Acts 17:26
And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
Study Note
Study Note
Paul's Areopagus declaration that God 'hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation' presents a universalist anthropology grounded in creation theology. The phrase 'one blood' (henos haimatos, though textually variant) asserts a common human origin against Athenian claims of autochthony — the aristocratic Athenian myth that they had sprung from Attic soil itself rather than from common Adamic descent. The reference to divinely determined boundaries echoes Deuteronomy 32:8 ('he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people'), which in its Septuagint form speaks of boundaries set 'according to the number of the angels of God.' The verse has been foundational in Christian anthropology's rejection of ethnic hierarchies and in discussions of divine providence in world history.
Other Translations
and he made of one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation;
He made also of one blood every nation of men, to dwell upon all the face of the earth--having ordained times before appointed, and the bounds of their dwellings--
And he has made of one blood all the nations of men living on all the face of the earth, ordering their times and the limits of their lands,
Cross References
When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the …
Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy …
Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he …
He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again.
Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who …
Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, …
And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even …
And both these kings’ hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it …
Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against …
Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.