Theatron denotes a theatre entered or avoided in Acts, and figuratively the public spectacle the apostles became in 1 Corinthians 4:9.

Theatron most often identifies the place into which people rush or are warned not to enter in Acts 19:29 and Acts 19:31; in 1 Corinthians 4:9, it is used figuratively of the apostles as a spectacle before the world, angels, and humans.

1. A place entered amid public disturbance · dominant

   In Acts 19:29, the accusative singular form occurs as the destination into which the crowd rushed while seizing Gaius and Aristarchus; the APB renders the clause "they rushed united into the theatre." In Acts 19:31, the same accusative singular form is the place Paul was urged not to enter; the APB renders "not to venture into the theatre."

   Acts 19:29Acts 19:31
2. A public spectacle · rare

   In 1 Corinthians 4:9, the nominative singular form stands in the statement that the apostles "became a theatre to the world and to angels and to humans." The APB's clause presents the apostles as displayed before these observers rather than entering a location.

   1 Corinthians 4:9

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB uses "theatre" in all three verses. In Acts 19:29 and Acts 19:31 it presents a destination, while in 1 Corinthians 4:9 it presents what the apostles became.