κολλᾶσθɛ τοῖς ἁγίοις, ὅτι οἱ κολλώμɛνοι αὐτοῖς ἁγιασθήσονται …4 κολληθῶμɛν οὖν τοῖς ἀθῴοις καὶ δικαίοις⋅ ɛἰσιν δὲ οὗτοι ἐκλɛκτοὶ τοῦ θɛοῦ.
And so, we too must cling to these examples, brothers.2 For it is written, ‘Cling to those who are holy; for those who cling to them will themselves be made holy’…4 Therefore we should cling to those who are innocent and upright, for these are God's chosen.
As in the Epistle of Barnabas, the type of association envisioned here by Clement is one where the lifestyle and character of the members will be shaped by their association. He exhorts his readers to cling to those who exhibit godly character. This type of godly character expresses itself most notably in peace and harmony (15.1; 30.3) because it is one of God's ‘superior gifts’ to which the Christians should cling (19.2). The connection between the individual's commitment to God and the need for peace and unity is developed at a number of points. In 49.5, the love that ‘binds us (κολλᾷ ἡμᾶς) to God’ is also the love that ‘has no schism’ and ‘creates no faction’. In 56.1, the Corinthians are urged to pray for ‘those caught up in any unlawful act’, so that they might ‘yield themselves … to the will of God’. The progression in 56.2, encouraging the believers to welcome discipline, links the ‘will of God’ and his loving discipline. Discipline, including rebuking one another (56.2), ‘binds us (κολλᾷ γὰρ ἡμᾶς) to the will of God’.
1 Clement, then, uses κολλάω to highlight two relationships. Firstly, the Christians are to cling to or be bound to God, the God of peace. Secondly, they are urged to cling to other godly people, who work for peace, and against schism. While Clement is not using κολλάω to describe the formation of a community, as I am suggesting Luke does in Acts 17, he is describing the type of relationship needed to ensure the ongoing health and godliness of the established church in Corinth. The Corinthians need to cling to God, and cling together as God's godly people, in order that a schism-free and factionless community may remain.
2.4 Non-Christian Texts
Κολλάω and its cognates appear in a variety of different non-Christian texts. Below, I discuss their use in medical texts, magical papyri, inscriptions and the writings of Plutarch.
2.4.1 Greek Medical Texts
Κολλάω is very common in Greek medical writings. A selection of medical uses of the terminology is provided below, with examples from Galen (second century ce) and Dioscorides Pedanius (first century ce):
Galen
Ars medica 385
ἵνα δ᾽ αὐτὴ γένηται μόνιμος, ἡ ἐπίδɛσις ἡ συνάγουσα τὰ διɛστῶτα, καὶ ἀγκτῆρɛς καὶ ῥαφαὶ χρήσιμοι⋅ κολλᾷ μὲν οὖν τὰ διɛστῶτα καὶ τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἕνωσιν ἀποδίδωσιν ἡ φύσις
For binding or joining the coapted parts to become secure, fistulae and sutures are useful, but it is Nature that colligates those things that are separated and restores the original unity.Footnote 38
Ad Glauconem de methodo medendi 2.127
[in the context of talking about healing ‘sinuses’ and ‘fistulae’] αἱ δὲ τὰ πρόσφατα καὶ ἔναιμα τραύματα κολλῶσαι, κἂν ἧττον τούτων ξηραίνωσι, κολλῶσι τὰ χɛίλη τῶν τραυμάτων.
The conglutinants, in the case of a fresh and bloody wound, even if they dry less than these, conglutinate in the margins of the wounds.
Dioscorides Pedanius
De materia medica 1.64
κολλᾷ δὲ καὶ τὰ ἐν τῇ κɛφαλῇ τραύματα
It also seals head wounds.
De materia medica 3.111.2
καὶ τραύματα κολλᾷ καὶ ἕλκη παλαιὰ ἀνακαθαίρɛι καὶ ἀπουλοῖ σὺν μέλιτι.
With honey, it seals wounds and draws infection, clearing it completely, and forms a scar.
While only a few examples are provided here from the large corpus of medical texts, they sufficiently serve to demonstrate the medical use of κολλάω in these contexts. The term is commonly used to describe the healing of wounds. The significance of the imagery is that the separated parts of flesh are made whole (one) again. It is a physiological parallel to the permanent or ongoing nature of union that has been seen in other uses of the term above. These medical texts, however, are not as close to Luke's imagery of social cohesion as are the texts cited above from the Septuagint. It is unlikely that Luke is borrowing from medical terminology.
2.4.2 Greek Magical Papyri
Κολλάω occurs in a number of love incantations found in Greek magical papyri, in which an infatuated man (predominantly) will seek to inflict certain torments on the object of his desire until she comes to him. The usage is similar to that found in 1 Corinthians 6, that is, it is in reference to sexual union. PGM 36.69–101, 36.102–33 and 36.134–60 use a similar formula, one example of which is included below:
PGM 36.147–51
σὺ δὲ Ἶσι καὶ Ὄσιρι καὶ χθονὸς [δαίμονɛς] … ἐγɛίρɛσθɛ … καὶ ποιήσατɛ τὴν δɛῖνα, ἣν ἔτɛκɛν ἡ δɛῖνα, ἀγρυπνɛῖν, ἀɛροπɛτɛῖσθαι, πɛινῶσαν, διψῶσαν, ὕπνου μὴ τυγχάνουσαν, ἐρᾶσθαι ἐμοῦ τοῦ δɛῖνα, οὗ ἔτɛκɛν ἡ δɛῖνα, ἔρωτι σπλαγχνικῷ, ἕως ἂν ἔλθῃ καὶ τῆν θηλυκὴν ἑαυτῆς φύσιν τῇ ἀρσɛνικῇ μου κολλήσῃ.
But you, Isis and Osiris and [daimons] of the chthonic world … arise … and cause her, NN, whom NN bore, to be sleepless, to fly through the air, hungry, thirsty, not finding sleep, to love me, NN whom NN bore, passionately with passion in her guts, until she comes and joins her female pudenda to my male one.Footnote 39
Regarding this type of spell, David Martinez notes: ‘Hidden beneath the lover's desire that his beloved experience love sickness for him is his tormented longing to produce his own experience in her … the notion of “transference” is important. Put simply, it is the operator who in reality is bound in hopeless passion, an illness which has robbed him of sleep and taken away his will to eat and drink.’Footnote 40
2.4.3 Greek Inscriptions
The use of κολλάω in Greek inscriptions often occurs in the context of notes on construction. The example below describes the attachment of epistyles to the tops of pillars in large buildings used to house ships in the Piraeus harbour.Footnote 41 In this context of construction, the term carries an implication of strength:
IG ii2.1668 ll. 45–8
καὶ ἐπιθήσɛι | ἐπιστύλια ξύλινα ἐπί τοὺς κίονας κολλήσας, πλάτος πέντɛ ἡμιποδί|ων ὕψος ἐννέα παλαστῶν ἐκ τοῦ ὑψηλοτέρου, ἀριθμὸς δɛκαοκτὼ ἐφ´ ἑκάτɛρον τὸν τόνον.
And he will place wooden epistyles upon the pillars, joining them: width five half-feet, height nine palms for the highest part, eighteen for each row.
It was expected that κολλάω would be used in inscriptions related to associations or collegia. An examination of the inscriptions collated by Philip Harland on his ‘Associations in the Greco-Roman World’ website showed that this was not the case. Rather, when groups were said to have ‘joined’ together in some way, this was expressed with verbs with syn- prefixes.Footnote 42 On the basis of my search, it seems that κολλάω was not used as a technical term for the act of joining an association.
2.4.4 Plutarch on Friendship
A closer Graeco-Roman parallel can be found in Plutarch's On Having Many Friends (De amicorum multitudine), which offers an interesting comparison with Luke's use of κολλάω in the context of social relations. Plutarch, having just extolled the benefits of good friendships and the terrible situation of a bad friendship, says:
διὸ δɛῖ μὴ ῥᾳδίως προσδέχɛσθαι μηδὲ κολλᾶσθαι τοῖς ἐντυγχάνουσι μηδὲ φιλɛῖν τοὺς διώκοντας, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἀξίους φιλίας διώκɛιν. οὐ γὰρ αἱρɛτέον πάντως τὸ ῥᾳδίως ἁλισκόμɛνον. καὶ γὰρ ἀπαρίνην καὶ βάτον ἐπιλαμβανομένην ὑπɛρβάντɛς καὶ διωσάμɛνοι βαδίζομɛν ἐπὶ τὴν ἐλαίαν καὶ τὴν ἄμπɛλον. οὕτως ἀɛὶ μὴ τὸν ɛὐχɛρῶς πɛριπλɛκόμɛνον ποιɛῖσθαι συνήθη καλόν, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἀξίοις σπουδῆς καὶ ὠφɛλίμοις αὐτοὺς πɛριπλέκɛσθαι δοκιμάζοντας.
We ought therefore not to accept readily chance acquaintances, or attach ourselves (κολλᾶσθαι) to them, nor ought we to make friends of those who seek after us, but rather we should seek after those who are worthy of friendship. For one should by no means take what can be easily taken. In fact we step over or thrust aside bramble and brier, which seize hold upon us, and make our way onward to the olive and the vine. Thus it is always an excellent thing not to make an intimate acquaintance of the man who is ready with his embraces, but rather, of our own motion, to embrace those of whom we approve as worthy of our attention and useful to us. (Plutarch, Amic. mult. 4)Footnote 43
It is clear in this instance that in Plutarch's opinion, attaching oneself to someone else in friendship ought to be a considered commitment, not something one enters into simply because the other person offers himself in friendship. This is because the three main aims of friendship are ‘virtue as a good thing, intimacy as a pleasant thing and usefulness as a necessary thing’ (Amic. mult. 3). Each of these three goals is restricted if a person flits from one new friend to another or seeks a multitude of friends.Footnote 44 Taking one example to illustrate the point, while Plutarch affirms that a mutual ‘usefulness’ is a necessary aspect of friendship, this is likely to cause negligence or offense if a person has too many friends. Imagining that all of your many friends called on you at the same time to help in various aspects of life, Plutarch says: ‘It is impossible to be with them all, and unnatural to be with none, and yet to do a service to one alone, and thus to offend many, is a source of vexation’ (Amic. mult. 6). The same can be said for the desired ‘intimacy’: intimacy with one person necessitates a loss of intimacy with another.
The text quoted above from Amic. mult. 4 begins with two negative instructions and one positive. The first negative instruction (1) is in two parts: ‘We ought not (a) readily accept, nor (b) attach (κολλᾶσθαι) ourselves to chance aquaintences.’Footnote 45 The second negative instruction (2) is that ‘we ought not to make friends of those who seek after us’. Instead, the positive instruction (3) is to seek out those worthy of friendship. The fact that ‘friendship’ (φιλɛῖν/φιλία) appears in instructions (2) and (3) suggests that ‘accept and attach’ in phrase (1) is a parallel to friendship. The issue for Plutarch is that one should not ‘fall in league’ with a chance acquaintance, nor even with someone who seeks you out, but rather one should be calculating and deliberate in the formation of such bonds.
For Plutarch, ‘true friends … are rare, for they must be constant and loyal’.Footnote 46 As he states in the penultimate sentence of this particular treatise on friendship, ‘friendship seeks for a fixed and steadfast character which does not shift about, but continues in one place and in one intimacy’ (Plut. Amic. mult. 9). His use of κολλᾶσθαι shows that the verb is an appropriate one to be used to denote relationships characterised by such long-term commitment and companionship, with the possibility that this attachment could be positive or negative in outcome.
3. Paul and Luke's Records of Church Establishment
The analysis of κολλάω that has been conducted above demonstrates that the precise connotation of the verb is significantly dependent on the context in which it is found. The example showed that the term frequently appears in descriptions of social relationships that bear one or more of these features: long-lasting and committed; requiring a deliberate move away from other relationships and associations; shaping one's beliefs and practices; and (in the case of the references in Acts) having a public dimension. These elements would suggest that Luke's use of the word in Acts 17.34 is a deliberate, short-hand way of describing the foundation of a Christian community in Athens. It is necessary, however, to assess how Luke's narration of the events in Athens differs from his treatment of other locations of Paul's missionary work, and what conclusions may be drawn from such a comparison.
3.1 Where are the ‘Brothers’?
One way in which the Athenian narrative stands apart from the other reports of Paul's mission in Macedonia and Achaia, and which can perhaps be seen as an argument against the establishment of a Christian community in Athens, is the absence of any mention of ‘brothers’. In his discussion of Paul's ministry in Macedonia and Achaia, Paul Barnett highlights the use of the term in the Philippian and Thessalonian narratives as evidence that Christian assemblies were established in those cities. With regard to Athens, however, he only notes that ‘several were persuaded by Paul's words, but we know of no church being formed in Athens’.Footnote 47 Does an absence of any mention of ‘brothers’ in Athens constitute an argument against the formation of a Christian community?
Ἀδɛλφοί (‘brothers’ or ‘brothers and sisters’), reserved only for Jews and Jewish believers in the first fourteen chapters of Acts, is applied to believers of gentile origins after the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15.Footnote 48 Before this point, gentile believers and mixed-race churches are referred to as ‘disciples’ (μαθηταί, Acts 9.25; 11.26, 29; 13.52; 14.20–2, 28).Footnote 49 The letter from the Jerusalem Council to gentile believers marks the watershed shift in recognition. It is addressed, ‘The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers of gentile origin in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia’ (15.23).
After the Jerusalem Council, the term is used repeatedly in relation to the multi-ethnic Christ groups of Paul's mission (Acts 16.2 (Lystra, Iconium); 16.40 (Philippi); 17.6, 10 (Thessalonica); 17.14 (Berea); 18.18 (Corinth), 27 (Ephesus); 28.14–15 (Rome)). In the Macedonian and Achaian churches of Acts 16–17, the term is used in a context that gives some picture of the function of the Christian community. In Philippi, Paul visits the ‘brothers’ before departing from the city (16.40). In Thessalonica, some of the ‘brothers’ are brought before the authorities (17.6). In Thessalonica (17.10) and Berea (17.14), the ‘brothers’ are instrumental in getting Paul out of the city and away from the Jews who were continuing to cause problems. In Corinth, Paul takes leave of the ‘brothers’ (18.18). In each case, the ‘brothers’ indicate a group of believers that can act on behalf of Paul or for his benefit, and that he can take leave of without them losing their identity as a group. The contrast is noticeable in Athens where there is no mention of a group of ‘brothers’, or even ‘disciples’.
Two pieces of evidence speak against the absence of ‘brothers’, decisively disproving the establishment of a Christ group. Firstly, Luke records that some who had heard Paul's preaching ‘believed’ (ἐπίστɛυσαν, Acts 17.34). In Acts, πιστɛύω is important as a response to the preaching of the word (4.4; 8.12), and is regularly connected to salvation, baptism or joining the Christian community.Footnote 50 That some people in Athens ‘believed’ indicates that there were conversions in the city, and suggests that, like elsewhere, those believers would have formed some kind of faith community.
Secondly, the narrative of Paul and Barnabas’ ministry in Cyprus provides a helpful comparison with the Athens narrative. Luke records the missionaries travelling through Cyprus, proclaiming the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They have a run-in with the false prophet Bar-Jesus/Elymas, and Sergius Paulus believed (Acts 13.12) in response to the preaching of the word and the demonstration of God's power in blinding Bar-Jesus. In the Athens and Cyprus narratives, similar elements appear – preaching, conflict and belief – but neither includes the terms ‘disciples’ or ‘brothers’. However, after the Jerusalem Council, Paul and Barnabas intend to ‘return and visit the brothers in every city’ where they had proclaimed the word (15.36). When they separate on account of their disagreement regarding Mark, Barnabas goes back to Cyprus (15.39). Presuming that he still intended to visit the ‘brothers’ as they had originally discussed,Footnote 51 it is evident that the absence of any mention of ‘disciples’ or ‘brothers’ on Cyprus during the original mission, and the mention of only one ‘believer’, do not mean that no Christian communities were established during Paul and Barnabas’ time on the island.Footnote 52
3.2 When Is a Church a Church?
Commentators have argued that while Luke records conversions in Athens, there is no establishment of a Christian community.Footnote 53 However, Luke's record of Paul's previous missionary efforts is instructive for how to read the Athenian narrative. In the first missionary journey, having spent some time on Cyprus, Paul and Barnabas preach the gospel in Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13.13–32), Iconium (14.1–5) and Lystra and Derbe (14.6–20). In Paul and Barnabas’ first visits to these cities, Luke records positive and negative responses to Paul's preaching. Keeping the positive responses in focus, in Antioch ‘many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas … and as many as had been destined to eternal life believed’ (13.43, 48); in Iconium, ‘a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers’ and some of the residents of the city sided with Paul and Barnabas against the oppositional unbelieving Jews (14.1, 4); in Lystra and Derbe, Paul and Barnabas preach the gospel (14.7, 15–16, 21), with many disciples being made in Derbe (14.21), but none recorded for Lystra.
Even though new converts are recorded in these accounts, Luke does not explicitly mention the establishment of an organised assembly in any of those cities. It is only in 14.22–3, when Paul and Barnabas retrace their steps from Derbe through Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, that Luke records that they were ‘strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith … and when they had appointed elders for them in every church (κατ᾽ ἐκκλησίαν) … they committed them to the Lord’ (14.22–3).Footnote 54 Even though these may have been fledgling communities, originally without any appointed leadership, Luke still considered the Christian groups in these cities to be ‘churches’. The same was most likely true on the island of Crete, if Paul's instruction to Titus, ‘appoint elders in every town’ (Tit 1.5), is to be understood as appointing elders in the Christian assemblies in each town. It is possible, then, that Luke would not have found it necessary to describe the formation of a Christian community in Athens explicitly. The few people mentioned by Luke who responded in faith and joined Paul, like those who followed him in Pisidian Antioch, could easily constitute a church community.
If one was to require the appointment of elders to constitute the church (which Luke does not in Acts 14), there was ample opportunity for Paul to return to Athens again and appoint elders if he did not already do that on his first visit.Footnote 55 He could have done this during his eighteen-month sojourn in Corinth (Acts 18.11), or his later travel through Macedonia and Greece (Acts 20.1–3). Furthermore, though it is unlikely that Paul appointed Dionysius the Areopagite as the first bishop of the Athenian church, as the tradition claims, it may be the case that this tradition developed around Dionysius’ appointment as one of the first group of elders of the church, or the use of his house for church gatherings.
4. ‘Κολληθέντɛς’ in Acts 17.34
The above analysis of the usage of κολλάω in biblical, Christian and Greco-Roman sources has revealed that the verb is commonly used in contexts describing a union or community that is noteworthy for its strength of commitment. The verb was apparently an appropriate choice in contexts depicting relationships that were presented as ongoing, publicly identifiable and working to the betterment of all parties, including one's progress in holiness or virtue. Inversely, to join oneself with the wrong kind of person would be so deleterious that numerous authors warn against such a relationship. This idea of strong social cohesion perhaps draws on the imagery created by the word's use to denote the ‘cementing’ of building materials or the healing of wounds. In the Christian context, the ‘joining’ indicated by κολλάω is primarily marked by a shared faith and a ‘change in allegiances’, such as Paul's radical shift from being one of the more aggressive Hellenistic Jerusalem Jews to identifying with the Jerusalem church.
Acts 17.34 appears to record, in shorthand form, the formation of a Christian community in Athens. One point needs to be discussed about this particular context, however. Gerhard Schneider and Rudolph Pesch both emphasise that κολληθέντɛς is an aorist participle, and thus the Athenians joined Paul to hear more, and then subsequently believed ‘after further instruction’.Footnote 56 Schnabel notes the two verbs but his comment portrays ἐπίστɛυσαν as a punctiliar event,Footnote 57 ‘they put their trust in Jesus’, while κολληθέντɛς is more of an ongoing process, ‘they “joined” Paul by associating themselves with him, becoming disciples who continued to listen to Paul's teaching and began to form a community of believers’.Footnote 58
It is true that the aorist participle ‘joined’ could be translated as antecedent to the action of the verb ‘believed’, as Schneider and Pesch argue. However, as Daniel B. Wallace notes, ‘when the aorist participle is related to an aorist main verb, the participle will often be contemporaneous … to the action of the main verb’.Footnote 59 This is probably the better way to read this verse, especially since the group that ‘joins and believes’ does both actions. There is no group, in Luke's record, that joins Paul but does not go on to believe. This group, then, is differentiated from the other two responding groups, those who mock and those who express further interest. In the context, it seems that it is unnecessary to make a hard chronological distinction between the joining and believing of this group. These Athenians joined Paul and believed the message.
As has been noted above, it is usually contextual factors that colour κολλάω with the sense of a strong union. In Acts 17.34, it is the contemporaneity of the group's ‘belief’ and ‘joining’, and their distinction from the ‘mocking’ and ‘interested’ groups, that provide important contextual factors for the interpretation of κολληθέντɛς. Here, those who join Paul join him on the basis of faith in his message – it is not for further exploration of ideas but as an expression of shared faith. The two other groups demonstrate that other options were possible. The ‘interested’ group shows that some were more positively disposed towards Paul, but not yet willing to accept his message. Those who join him, on the other hand, ‘cross the floor’ of the Areopagus and join him on the basis of the acceptance of his message, forming a new community of faith.
5. Conclusion
At the outset of this study, it was noted that commentators have often acknowledged the small amount of conversions resulting from Paul's preaching in Athens, and have doubted whether a Christ group was established in the city. It was determined that the two main arguments against such establishment, Paul's comments about ‘the first fruits of Achaia’ and the absence of recorded baptisms, were both inconclusive.
A broader analysis of the term κολληθέντɛς showed that its connotations can vary significantly depending on its literary context. It can mean mere proximity, as when Philip ‘joined’ the Ethiopian eunuch's chariot, or it can mean the fusing of two separate objects, as in construction. It has been demonstrated above that when used with regard to social relationships, the term often appears with contextual factors that suggest an ongoing union characterised by an exclusive commitment. Its earlier use in Acts – in the context of the Jerusalem church and in the ethnic boundary-crossing in the conversion of Cornelius – demonstrates the term's application to describe an individual's inclusion in the Christian community. Furthermore, other considerations regarding the Athenian narrative, such as the absence of the mention of terms ‘brothers’ or ‘church’, were shown not necessarily to indicate the absence of the establishment of a Christian community.
Luke's summary statement, ‘Some men joined him and believed’, should certainly be understood to ‘express rather more than that the converts just “join” the apostles’.Footnote 60 It should be read as a shorthand description of the formation of a Christian community in Athens.Footnote 61 This community was centred around Paul and marked by a shared faith (ἐπίστɛυσαν), which in the context must have been centred on Paul's preaching of Jesus and the resurrection (vv. 17–18, 31), and his exhortation to repentance on the basis of God's appointed judgement (vv. 30–1). The response in Athens may seem meagre in comparison to the city-rattling growth of the church in Jerusalem or Ephesus, but it is justifiable to say that Luke's use of the verb κολληθέντɛς shows that he understood that a church was established in the city of Athens at the end of Acts 17.
Competing interests
The author declares none.
