ἀγοραῖος (agoraios)
agoraios
of the marketplace
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 2 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The adjective agoraios describes what belongs to or happens in the marketplace. Its root is agora, the public gathering place that served as the center of civic life in ancient Greek cities. The word captures the atmosphere of that space: noisy, busy, and open to all.
In Acts 17:5, it characterizes a group who take Paul to court because they see him as a disturber of peace. Here, agoraios suggests men who are idle or disruptive, likely looking for trouble in the public square. In Acts 19:38, it refers to regular court days, showing how the marketplace also functioned as a legal forum where business and justice intersected.
Translators often render this word simply as "marketplace" when describing the location, but its sense extends to the people and activities within it. It conveys a world that is common, unrefined, and directly engaged with daily life. The term reminds readers that early Christian preaching often occurred in these very spaces of commerce and conversation.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word agoraios points us to the marketplace, the noisy heart of ancient city life. It was a place where business, law, and daily conversation mixed together. For believers today, this reminds us that faith is not kept in a quiet corner but lived out in the busy spaces of work and community.
In Acts 17:5, we see how this public space could become a place of conflict when people are stirred up by idle rumors. Yet in Acts 19:38, it shows that even legal disputes had their proper time and place. The marketplace was where truth and error often met face to face.
Your daily interactions matter. Whether at work or in public, your words carry weight. God meets you in these ordinary moments, calling you to speak with grace and live with integrity among those who may not yet know Him.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 2 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- market-loungers1×
- courts1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- ἀγοραῖοι1×
- ἀγοραίων1×
Key Verses
-
Acts 17:5
But the unpersuaded Jews took along some wicked men from the marketplace and gathering a crowd, set the city in an uproar. Assaulting the house of Jason, they sought to bring them out to the people.
This verse uses the word to describe disruptive men from the public square who stirred up trouble against Paul, showing how the marketplace could become a venue for unrest.
-
Acts 19:38
If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a matter against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. Let them press charges against one another.
Here the term refers to the regular court sessions held in the civic center, highlighting the intersection of legal justice and public commerce in early Christian encounters.