Bible chapter guide

Acts 14

In Iconium a divided city plots to stone Paul and Barnabas. In Lystra Paul heals a lame man and the crowd takes them for Zeus and Hermes; then Paul is stoned and left for dead. They go on to Derbe, then retrace their steps appointing elders, and return to Antioch.

Summary written for the Labs; read the chapter itself for the full text.

What happens in this chapter

At Iconium Paul and Barnabas stay a long time until the city splits over them and a plan to stone them drives them south to Lystra and Derbe in Lycaonia. At Lystra a man lame from birth walks, the crowd shouts in their own language that the gods have come down, and the priest of the temple in front of the city brings oxen and garlands to the gates to sacrifice. Days later Jews from Antioch and Iconium turn the same crowd, and Paul is stoned and dragged out of the city as dead, yet he gets up and walks back in. After Derbe the pair retrace the whole road, appointing elders in each church, then sail from Attalia to Antioch and report that God has opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

What the lab shows, and where to look

In Paul's Roads this chapter is the second half of the first journey. Open Iconium and Lystra first: the leg between them is marked strong, since a Roman road joined the two towns, about 35 km apart. Lystra's site is fixed by a Latin inscription found in 1885, while Derbe's mound is only plausible. Then follow 'Back through the churches' to Attalia, the harbour Acts names for the voyage home, and finish at Antioch for the report. The route card's total distance is an estimate measured along the drawn lines.

Questions people ask

How far did Paul travel on his first journey?

Measured along the lab's lines, Antioch to Antioch is roughly 2,100 km: about 1,000 km by sea (Seleucia to Cyprus, Paphos to Perga, Attalia home) and about 1,100 km on foot, much of it twice over because they retraced their steps. The route card shows about 3,200 km because it also counts the trip to the Jerusalem council and back. Acts names the stops but not the roads, so the figure is an estimate.

Plausible

Why did the people of Lystra call Barnabas Zeus and Paul Hermes?

The text gives part of the answer: they had just seen a lame man healed, and they called Paul Hermes 'because he was the chief speaker' (14:12), Hermes being the messenger of the gods. Zeus had a temple just outside their city (14:13). KJV uses the Latin names, Jupiter and Mercurius.

Textually stated

Where was Lystra?

On a mound near the village of Hatunsaray, south of Konya in Turkey. A Latin inscription naming the Roman colony of Lystra was found there in 1885, so the site is secure. Derbe, the next town, is less certain: inscriptions point to the mound of Kerti Hüyük, though some prefer a site a few kilometres away.

Strongly supported

See it in the Labs

Follow Paul's missionary journeys on the map

Places

Perga Attalia

Also in this chapter

Paul's first journey A long stay at Iconium Taken for gods at Lystra Stoned and left for dead Many disciples at Derbe Back through the churches Preaching at Perga Sailing home from Attalia A door of faith for the Gentiles The first journey

How sure can we be?

Textually stated
They sailed from Attalia to Antioch.
Acts 14:26; ships for Antioch landed at Seleucia.
Strongly supported
Attalia is located with confidence.
The site is identified by ancient sources and remains on the ground under modern Antalya; Pleiades 638778.
Plausible
The first journey ran from about AD 46 to 48, and the council met about AD 48/49.
Acts gives no years. Counting back from the second journey (anchored by Gallio, AD 51–52) and allowing for the 'long time' at Antioch (14:28) gives these dates.

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King James Version (KJV) Chinese Union Version, 1919 (Wikisource)