Acts 14

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Acts 14
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Codex laudianus (The S.S. Teacher's Edition-The Holy Bible - Plate XXIX).jpg
Acts 15:22–24 in Latin (left column) and Greek (right column) in Codex Laudianus, written about AD 550.
Book Acts of the Apostles
Category Church history
Christian Bible part New Testament
Order in the Christian part5

Acts 14 is the fourteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It records the first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas to Phrygia and Lycaonia. 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. [1]

Contents

Text

The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 28 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:

In Greek
In Latin

Old Testament references

New Testament references

Locations

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Antioch       
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Places mentioned in (blue dots) and related to (red dots) this chapter.

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

Timeline

The first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas took place about AD 47–48. [5]

Preaching in Iconium and Lystra (14:1–19)

The Sacrifice at Lystra by Raphael, 1515. V&A - Raphael, The Sacrifice at Lystra (1515).jpg
The Sacrifice at Lystra by Raphael, 1515.

Paul and his companions went out of Antioch in Pisidia to the east, apparently following the Roman road ( Via Sebaste ) which connects the Roman colonies of Antioch, Iconium (modern: Konya; 150 kilometres (93 mi) to the southeast) and Lystra (30 km further to the southwest [6] ) The account focuses less on the church foundation story, but more on the repeated opposition from "unbelieving Jews" or (in the aorist tense) "Jews who had decided against belief" in these cities. [7]

Verse 11

Now when the people saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!" [8]

The Roman poet Ovid told of an ancient legend in which Zeus and Hermes came to the Phrygian hill country disguised as mortals seeking lodging. After being turned away from a thousand homes, they found refuge in the humble cottage of an elderly couple. In appreciation for the couple's hospitality, the gods transformed the cottage into a temple with a golden roof and marble columns. All the houses of the inhospitable people were then destroyed. This ancient legend may be the reason that the people treated Paul and Barnabas as gods. After witnessing the healing of the cripple, they did not want to make the same mistake as their ancestors. [9] Ancient inscriptions confirm the existence of the local pre-Greek language ("Lycaonian") in that period, as well as the joint worship of Zeus and Hermes in the area. [10]

Travel to Derbe (14:20)

But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. [11]

After Paul had been stoned and supposed dead in Lystra (verse 19), he and Barnabas departed the next day for Derbe (Greek : εξηλθεν ... εις δερβην; 100 kilometres (62 mi) to the southeast of Lystra [6] ). Many translations render this text as 'and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe', [12] implying they traveled within one day, but as it is about 60 miles from Lystra to the likely site of Derbe, Bastian van Elderen has stated that Acts 14:20 must be translated as 'on the next day he set out with Barnabas towards (or for) Derbe'. [13]

Returning to Pisidia (14:21–23)

From Derbe, Paul and Barnabas began the journey back to Antioch, Pisidia, while consolidation of the newly planted churches along the way: 'strengthening the soul and encouraging believers to remain in the faith (verse 22) in person as Paul later does with his letters (cf. 1 Thessalonians 2:14—16; 3:2—4). [7] The term "Elders" (Greek: πρεσβυτέρους, presbyterous ) is used by Paul as church officials in the Pastoral epistles (Titus 1:5; 1 Timothy 5:17,19), along with another term episkopoi (Acts 20:28; cf. Philippians 1:1). [7]

The journey home from Pisidia to Syria (14:24–28)

This section records the conclusion of the journey, tracing the traversed region along the land road until reaching Attalia, where they sailed to Seleucia, the sea port of Antioch in Syria (verses 24–26). The missionary church received a 'formal report' on the accomplished work (verses 26–27), especially the opening of a 'door of faith' for the Gentiles (cf. 2 Corinthians 2:12). [7]

See also

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Lystra was a city in central Anatolia, now part of present-day Turkey. It is mentioned six times in the New Testament. Lystra was visited several times by Paul the Apostle, along with Barnabas or Silas. There Paul met a young disciple, Timothy. Lystra was included by various authors in ancient Lycaonia, Isauria, or Galatia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lycaonia</span> Ancient region in central Asia Minor, modern Turkey

Lycaonia was a large region in the interior of Asia Minor, north of the Taurus Mountains. It was bounded on the east by Cappadocia, on the north by Galatia, on the west by Phrygia and Pisidia, while to the south it extended to the chain of Mount Taurus, where it bordered on the country popularly called in earlier times Cilicia and in the Byzantine period Isauria; but its boundaries varied greatly at different times. The name is not found in Herodotus, but Lycaonia is mentioned by Xenophon as traversed by Cyrus the Younger on his march through Asia. That author describes Iconium as the last city of Phrygia; and in Acts 14:6 Paul, after leaving Iconium, crossed the frontier and came to Lystra in Lycaonia. Ptolemy, on the other hand, includes Lycaonia as a part of the province of Cappadocia, with which it was associated by the Romans for administrative purposes; but the two countries are clearly distinguished both by Strabo and Xenophon and by authorities generally.

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Acts 4 is the fourth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The book containing this chapter is anonymous but early Christian tradition affirmed that Luke composed this book as well as the Gospel of Luke. This chapter records the aftermath of a healing by Simon Peter and his preaching in Solomon's Portico, that Sanhedrin arrested the apostles, but had to let them go.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acts 11</span> Chapter of the New Testament

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acts 13</span> Chapter of the New Testament

Acts 13 is the thirteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It records the first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas to Cyprus and Pisidia. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acts 16</span> Chapter of the New Testament

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acts 18</span> Chapter of the New Testament

Acts 18 is the eighteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It records the final part of the second missionary journey of Paul, together with Silas 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.

Acts 20 is the twentieth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the Christian New Testament of the Bible. It records the third missionary journey of Paul the Apostle. The book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that Luke the Evangelist composed this book as well as the Gospel of Luke.

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The Diocese of Derbe is an ancient bishopric located at Derbe in the Roman province of Galatia in Asia Minor, and in the ethnic region of Lycaonia. It flourished through the Roman and Byzantine empires, being dissolved on the invasion of the Seljuks at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. The diocese was nominally refounded as a titular see of the Roman Catholic Church in the 17th century, although the area had never actually been catholic in profession.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Via Sebaste</span>

The Via Sebaste was a Roman military road in southern Anatolia. Its starting point was Pisidian Antioch on the central plateau, and it ran over the Taurus Mountains, through the Climax Pass down to Perga on the coast. The Roman colonia of Comama and Apollonia lay along its route. There was an eastern branch that connected the colonia of Iconium and Lystra.

Lycaonian is an unclassified language spoken in the former region of Lycaonia. The Lycaonians appear to have retained a distinct nationality in the time of Strabo, but their ethnical affiliations are unknown. The mention of the Lycaonian language in the Acts of the Apostles shows that the native language was spoken by the common people of Lystra around 50 AD.

References

  1. ↑ Holman Illustrated Bible Handbook. Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. 2012.
  2. ↑ Bruce M. Metzger, The Early Versions of the New Testament, Oxford University Press, 1977, p. 316.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Biblical concordances of Acts 14 in the King James Version".
  4. ↑ Kirkpatrick, A. F. (1901). The Book of Psalms: with Introduction and Notes. The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. Vol. Book IV and V: Psalms XC-CL. Cambridge: At the University Press. p. 840. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  5. ↑ John Arthur Thomas Robinson (1919–1983). "Redating the New Testament". Westminster Press, 1976. 369 pages. ISBN   978-1-57910-527-3
  6. 1 2 Hansen, G. W. (1994) Galatia, in Gill and Gempf, pp. 384–385; apud Alexander 2007, p. 1046.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Alexander 2007, p. 1046.
  8. ↑ Acts 14:11 NKJV
  9. ↑ The Nelson Study Bible. Thomas Nelson, Inc. 1997
  10. ↑ Bruce, F. F. (1990), The Acts of the Apostles: the Greek Text with Introduction and Commentary, 3rd edn. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans), pp. 321–322; apud Alexander 2007, p. 1046.
  11. ↑ Acts 14:20 ESV
  12. ↑ e.g. ESV, RSV https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts%2014&version=ESV;RSV accessed 18 September 2015
  13. ↑ "Van Elderen, Bastian (1970), Some Archaeological Observations on Paul's First Missionary Journey, p. 159" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-08-03. Retrieved 2015-09-18.

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