G58 ἀγορά (agorá)

Market place (58) (agora) is the town-square where the people assembled in public. It can also refer to a market or thoroughfare or a broad street. Here it refers to a forum or a market place where things were exposed for sale and where assemblies and public trials were held (See similar use in Mk 7:4; Acts 16:19; 17:17) (see use in Acts 16:19) MacArthur - The agora (market place) was the central public square. It functioned not only as a marketplace, but also "as the social center of the city. Here the unemployed waited for suitable work, the sick were healed, and the magistrates judged court cases. In those days, a plaintiff could drag a defendant into court and ask the judge to pass a verdict (James 2:6). The owners of the slave girl were acting according to Roman law when they laid their hands on Paul and Silas and put their grievance before the city authorities. (Simon J. Kistemaker, New Testament Commentary: Acts [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1990], 595)" NIDNTT - Originally any place of public assembly, the agora became identified in classical times with the market-place, a centre of community life which was regularly used for political meetings, judicial hearings, and especially for trade. The derived adj. agoraios (lit. belonging to the agora) is occasionally found in a good sense to describe those who do their business in the market-place (especially advocates in law-suits), but it is applied much more frequently to loafers who hang around the agora looking for excitement or trouble. Agorazo, the verb (lit., frequent the agora), came to mean “buy in the market-place”, and thence “buy” in general. In Hellenistic times it was also in common use as a term for buying slaves, which is significant for its NT usage, although the practice of sacral manumission is not clearly linked with agorazō. The intensive form exagorazo could be applied to the redeeming of slaves. BDAG summarized - market place as a place for children to play Mt 11:16; Lk 7:32. Place for people seeking work and for idlers Mt 20:3; cp. 23:7; Mk 12:38; Lk 11:43; 20:46. Scene of public events, incl. the healings of Jesus Mk 6:56. Scene of a lawsuit (so as early as Hom.; cp. Demosth. 43, 36 ) against Paul Acts 16:19, 35 D. Of the Agora in Athens (in the Ceramicus), the center of public life Acts 17:17 Liddell-Scott summarized - agora, Assembly of the People, opp. to the Council of Chiefs, Hom.:- to hold an assembly, II. the place of Assembly, Hom.; used not only for debating, trials, and other public purposes, but also as a market-place, like the Roman Forum, Att.; but to lounge in the market was held to be disreputable, III. the business of the agora = public speaking, gift of speaking, mostly in pl., Hom. IV. things sold in the agora = the market, to hold a market, Thuc. V. as a mark of time, the forenoon, when the market-place was full, Hdt.; opp. the time just after mid-day, when they went home, Id. See dictionary articles on - Market (Agora) See Wikipedia article - Agora (Compare the Roman counterpart = Forum) Agora - 11x in 11v and always translated market place(5) or market places(6). Matthew 11:16 "But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to the other children, Matthew 20:3 "And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place; Matthew 23:7 and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men . Mark 6:56 Wherever He entered villages, or cities, or countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places, and imploring Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were being cured. Mark 7:4 and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.) Mark 12:38 In His teaching He was saying: "Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like respectful greetings in the market places, Luke 7:32 "They are like children who sit in the market place and call to one another, and they say, 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.' Luke 11:43 "Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the chief seats in the synagogues and the respectful greetings in the market places. Luke 20:46 "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, Acts 16:19 But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market place before the authorities, Acts 17:17 So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present. Agora - 8v in the non-apocryphal Septuagint - Eccl 12:4-5 Song 3:2; Ezek 27:12, 14, 16, 19, 22. Agora is used to describe the trading activity of Tyre (Ezek 27:12, 14, 16, 19, 22), to describe the place where a girl seeks her lover (Song 3:2); and the “shut doors of the agora” figuratively descibe deafness in Eccl. 12:4. Happened (paratugchano from pará = near + tugcháno = happen to be, chance upon) means to chance near, and so to meet with, to fall in with someone, to happen near. "Go to the page below to access live links related to the material on this page - these links include Scriptures (which can be read in context), Scripture pop-ups on mouse over, and a variety of related resources such as Bible dictionary articles, commentaries, sermon notes and theological journal articles related to the topic under discussion." http://www.preceptaustin.org/acts_17_commentary.htm#mp