Charles Ellicott Commentary Acts 17:14

"And then immediately the brethren sent forth Paul to go as far as to the sea: and Silas and Timothy abode there still." — Acts 17:14 (ASV)

To go as it were to the sea.—The English version conveys the impression that the movement was a feint in order to baffle the pursuers. Many of the better manuscripts, however, give “as far as the sea,” and this is probably the meaning even of the reading followed by the Authorised Version.

The absence of any mention of places between Berea and Athens (as, e.g., Amphipolis and Apollonia are mentioned in Acts 17:1), is presumptive evidence that St. Paul actually travelled by sea, and rounding the promontory of Sunium, entered Athens by the Piraeus.

He had been accompanied so far by some of those who had escorted him from Berea, but when they too went back, he was, we must remember, for the first time since the commencement of his missionary labours, absolutely alone. His yearning for companionship and counsel is shown in the urgent message sent to Silas and Timotheus to come “with all speed” (literally, as quickly as possible). As far as we can gather from 1 Thessalonians 3:1–3, Timotheus came by himself to Athens, probably after the scene at the Areopagus, and was sent back at once with words of counsel and comfort to those whom he reported as suffering much tribulation.