How does the Bible identify the Godhead in Acts 17:29

First, let's look at this text in context, verse-by-verse, starting with Acts 17:22

Acts 17:22 "Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious."

Here, we find Paul speaking to the "men of Athens"

23 "For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you."

Paul points out that they are ignorantly worshiping a man-made alter(image).

24 "God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;"

Notice that Paul's God is both the Creator and the "Lord of heaven and earth." So, let's see how the Bible identifies this God:

The Creator => The NT texts, 1 Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 3:9; Hebrews 1:1-2; Colossians 1:12-17, all declare that Christ's Father created all things through His Son. In the OT these texts: Genesis2:4; Exodus20:11; Nehemiah9:6; Isaiah37:16;45:18 all declare Jehovah to be the Creator, including in the 4th Commandment. So, here we see from the Bible that "Jehovah" is the name of Christ's Father.
"Lord of heaven and earth" => Notice Luke 10:21(also see Mt11:25): "... Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth,...". That seems clear to me -- Jehovah is the Creator, the Lord of heaven and earth, and the Father of Christ.
Paul also points out that Jehovah does not live in a man-made structure, like Athen's gods do.

25 "Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;"

Jehovah doesn't need anything we can give Him. Rather He is the source of ALL that WE NEED

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; 27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:"

Jehovah is in charge of everything, so we should humbly seek His will, for His spirit is very near us.

28 "For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring."

We were created in His image(Gen1:26) "And [Jehovah] God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed."(Gen2:8). So, He is our Father.

29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.

Since Jehovah is our Father, .... (Since we still need more information about that word "Godhead", I will leave the conclusion of this matter till the end of this study.)

30 "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:"

Remember that Paul is contrasting his true God(Jehovah) with the false (man-made)gods which were ignorantly(vs23) being worshiped by the people of Athens. Notice that Paul said something similar to the Corinthians => 1 Corinthians 8:5 "For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) 6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him."

Remember that we just found the Father's name to be "Jehovah". So, in verse 30, we see that He winked at our ignorance in worshiping man-made gods, but now, as we come to a better understanding, He commands us to repent! Maybe you can think of some commonly worshiped false gods of today. Do you think that Jehovah, our Father may be calling many to repent, before it is too late? Why might He call us to repent? =>

31 "Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead."

Why repent? Because Jehovah will be judging all of us righteously by "that man whom he hath ordained", but who is "that man". Paul goes on to tell us that He is the one whom Jehovah, Christ's Father, raised from that dead. I wonder who that could be? Paul answers =>

Romans 6:4 "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."

Galatians 1:1 "Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)"

There are many more Bible texts that show "God" to be the one who raised Christ from the dead, but that is not the purpose of this study.

And why does Jehovah judge us by Christ, as Paul asserts(vs 31)? I would think it is because He "was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." and because, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."(Philippians 4:13)

---- END OF CONTEXT STUDY ----

Now that we have a thorough understanding of the context, let's look at Acts 17:29 specifically, in various translations, understanding that, no matter the translation, the Greek remains the same, remembering also that Jehovah is the God referenced. Our goal here is to answer the initial question, "How does the Bible identify the Godhead in Acts 17:29(KJV)?" In other words, let's define "Godhead" according to scripture. The bolded word or phrase in the following Bible translations is the translated English word(s) for the Greek word that was translated "Godhead" in the KJV of Acts 17:29:

King James Version (KJV): Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God(Jehovah), we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.

New International Version: "Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone--an image made by human design and skill.

New Living Translation: And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.

English Standard Version: Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.

Berean Study Bible: Therefore, being offspring of God, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s skill and imagination.

Berean Literal Bible: Therefore, being offspring of God, we ought not to consider the Divine Being to be like to gold or to silver or to stone, a graven thing of man's craft and imagination.

New American Standard Bible: "Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man.

New King James Version: Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising.

Christian Standard Bible: Since we are God's offspring then, we shouldn't think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image fashioned by human art and imagination.

Contemporary English Version: Since we are God's children, we must not think that he is like an idol made out of gold or silver or stone. He isn't like anything that humans have thought up and made.

Good News Translation: Since we are God's children, we should not suppose that his nature is anything like an image of gold or silver or stone, shaped by human art and skill.

Holman Christian Standard Bible: Being God's offspring then, we shouldn't think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image fashioned by human art and imagination."

International Standard Version: So if we are God's children, we shouldn't think that the divine being is like gold, silver, or stone, or is an image carved by humans using their own imagination and skill.

NET Bible: So since we are God's offspring, we should not think the deity is like gold or silver or stone, an image made by human skill and imagination.

New Heart English Bible: Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold, or silver, or stone, engraved by human art and design.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English: “Men, therefore, because our lineage is from God, we ought not to think that gold or silver or stone carved by the skill and knowledge of a man is like The Godhead.”

GOD'S WORD® Translation: So if we are God's children, we shouldn't think that the divine being is like an image made from gold, silver, or stone, an image that is the product of human imagination and skill.

New American Standard 1977: Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man.

Jubilee Bible 2000: Being therefore of the lineage of God, we ought not to think that which is Divine is like unto gold or silver or stone, bearing the mark of art and man's imagination.

King James 2000 Bible: Therefore then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Deity is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.

American King James Version: For as much then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like to gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.

American Standard Version: Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and device of man.

Douay-Rheims Bible: Being therefore the offspring of God, we must not suppose the divinity to be like unto gold, or silver, or stone, the graving of art, and device of man.

Darby Bible Translation: Being therefore [the] offspring of God, we ought not to think that which is divine to be like gold or silver or stone, [the] graven form of man's art and imagination.

English Revised Version: Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and device of man.

Webster's Bible Translation: Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like to gold, or silver, or stone graven by art and man's device.

Weymouth New Testament: Since then we are God's offspring, we ought not to imagine that His nature resembles gold or silver or marble, or anything sculptured by the art and inventive faculty of man.

World English Bible: Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold, or silver, or stone, engraved by art and design of man.

Young's Literal Translation: Being, therefore, offspring of God, we ought not to think the Godhead to be like to gold, or silver, or stone, graving of art and device of man;

So, How does the Bible identify the Godhead in Acts 17:29(KJV)? This is how Strong & Young answer this question:

Strong's Concordance: G2304: Theios (used 3 times in the NT)

thi'-os from 2316; godlike (neuter as noun, divinity): - divine, godhead.

G2316: theos theh'-os of uncertain affinity; a deity, especially (with 3588) the supreme Divinity; figuratively, a magistrate; by Hebraism, very:--X exceeding, God, god(-ly, -ward).

Young's Analytical Concordance: "The godhead, that which is divine"

OUR CENTRAL TEXT OF STUDY

Acts 17:29 "Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device."

Acts 17:22-31 is the record of Paul speaking to the men of Athens(vs 22), after he saw their objects of worship(vs 23), telling them about his God, Jehovah, the Creator(vs 24), and the one who raised Christ from the dead(vs 31). Paul said that "in him we live, move, and have our being."(vs 28) So, we should not think of Jehovah like an object, designed by men(vs 29), like the gods of Athens. Rather we should think of Him as our Father(vs 28).

So, in this context, it seems that Paul used the word "Theios"(G2304) in reference to his God, whom we have identified as Jehovah - the Father of Christ. This would be consistent with Young's definition, "that which is divine." It would also be consistent with the following 13 Bible translations, as shown above: Darby, King James 2000, Jubilee 2000, GOD'S WORD, NET, International Standard, Good News, Contemporary English, Berean Literal, Berean Study, English Standard, New Living, and New International Version.

In short, in Acts 17:29, Paul's use of the word Godhead must have been in reference to Jehovah Himself. Would you agree?

I find it interesting that word translated "Godhead" in KJV Acts17:29 is the same Greek word (G2304) used twice in the following KJV passage, translated as "divine":

2 Peter 1:1 "Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3 According as his divine(G2304) power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine(G2304) nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."

It looks to me like Peter is speaking of how Jehovah's "divine power" is the source of everything we need for "life and godliness" and that we can be partakers of His "divine nature", just as it says in the KJV. This, of course is in agreement with Paul:

Romans 8:11 "But if the Spirit of him(Jehovah) that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he(Jehovah) that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his(Jehovah's) Spirit that dwelleth in you."

That must be HOW we can be "partakers of the divine nature." Would you agree?

In short, it seems to me that the KJV translated G2304 correctly, as "divine", in 2 Peter 1:3-4.

WOW! That's so much good news all at once that it is almost overwhelming. What an awesome God we serve! Hallelujah! Praise Jehovah and His Son. For "Jehovah, our Father, and His Son Jesus Christ are alone to be exalted. The knowledge of God is eternal life to those who receive it." -Ellen White (Ms11-1898.11). Do you receive it?