Acts 14
| Acts 14 | |
|---|---|
Acts 15:22-24 in Latin (left column) and Greek (right column) in Codex Laudianus, written about AD 550.
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| Book | Acts of the Apostles |
| Bible part | New Testament |
| Order in the Bible part | 5 |
| Category | Church history |
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.[1] 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.[2]
Contents
Text
The original text is written in Koine Greek and is divided into 28 verses. Some most ancient manuscripts containing this chapter are:
- Codex Vaticanus (AD 325-350)
- Codex Sinaiticus (AD 330-360)
- Codex Bezae (ca. AD 400)
- Codex Alexandrinus (ca. AD 400-440)
- Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (ca. AD 450)
- Codex Laudianus (ca. AD 550)
Location
This chapter mentions the following places (in order of appearance):
- Iconium, Frygia
- Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia
- Antioch, Pisidia
- Perga, Pamphylia
- Attalia
- Antioch, Syria
Timeline
The first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas took place about AD 47-48.[3]
Structure
This chapter can be grouped:
- Acts 14:1–7 = At Iconium
- Acts 14:8–18 = Idolatry at Lystra
- Acts 14:19–20 = Stoning, Escape to Derbe
- Acts 14:21–28 = Strengthening the Converts
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!”[4]
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 house 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.[5]
Travel to Derbe (Verse 20)
After Paul had been stoned and supposed dead in Iconium (verse 19), he and Barnabas departed the next day for Derbe (Greek: εξηλθεν ... εις δερβην). Many translations render this text as 'and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe',[6] implying they traveled within one day, but as it is about 60 miles from Iconium 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.[7]
See also
- Other related Bible parts: Acts 13, 2 Timothy 3
References
- ↑ Halley, Henry H. Halley's Bible Handbook: an abbreviated Bible commentary. 23rd edition. Zondervan Publishing House. 1962.
- ↑ Holman Illustrated Bible Handbook. Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. 2012.
- ↑ John Arthur Thomas Robinson (1919-1983). "Redating the New Testament". Westminster Press, 1976. 369 pages. ISBN 978-1-57910-527-3
- ↑ Acts 14:11
- ↑ The Nelson Study Bible. Thomas Nelson, Inc. 1997
- ↑ e.g. ESV, RSV https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts%2014&version=ESV;RSV accessed 18 September 2015
- ↑ Bastian Van Elderen (1970), Some Archaeological Observations on Paul’s First Missionary Journey, 159
