Character Study on Damaris

Acts 17:34 Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

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damaris

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Holman Bible Dictionary - Damaris

(dam' uh rihss) Personal name meaning, “heifer.” An Athenian woman who became a Christian following Paul's sermon at Mars' Hill, the highest court in Athens (Acts 17:34 ).

Easton's Bible Dictionary - Damaris

A heifer, an Athenian woman converted to Christianity under the preaching of Paul (Acts 17:34 ). Some have supposed that she may have been the wife of Dionysius the Areopagite.

Fausset's Bible Dictionary - Damaris

An Athenian woman converted by Paul's preaching (Acts 17:34.). When most "mocked" or deferred, she and Dionysius the Areopagite "clave unto Paul and believed."

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Damaris

DAMARIS . A convert at Athens ( Acts 17:34 ). As women of the upper classes were kept more in the background there than in Macedonia or Asia Minor, she was probably not of noble birth (cf. Acts 17:4 ; Acts 17:12 ). The name is perhaps a corruption of Damalis, ‘a heifer.’ The Bezan MS omits it.

A. J. Maclean.

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Damaris

Damaris was converted by the preaching of St. Paul at Athens (Acts 17:34). The name is probably a corruption of Damalis (‘heifer’), a popular name among the Greeks. St. Chrysostom (de Sacerd. iv. 7) makes Damaris the wife of Dionysius the Areopagite, as does the Latin of Codex E (‘cum uxore suo’), though the Greek has only ‘a woman.’ W. M. Ramsay (St. Paul, 1895, p. 252) suggests that she was one of the educated ἑταίραι. She seems to have been a person of some importance, since her name is mentioned, and it is open to doubt whether a prominent Athenian woman would have been present. Codex Bezae omits all reference to her.

Literature.-F. Blass, Com. in loc.; W. M. Ramsay, The Church in the Roman Empire, London, 1892 p. 161; J. Felten, Apostelgeschichte, Freiburg i. B., 1892, p. 337.

F. W. Worsley.

Hitchcock's Bible Names - Damaris

A little woman

Morrish Bible Dictionary - Damaris

A woman at Athens who believed the gospel preached by Paul. Acts 17:34 .

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Damaris

An Athenian lady, honorably distinguished as one of the few who embraced Christianity at Athens under the preaching of Paul, Acts 17:34 .

Sentence search

- Damaris was converted by the preaching of St. 7) makes Damaris the wife of Dionysius the Areopagite, as does the Latin of Codex E (‘cum uxore suo’), though the Greek has only ‘a woman

- His preaching made no great impression: the philosophers despised it Some, however, clave to him; and a Christian community was formed of whom were Dionysius the Areopagite, Acts 17:32-34, Damaris and others

- They are: ...
Ananias, Jehovah protects

Elizabeth, worshipper of God

Gabriel, strong man of God

Gamaliel, God recompenses

Heli, Jehovah is high

Jesus, Jehovah saves

John, gift of God

Matthias, gift of Jehovah

Michael, who is like God?

Nathanael, gift of God

Timothy, honoring God

Zachary, Jehovah remembers

Zebedee, gift of God
A large class of proper names for men and women is made up of adjectives denoting personal characteristics, such as ...
Andrew, manly

Asyncritus, incomparable

Bernice, victorious

Clement (Latin), kind

Eunice, victorious

Pudens, modest

Timon (Hebrew), honorable

Zacheus, pure
Names of things, and words referring to trades or avocations were taken as proper names: ...
Andronicus, conqueror

Anna, grace

Caiphas, oppressor

Judas, praise

Malchus, ruler

Manahen, comforter

Mary (Hebrew), bitter sea

Philip, lover of horses

Prochorus, leader of a chorus

Salome, peace

Tyrannus, tyrant
Some names seem to have been suggested by particular circumstances: ...
Cleophas, of an illustrious father

Joseph, whom the Lord adds

Mnason, he who remembers

Onesiphorus, bringer of profit

Philologus, lover of words

Sosipater, saviour of his father
Names of animals and plants are not frequent, the only example being ...
Damaris, heifer

Dorcas and Tabitha, gazelle

Susanna, lily

Rhode, rosebush
Names derived from numbers are ...
Quartus, fourth

Tertius and Tertullus, third
Names without Christian significance and probably derived from pagan mythology are: ...
Apollo, contracted form, of Apollonios, belonging to Apollo

Apollyon

Diotrephes, nourished by Jupiter

Epaphroditus, beautiful

Hermes

Hermogenes

Phebe, shining
"Bar" in a name means "son of," e

- While 1 Corinthians 16:15 refers to the house of Stephanas as ‘the firstfruits of Achaia,’ Acts 17:34 rather indicates that the Apostle’s brief visit to Athens had already borne some fruit, ‘Dionysius, Damaris, and others with them’ being Achaean believers

- Other prominent women in the apostolic writings are Damaris (Acts 17:34), whom Ramsay thinks not to have been of noble birth, as the regulations at Athens with regard to the seclusion of women were more strict than in some other places, and a well-born lady would hardly have been likely there to come to hear St. in Acts 17:34 it omits Damaris; it seems to reflect a dislike to the prominence of women which is found in Christian circles in the 2nd century

- form of חָנָב, ‘locust’; Δάμαρις (Damaris), [Note: " translation="">Acts 17:34; HDB i

- Their presence and activity are clearly illustrated by the references to Tabitha (9:36), Mary the mother of John Mark (12:12), Lydia (16:14), Damaris (17:34), Priscilla (18:2)

- Damaris, a woman, is among the few to respond favorably to Paul's Areopagus address (17:34)