Charles Ellicott Commentary Acts 17:32

"Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked; but others said, We will hear thee concerning this yet again." — Acts 17:32 (ASV)

Some mocked: and others said, "We will hear you again." The word "mocked" implies look and gesture, as well as words, of derision (see note on Acts 2:13).

We may venture to assume that the mockers were found chiefly among the Epicureans, and that the inquirers, perhaps putting off the inquiry to a "more convenient season," were Stoics, who wished to hear more from a teacher with whom they found themselves in sympathy on so many points of contact with their own system.

Whether they carried on their inquiry, we are not told. The words that follow imply a certain indignation on the part of the Apostle: he would not stay to expose the name or the work of his Lord to the jests of scoffers.