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Texts -- Acts 16:1-8 (NET)

Context
Timothy Joins Paul and Silas
16:1 He also came to Derbe and to Lystra . A disciple named Timothy was there , the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer , but whose father was a Greek . 16:2 The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. 16:3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him , and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places , for they all knew that his father was Greek . 16:4 As they went through the towns , they passed on the decrees that had been decided on by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the Gentile believers to obey . 16:5 So the churches were being strengthened in the faith and were increasing in number every day .
Paul’s Vision of the Macedonian Man
16:6 They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia , having been prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message in the province of Asia . 16:7 When they came to Mysia , they attempted to go into Bithynia , but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to do this, 16:8 so they passed through Mysia and went down to Troas .

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • Lycaonia

    [ebd] an inland province of Asia Minor, on the west of Cappadocia and the south of Galatia. It was a Roman province, and its chief towns were Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. The "speech of Lycaonia" (Acts 14:11) was probably the ancie...
    [isbe] LYCAONIA - lik-a-o'-ni-a, li-ka-o'-ni-a (Lukaonia (Acts 14:6), Lukaonisti, (Acts 14:11, "in the speech of Lycaonia"); Lycaonia is meant, according to the South Galatian view, by the expression ten Galatiken choran, in Acts 1...
    [nave] LYCAONIA A province of Asia Minor. Paul visits towns of, Acts 14:6-21; 16:1, 2.

  • Timothy

    [ebd] honouring God, a young disciple who was Paul's companion in many of his journeyings. His mother, Eunice, and his grandmother, Lois, are mentioned as eminent for their piety (2 Tim. 1:5). We know nothing of his father but tha...
    [isbe] TIMOTHY - tim'-o-thi (Timotheos (Acts 17:14; 18:5; 19:22; 20:4; Rom 16:21; 1 Cor 4:17; 16:10; 2 Cor 1:1,19; Phil 1:1; 2:19; Col 1:1; 1 Thess 1:1; 3:2,6; 2 Thess 1:1; 1 Tim 1:2,18; 6:20; 2 Tim 1:2; Philem 1:1; Heb 13:23; the ...
    [smith] The disciple thus named was the son of one of those mixed marriages which, though condemned by stricter Jewish opinion were yet not uncommon in the later periods of Jewish history. The father?s name is unknown; he was a Greek...
    [nave] TIMOTHY, called also Timotheus, the companion of Paul. Parentage of, Acts 16:1. Reputation and Christian faith of, Acts 16:2; 1 Cor. 4:17; 16:10; 2 Tim. 1:5; 3:15. Circumcised; becomes Paul's companion, Acts 16:3; 1 Thess. ...

  • Paul

    [ebd] =Saul (q.v.) was born about the same time as our Lord. His circumcision-name was Saul, and probably the name Paul was also given to him in infancy "for use in the Gentile world," as "Saul" would be his Hebrew home-name. He w...
    [nave] PAUL Called also Saul, Acts 8:1; 9:1; 13:9. Of the tribe of Benjamin, Rom. 11:1; Phil. 3:5. Personal appearance of, 2 Cor. 10:1, 10; 11:6. Born in Tarsus, Acts 9:11; 21:39; 22:3. Educated at Jerusalem in the school of Ga...

  • Galatia

    [ebd] has been called the "Gallia" of the East, Roman writers calling its inhabitants Galli. They were an intermixture of Gauls and Greeks, and hence were called Gallo-Graeci, and the country Gallo-Graecia. The Galatians were in t...
    [isbe] GALATIA - ga-la'-shi-a, ga-la'-sha (Galatia): I. INTRODUCTORY 1. Two Senses of Name (1) Geographical (2) Political 2. Questions to Be Answered II. ORIGIN OF NAME 1. The Gaulish Kingdom 2. Transference to Rome 3. The Roman Pr...
    [nave] GALATIA, a province of Asia Minor. Its churches visited by Paul, Acts 16:6; 18:23. Collection taken in, for Christians at Jerusalem, 1 Cor. 16:1. Peter's address to, 1 Pet. 1:1. Churches in, Gal. 1:1, 2. See Paul's epistl...

  • LAW IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

    [isbe] LAW IN THE NEW TESTAMENT - lo The Term "Law" Austin's Definition of Law I. LAW IN THE GOSPELS 1. The Law in the Teaching of Christ (1) Authority of the Law Upheld in the Sermon on the Mount (a) Christ and Tradition (b) Sin o...

  • PAUL, THE APOSTLE, 5

    [isbe] PAUL, THE APOSTLE, 5 - V. Work. 1. Adjustment: There was evidently a tumult in Paul's soul. He had undergone a revolution, both intellectual and spiritual. Before he proceeded farther it was wise to think through the most im...

  • Phrygia

    [isbe] PHRYGIA - frij'-i-a (Phrugia): A large ancient country of Central Asia Minor, very mountainous and with table-lands reaching 4,000 ft. in height. Its name is derived from Phryges, a tribe from Thrace, which in early times in...
    [smith] (dry, barren). Perhaps there is no geographical term in the New Testament which is less capable of an exact definition. In fact there was no Roman province of Phrygia till considerably after the first establishment of Christi...
    [nave] PHRYGIA, an inland province of Asia Minor. People from, in Jerusalem, Acts 2:10. Paul in, Acts 16:6; 18:23.

  • PHILIPPIANS, THE EPISTLE TO THE

    [isbe] PHILIPPIANS, THE EPISTLE TO THE - fi-lip'-i-anz I. PAUL AND THE CHURCH AT PHILIPPI II. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHURCH AT PHILIPPI III. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EPISTLE 1. A Letter 2. A Letter of Love 3. A Letter of Joy 4. Impor...

  • GALATIANS, EPISTLE TO THE

    [isbe] GALATIANS, EPISTLE TO THE - || I. THE AUTHORSHIP 1. Position of the Dutch School 2. Early Testimony II. THE MATTER OF THE EPISTLE A) Summary of Contents 1. Outline 2. Personal History (Galatians 1:11 through 2:21 (4:12-20; 6...

  • Mysia

    [ebd] a province in the north-west of Asia Minor. On his first voyage to Europe (Acts 16:7, 8) Paul passed through this province and embarked at its chief port Troas.
    [isbe] MYSIA - mish'-i-a (Musia): A country in the northwestern part of Asia Minor, which formed an important part of the Roman province of Asia. Though its boundaries were always vague, it may be said to have extended on the North...
    [smith] (land of beech trees) (Acts 16:7,8) was the region about the frontier of the provinces of Asia and Bithynia. The term is evidently used in an ethnological, not a political, sense.
    [nave] MYSIA A province of Asia Minor. Paul visits, Acts 16:7, 8.

  • Lystra

    [isbe] LYSTRA - lis'-tra: The forms Lustran, and Lustrois, occur. Such variation in the gender of Anatolian city-names is common (see Harnack, Apostelgeschichte, 86; Ramsay, Paul the Traveler, 128). Lystra was visited by Paul 4 tim...
    [smith] This place has two points of interest in connection respectively with St. Paul?s first and second missionary Journeys: (1) as the place where divine honors were offered to him, and where he was presently stoned, (Acts 14:1) ....
    [nave] LYSTRA One of two cities of Lycaonia, to which Paul and Barnabas fled from persecutions in Iconium, Acts 14:6-23; 2 Tim. 3:11. Church of, elders ordained for, by Paul and Barnabas, Acts 14:23. Timothy a resident of, Acts 1...

  • PAUL, THE APOSTLE, 3

    [isbe] PAUL, THE APOSTLE, 3 - III. Chronology of Paul's Career. 1. Schemes: There is not a single date in the life of Paul that is beyond dispute, though several are narrowed to a fine point, and the general course and relative pro...

  • Minister

    [nave] MINISTER, a sacred teacher. Index of Sub-topics Miscellany of Minor Sub-topics; Call of; Character and Qualifications of; Charge Delivered to; Courage of; Duties of; Duties of the Church to; Emoluments of; Faithful, Instanc...

  • Asia

    [ebd] is used to denote Proconsular Asia, a Roman province which embraced the western parts of Asia Minor, and of which Ephesus was the capital, in Acts 2:9; 6:9; 16:6; 19:10,22; 20:4, 16, 18, etc., and probably Asia Minor in Acts...
    [isbe] ASIA - a'-shi-a (Asia): A Roman province embracing the greater part of western Asia Minor, including the older countries of Mysia, Lydia, Caria, and a part of Phrygia, also several of the independent coast cities, the Troad,...
    [smith] (orient). The passages in the New Testament where this word occurs are the following; (Acts 2:9; 6:9; 16:6; 19:10,22,26,27; 20:4,16,18; 21:27; 27:2; Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; 2 Corinthians 1:8; 2 Timothy 1:15...
    [nave] ASIA Inhabitants of, in Jerusalem, at Pentecost, Acts 2:9; 21:27; 24:18. Paul and Silas forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach in, Acts 16:6. Gospel preached in, by Paul, Acts 19; 20:4. Paul leaves, Acts 20:16. Churches ...

  • Troas

    [ebd] a city on the coast of Mysia, in the north-west of Asia Minor, named after ancient Troy, which was at some little distance from it (about 4 miles) to the north. Here Paul, on his second missionary journey, saw the vision of ...
    [isbe] TROAS - tro'-as (Troas): The chief city in the Northwest of Asia Minor, on the coast of Mysia in the Roman province of Asia. From here, according to Acts 16:8, Paul sailed. Here, also, according to Acts 20:5-12, Paul raised ...
    [smith] the city from which St. Paul first sailed, in consequence of a divine intimation, to carry the gospel from Asia to Europe. (Acts 16:8,11) It is mentioned on other occasions. (Acts 20:5,6; 2 Corinthians 2:12,13; 2 Timoth...
    [nave] TROAS, a seaport of Mysia, in Asia Minor. Paul visits, Acts 16:8, 11; 20:5, 6; 2 Cor. 2:12; 2 Tim. 4:13.

  • Iconium

    [isbe] ICONIUM - i-ko'-ni-um (Ikonion, also Eikonion, on inscriptions): Iconium was visited by Paul on his first and on his second missionary journey (Acts 13:51 ff; 16:2 ff), and if the "South Galatian theory" be correct, probably...
    [smith] (little image), the modern Konieh , was the capital of Lycaonia, in Asia Minor. It was a large and rich city, 120 miles north from the Mediterranean Sea, at the foot of the Taurus mountains, and on the great line of communica...
    [nave] ICONIUM A city of Asia Minor. Paul preaches in, Acts 13:51; 14:21, 22; 16:2; is persecuted by the people of, Acts 14:1-6; 2 Tim. 3:11.

  • Derbe

    [ebd] a small town on the eastern part of the upland plain of Lycaonia, about 20 miles from Lystra. Paul passed through Derbe on his route from Cilicia to Iconium, on his second missionary journey (Acts 16:1), and probably also on...
    [isbe] DERBE - dur'-be (Derbe, Acts 14:20,21; 16:1; Derbaios, 20:4; Derbetes, Strabo, Cicero): A city in the extreme Southeast corner of the Lycaonian plain is mentioned twice as having been visited by Paul (on his first and second...
    [smith] (Acts 14:20,21; 16:1; 20:4) The exact position of this town has not yet been ascertained, but its general situation is undoubted. It was in the eastern part of the great upland plain of Lycaonia, which stretched from Iconium ...
    [nave] DERBE, a city of Lycaonia. Paul flees to, Acts 14:6, 20. Visited by Paul and Silas, Acts 16:1. Gaius born in, Acts 20:4.

  • Bithynia

    [ebd] a province in Asia Minor, to the south of the Euxine and Propontis. Christian congregations were here formed at an early time (1 Pet. 1:1). Paul was prevented by the Spirit from entering this province (Acts 16:7). It is note...
    [isbe] BITHYNIA - bi-thin'-i-a (Bithunia): A coast province in northwestern Asia Minor on the Propontis and the Euxine. Its narrowest compass included the districts on both sides of the Sangarius, its one large river, but in prospe...
    [smith] a Roman province of Asia Minor. Mentioned only in (Acts 16:7) and in 1Pet 1:1 The chief town of Bithynia was Nicaea, celebrated for the general Council of the Church held there in A.D. 325 against the Arian heresy.
    [nave] BITHYNIA, a Roman province in Asia Minor, Acts 16:7; 1 Pet. 1:1.

  • Greek

    [ebd] Found only in the New Testament, where a distinction is observed between "Greek" and "Grecian" (q.v.). The former is (1) a Greek by race (Acts 16:1-3; 18:17; Rom. 1:14), or (2) a Gentile as opposed to a Jew (Rom. 2:9, 10). T...

  • Circumcision

    [ebd] cutting around. This rite, practised before, as some think, by divers races, was appointed by God to be the special badge of his chosen people, an abiding sign of their consecration to him. It was established as a national o...
    [isbe] CIRCUMCISION - sur-kum-sizh'-un (mul, muloth; peritome): The removal of the foreskin is a custom that has prevailed, and prevails, among many races in different parts of the world--in America, Africa and Australia. It was in...
    [nave] CIRCUMCISION Institution of, Gen. 17:10-14; Lev. 12:3; John 7:22; Acts 7:8; Rom. 4:11. A seal of righteousness, Rom. 2:25-29; 4:11. Performed on all males on the eighth day, Gen. 17:12, 13; Lev. 12:3; Phil. 3:5. Rite of, ...
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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • Longenecker identified five phenomena about the structure of Acts that the reader needs to recognize to appreciate what Luke sought to communicate."1. It begins, like the [Third] Gospel, with an introductory section of distin...
  • I. The witness in Jerusalem 1:1-6:7A. The founding of the church 1:1-2:461. The resumptive preface to the book 1:1-52. The command to witness 1:6-83. The ascension of Jesus 1:9-114. Jesus' appointment of a twelfth apostle 1:1...
  • The key to the apostles' successful fulfillment of Jesus' commission was their baptism with and consequent indwelling by the Holy Spirit. Without this divine enablement they would only have been able to follow Jesus' example,...
  • 2:37 The Holy Spirit used Peter's sermon to bring conviction, as Jesus had predicted (John 16:8-11). He convicted Peter's hearers of the truth of what he said and of their guilt in rejecting Jesus. Their question arose from t...
  • Luke now moved from describing what took place on a particular day to a more general description of the life of the early Jerusalem church (cf. 4:32-5:11; 6:1-6). Interestingly he gave comparatively little attention to the in...
  • The scene shifts back to life within the church (cf. 4:32-5:11). Luke wrote this pericope to explain some administrative changes that the growth of the church made necessary. He also wanted to introduce the Hellenistic Jews w...
  • 9:10-12 Evidently Ananias was not a refugee from Jerusalem (22:12) but a resident of Damascus. He, too, received a vision of the Lord Jesus (v. 17) to whom he submitted willingly (cf. 1 Sam. 3:4, 10). Jesus gave Ananias speci...
  • Notice that "church"is in the singular here. This is probably a reference to the Christians throughout Palestine--in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria--not just in one local congregation but in the body of Christ. Saul's departure ...
  • Luke recorded that Jesus came to bring deliverance to the Jews and to the whole world (Luke 4:14-30). In his Gospel, Luke told the story of Jesus' personal ministry, primarily to the Jews. In Acts the emphasis is mainly on Je...
  • Luke recorded the events of Paul's first missionary journey to document the extension of the church into new territory and to illustrate the principles and methods by which the church grew. He also did so to show God's supern...
  • 14:21b-22 The missionaries confined their labors to the Galatian province on this trip. They did not move farther east into the kingdom of Antiochus or the province Cilicia that Paul may have evangelized previously during his...
  • 16:1 Paul and Silas probably crossed the Taurus Mountains at a pass called the Cilician Gates (modern Gülek Bogaz). Alexander the Great had marched east through this pass to conquer the vast Persian Empire four centuries...
  • Luke recorded Paul's vision of the Macedonian man to explain God's initiative in encouraging Paul and his companions to carry the gospel farther west into Europe.". . . this section [6:6-10] makes it overwhelmingly clear that...
  • Luke devoted more space to Paul's evangelizing in Philippi than he did to the apostle's activities in any other city on the second and third journeys even though Paul was there only briefly. It was the first European city in ...
  • Most Greeks rejected the possibility of physical resurrection.721Many of them believed that the most desirable condition lay beyond the grave where the soul would finally be free of the body (e.g., Platonists). The response o...
  • Paul had attempted to reach the province of Asia earlier (16:6). Now the Lord permitted him to go there but from the west rather than from the east. Luke recorded his initial contact in Ephesus in this section to set the scen...
  • Luke did not record Paul's activities in Antioch, but we may safely assume he gave another report to the church as he had done when he returned from his first journey (14:27-28). Paul probably remained in Antioch from the spr...
  • Luke's account of Paul's third missionary journey is essentially a record of Paul's ministry in Ephesus, the city he probably tried to reach at the beginning of his second journey (cf. 16:6)....
  • The following incident throws more light on the spiritual darkness that enveloped Ephesus as well as the power of Jesus Christ and the gospel.19:13 "But"introduces a contrast to the good miracles that "God was performing . . ...
  • This incident reveals more about the effects of the gospel on Ephesian society and religion (cf. vv. 13-20)."Luke's purpose in presenting this vignette is clearly apologetic, in line with his argument for the religio licitast...
  • "From 20:5 through the end of Acts (28:31), Luke's narrative gives considerable attention to ports of call, stopovers, and time spent on Paul's travels and includes various anecdotes. It contains the kind of details found in ...
  • 21:17-19 As he had done before, Paul related to a group of elders what God had done on his missionary journeys among the Gentiles (14:27; cf. 18:23). This undoubtedly helped the Jerusalem church accept the gift that Paul had ...
  • Paul's innocence of anything worthy of punishment is clear from his living a relatively comfortable life in Rome for the following two years (60-62 A.D.).977Paul was able to preach (Gr. kerysso, to proclaim as a herald) the k...
  • Sequence of Paul's ActivitiesDateEventReferenceBirth in TarsusActs 22:3Early life and theological education in Jerusalem under GamalielActs 22:334Participation in Stephen's stoning outside JerusalemActs 7:57-8:134Leadership i...
  • Albright, William Foxwell. The Archaeology of Palestine. 1949. Revised ed. Pelican Archaeology series. Harmondswroth, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books, 1956.Alexander, Joseph Addison. Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles. ...
  • Sequence of Paul's ActivitiesDateEventReferenceBirth in TarsusActs 22:3Early life and theological education in Jerusalem under GamalielActs 22:334Participation in Stephen's stoning outside JerusalemActs 7:57-8:134Leadership i...
  • At this point Paul moved back from specific situations to basic principles his readers needed to keep in mind when thinking about marriage (cf. vv. 1-7). He drew his illustrations in this section from circumcision and slavery...
  • The extent to which the apostle was willing to lay aside his rights comes out in this pericope. Since Paul chose not to receive pay for his ministry in Corinth, he was free from the restrictions that patronage might impose. T...
  • This salutation contains the three elements common in all of Paul's epistles and other correspondence of his day: the writer, the addressees, and a greeting."This salutation exhibits undoubted resemblances in form to secular ...
  • "The most uncontroverted matter in the study of Galatians is that the letter was written by Paul, the Christian apostle whose ministry is portrayed in the Acts of the Apostles."1The Apostle Paul directed this epistle to the c...
  • The apostle warned his readers not to think that they could satisfy the demands of the Mosaic Law by obeying only a few of its commands. Only complete compliance satisfies its demands.5:1 Paul's readers were in danger of retu...
  • The name of the city of Philippi was originally Krinides (lit. springs). It stood about 10 miles inland from the Aegean Sea in the Roman province of Macedonia. In 356 B.C. Philip II, king of Macedonia and father of Alexander ...
  • Paul began this epistle by identifying himself and his companion and by wishing God's richest blessings on his readers."Almost all letters from the Greco-Roman period began with a threefold salutation: The Writer, to the Addr...
  • 3:4b For the sake of the argument Paul adopted the Judaizers' attitude of confidence in the flesh. He did this to show that his rejection of Jewish advantages was not because he lacked them.1083:5 Circumcision of the flesh wa...
  • 2:17-18 Paul and his companions had to leave Thessalonica prematurely, and for Paul the separation was an especially sorrowful one. He compared it to being bereft (lit. orphaned). He felt torn from his spiritual children. How...
  • Timothy apparently became a Christian as a result of Paul's missionary work in Lystra (Acts 14:6-23). He joined Paul on the second missionary journey when the apostle's evangelistic team passed through that area where Timothy...
  • Paul began this very personal letter with a customary salutation to set the tone for what followed. The salutation reveals that this was not just a personal letter, however, as was Paul's epistle to Philemon, but it was also ...
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