Acts 18 KJV
Paul in Corinth
Acts Chapter 18: Paul in Corinth
The reference to Claudius expelling Jews from Rome aligns with Suetonius's account of disturbances 'at the instigation of Chrestus,' supplying one of the earliest external anchors for New Testament chronology.
1fter these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth;
2 And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them.
3 And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.
4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.
5 And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.
6 And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.
7 And he departed thence, and entered into a certain manโs house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue.
8 And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.
9 Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace:
10 For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.
11 And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
12 And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat,
13 Saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law.
14 And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you:
15 But if it be a question of words and names, and of your law, look ye to it; for I will be no judge of such matters.
16 And he drave them from the judgment seat.
17 Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. And Gallio cared for none of those things.
18 And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow.
19 And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews.
20 When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not;
21 But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.
22 And when he had landed at Caesarea, and gone up, and saluted the church, he went down to Antioch.
23 And after he had spent some time there, he departed, and went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.
24 And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.
25 This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.
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.
27 And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace:
28 For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.
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Did You Know?
The reference to Claudius expelling Jews from Rome aligns with Suetonius's account of disturbances 'at the instigation of Chrestus,' supplying one of the earliest external anchors for New Testament chronology.
Gallio's dismissal of the case as an intra-Jewish dispute effectively classifies nascent Christianity as a permissible sect of Judaism, creating a de facto legal precedent that later Roman officials would cite.
Paul's vow at Cenchrea, involving the shaving of his head, reveals his continued personal observance of Nazarite-like rituals even while championing freedom from the law for Gentile converts.
Priscilla and Aquila's private correction of the eloquent Alexandrian Apollos reverses expected gender and status hierarchies, placing a married couple of artisans in the role of theological instructors to a sophisticated rhetorician.
The chapter's movement from Corinth to Ephesus sets up the later transfer of the same couple to Rome, where they will host a house church addressed in Paul's letter to the Romans, illustrating the deliberate weaving of personal networks across the empire.
Commentary & Study Notes Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871) ยท Public Domain came to Corinth โ rebuilt by Julius Cรฆsar on the isthmus between the รgean and Ionian Seas; the capital of the Roman province of Achaia, and the residence of the proconsul; a largeโฆ
Classic verse-by-verse commentary on Acts 18 from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (1871). Covers: Paul's arrival and labors at corinth, where he is rejoined by silas and timothy, and, under divine encouragement, makes a long stay--at length, retracing his steps, by ephesus, cรฆsarea, and Jerusalem, he returns for the last time to antioch, thus completing his second missionary journey; Episode concerning apollos at ephesus and in achaia.
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- came to Corinth โ rebuilt by Julius Cรฆsar on the isthmus between the รgean and Ionian Seas; the capital of the Roman province of Achaia, and the residence of the proconsul; a large and populous mercantile city, and the center of commerce alike for East and West; having a considerable Jewish population, larger, probably, at this time than usual, owing to the banishment of the Jews from Rome by Claudius Cรฆsar (Ac 18:2). Such a city was a noble field for the Gospel, which, once established there, would naturally diffuse itself far and wide.
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- a Jew... Aquila... with his wife Priscilla โ From these Latin names one would conclude that they had resided so long in Rome as to lose their Jewish family names. born in Pontus โ the most easterly province of Asia Minor, stretching along the southern shore of the Black Sea. From this province there were Jews at Jerusalem on the great Pentecost (Ac 2:9), and the Christians of it are included among "the strangers of the dispersion," to whom Peter addressed his first Epistle (1Pe 1:1). Whether this couple were converted before Paul made their acquaintance, commentators are much divided. They may have brought their Christianity with them from Rome [OLSHAUSEN], or Paul may have been drawn to them merely by like occupation, and, lodging with them, have been the instrument of their conversion [MEYER]. They appear to have been in good circumstances, and after travelling much, to have eventually settled at Ephesus. The Christian friendship now first formed continued warm and unbroken, and the highest testimony is once and again borne to them by the apostle. Claudius, &c. โ This edict is almost certainly that mentioned by SUETONIUS, in his life of this emperor [Lives of the Cรฆsars, "Claudius," 25].
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