Acts 18 is the eighteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

of the Christian

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

. It records the final part of the second missionary journey of

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

, together with

Silas Silas or Silvanus (; Greek: Σίλας/Σιλουανός; fl. 1st century AD) was a leading member of the Early Christian community, who according to the New Testament accompanied Paul the Apostle on his second missionary journey. Name and ...

and Timothy, and the beginning of the third missionary journey. The book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that Luke composed this book as well as the

Gospel of Luke The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-vol ...

.Holman Illustrated Bible Handbook. Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. 2012.

Text

The original text was written in

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

and is divided into 28 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are: * Papyrus 38 (c. AD 250) *

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), designated by siglum B or 03 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1 ( von Soden), is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old ...

(325–350) *

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus ( Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), designated by siglum [Aleph] or 01 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 2 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscript ...

(330–360) *

Codex Bezae The Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis, designated by siglum D or 05 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 5 (in the von Soden of New Testament manuscript), is a codex of the New Testament dating from the 5th century writ ...

(c. 400) *

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...

(400–440) *

Codex Laudianus Codex Laudianus, designated by Ea or 08 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), α 1001 ( von Soden), called ''Laudianus'' after the former owner, Archbishop William Laud. It is a diglot Latin — Greek uncial manuscript of the New Testament, palae ...

(c. 550)

Locations

This chapter mentions the following places (in order of appearance): *

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government refor ...

Pontus Pontus or Pontos may refer to: * Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea) * Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology * Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

* Macedonia *

Achaia Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaïa'' ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. T ...

Cenchrea Kechries ( el, Κεχριές, rarely Κεχρεές) is a village in the municipality of Corinth in Corinthia in Greece, part of the community of Xylokeriza. Population 238 (2011). It takes its name from the ancient port town Kenchreai or Cenchr ...

* Ephesus * Caesarea *

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

* Galatia * Phrygia *

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

Timeline

This part of the second missionary journey of Paul took place in c. AD 50–52, based on the time when Gallio was proconsul of

Corinth (18:1–11)

This part records the founding of the church in Corinth, which was administrative center of the Roman province of Achaea and to become an important center for the Paul's mission. Luke notes the first meeting of Paul with Aquila and Priscilla ( verse 2), who are to become his important associates, well known to the Corinthian church (1 Corinthians 16:19; cf. Romans 16:3-4).

Verse 1

:''After these things Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth.'' Paul traveled from Athens to Corinth, a distance of about 82 km on modern roads.

Verse 2

:''And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in

, who had recently come from

with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome); and he came to them.'' References to the action of Roman Emperor Claudius (in office AD 41–54) to command "all the Jews to depart from Rome" appear in the writings of

Roman historians Roman historiography stretches back to at least the 3rd century BC and was indebted to earlier Greek historiography. The Romans relied on previous models in the Greek tradition such as the works of Herodotus (c. 484 – 425 BC) and Thucydides (c. ...

Suetonius (c. AD 69 – c. AD 122),

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

(c. AD 150 – c. 235) and fifth-century Christian author

Paulus Orosius Paulus Orosius (; born 375/385 – 420 AD), less often Paul Orosius in English, was a Roman priest, historian and theologian, and a student of Augustine of Hippo. It is possible that he was born in ''Bracara Augusta'' (now Braga, Portugal), th ...

. Scholars generally agree that these references refer to the same incident as in this verse.

Rainer Riesner Rainer Riesner (born 2 June 1950 in Friedberg) is a German pastor and theologian. He was ordained pastor in 1980, he has taught theology since 1998, with a focus on the New Testament, at TU Dortmund University TU Dortmund University (germa ...

"Pauline Chronology" in Stephen Westerholm ''The Blackwell Companion to Paul'' (May 16, 2011) pp.13-14Andreas J. Köstenberger, L. Scott Kellum,
The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament
' (2009) p. 110, 400

Verse 5

: ''When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, and testified to the Jews that

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

is the

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

.'' Luke simplified the story of Paul's mission in Corinth as it follows a familiar sequence (verses 4–5). *"Silas and Timothy": see , .

Verses 9–10

:''And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, "Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, 10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people."'' *"Vision": In the whole book, a vision will indicate where events are headed (cf. Acts 10:9–16 and 16:9–10). *"Attack": or “to set upon, lay a hand on”; “assault” is a contemporary English equivalent very close to the meaning of the original.

Gallio (18:12–17)

Following a relatively quiet period of church growth, opposition flares up again and Paul is brought before the proconsul Gallio. Proconsuls were in office only for one year, so this name provides an important chronological indicator for Luke's narrative, one of the key dates for New Testament chronology.

Verse 12

: ''When Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him to the judgment seat,''

Lucius Junius Gallio Annaeanus Lucius Junius Gallio Annaeanus or Gallio ( el, Γαλλιων, ''Galliōn''; c. 5 BC – c. AD 65) was a Roman senator and brother of the famous writer Seneca. He is best known for dismissing an accusation brought against Paul the Apostle in Cori ...

or Gallio was a Roman senator and brother of famous writer

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...

. He was the proconsul of Achaia. According to this chapter, he dismissed the charge brought by the

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

against the Apostle

. ( Acts 18:12–17) His behaviour on this occasion ("but Gallio cared for none of these things", v. 17) showed his disregard for

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

sensitivities, and also the impartial attitude of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

officials towards

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

in its early days. Gallio's tenure can be fairly accurately dated to between 51–52 AD. The reference to

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ...

Gallio in the

Delphi Inscription The Delphi Inscription, or Gallio Inscription ( IG, VII, 1676; SIGII, 801d, is the name given to the collection of nine fragments of a letter written by the Roman emperor Claudius c. 52 CE which was discovered early in the 20th century at the Te ...

, or Gallio Inscription ( IG, VII, 1676; SIG
II, 801d
AD 52) provides an important marker for developing a chronology of the life of Apostle Paul by relating it to the trial of Paul in Achaea mentioned in this chapter.''The Cambridge Companion to St Paul'' by James D. G. Dunn (Nov 10, 2003) Cambridge Univ Press page 20 Therefore, the events of Acts 18 can be dated to this period. This is significant because it is the most accurately known date in the life of Paul. Matthew Henry claims that the crowd that beat up Sosthenes was enraged at Paul and Gallio. They demonstrated that if Gallio would not judge that they would. Gallio's indifference to the case against Paul could be commendable for its impartiality. However Gallio's indifference to the beating up of an innocent man, Sosthenes, carried indifference too far, not only showing a contempt for the case, but also for the people presenting the case.

Return to Base (18:18-23)

At some point after a long and successful mission in Corinth, Paul decides to return to his base in Syria.

Verse 18

:''So Paul still remained a good while. Then he took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria, and Priscilla and Aquila were with him. He had his hair cut off at Cenchrea, for he had taken a vow.'' Matthew Henry claimed that the original text is ambiguous as to who had their hair cut off, it could have been Aquila or Paul. The vow was likely a Nazarite vow with the hair cut signifying completion of the vow period. *"

" on the east side of the isthmus was one of two ports for Corinth. It was used for sea journeys to the east via the

Saronic Gulf The Saronic Gulf (Greek: Σαρωνικός κόλπος, ''Saronikós kólpos'') or Gulf of Aegina in Greece is formed between the peninsulas of Attica and Argolis and forms part of the Aegean Sea. It defines the eastern side of the isthmus of Co ...

. The other port, Lechaion on the Corinthian Gulf, served the trade routes leading west (to Italy and beyond).J. L. Rife, "Religion and Society at Roman Kenchreai" in S. J. Friesen, D. N. Schowalter, J. C. Walters (ed.), Corinth in Context: Comparative Studies on Religion and Society (Supplements to Novum Testamentum, 134), Leiden & Boston: Brill 2010 In the Epistle to the Romans a church was mentioned to be there, of which Phoebe was a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

and patron ( Romans 16:1–2).

Interlude: Apollos in Corinth (18:24-28)

In an interlude, Luke gives a rare glimpse of Apollos, an Alexandrian Jew, an independent missionary at work within the almost-exclusive Pauline sphere. Apollos is a member of one of the largest Jewish communities in the ancient world, with a complex and well-established tradition of philosophical hermeneutics of which Philo is the best-known proponent (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:12; 3:4-9; 4:6; 16:12). Perhaps because he displays some of the 'wisdom' that Paul lacks, Apollos has gained a following within the Corinthian church. Apollos received a sufficiently Christian instruction () to speak about 'the way of the Lord' (verse 25), but it stops short at the 'baptism of John' (Acts 19:3). Priscilla and Aquila presumably heard Apollos in the synagogue and then provide whatever further instruction is needed ( verse 26).

Verse 26

:''And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.'' *"More perfectly": translated from Greek , ', "more accurately".Greek Text Analysis: Acts 18:26
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Notes

References

Sources

External links

* King James Bible - Wikisource
English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
Multiple bible versions at ''Bible Gateway''
(NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.) {{Acts of the Apostles 18