Bible chapter guide

Acts 18

In Corinth Paul works as a tentmaker with Aquila and Priscilla and teaches for eighteen months after the Lord tells him in a vision, 'Do not be afraid.' Gallio dismisses the charges against him. Paul sails by way of Ephesus to Caesarea and Antioch; Apollos is taught more accurately.

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

What happens in this chapter

In Corinth Paul lodges and works with Aquila and Priscilla, tentmakers who have recently left Rome because Claudius expelled the Jews. When Silas and Timothy arrive he moves next door to the synagogue, into the house of Titius Justus; Crispus, the synagogue ruler, believes, and after a vision telling him not to be afraid Paul stays a year and six months. Brought before the proconsul Gallio, he is not even allowed to answer: Gallio throws the case out as a dispute about Jewish law. Paul then sails with Priscilla and Aquila, leaves them at Ephesus, lands at Caesarea and goes on to Antioch, while in Ephesus the couple take Apollos aside and explain the way of God to him more accurately.

What the lab shows, and where to look

The second journey route in Paul's Roads ends in this chapter. Open Corinth and drag the timeline to the Gallio marker: the inscription from Delphi is the fixed point all the other dates count from. Then step to Cenchreae, Ephesus and Caesarea. On the Paul's Second Journey page, Jerusalem's card explains why the visit after Caesarea is drawn as plausible: the Greek says only that Paul 'went up'. The third journey route then opens with 'Galatia and Phrygia' (18:23).

Questions people ask

Who was Gallio, and why does he matter for dating Paul?

Gallio was the elder brother of the philosopher Seneca and proconsul of Achaia (18:12). An inscription at Delphi quotes a letter of the emperor Claudius naming him, which puts his year in office at about AD 51–52. It is the firmest date in Paul's life; most others are counted from it. A few scholars date his term a year earlier.

Strongly supported

Did Paul go to Jerusalem in Acts 18:22?

Probably, but the verse does not say so. The Greek, and KJV with it, says only that when he had landed at Caesarea he had 'gone up, and saluted the church'; the Chinese Union Version writes Jerusalem into the verse. Older commentators such as Meyer and Bengel take 'gone up' as the usual phrase for going to Jerusalem, and the map draws the visit as plausible.

Plausible

Why is Priscilla named before her husband?

Four of the six times the couple are mentioned, Priscilla (Prisca) comes first: Acts 18:18 and 26, Romans 16:3 and 2 Timothy 4:19. That was unusual, and many take it to reflect her standing in the church. The text itself gives no reason.

Textually stated

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How sure can we be?

Textually stated
Paul landed at Caesarea Maritima.
Acts 18:22 names Caesarea; a sea landing points to Caesarea Maritima rather than Caesarea Philippi.
Textually stated
Priscilla is usually named before her husband.
Four of the six mentions put Priscilla (Prisca) first (Acts 18:18, 26; Romans 16:3; 2 Timothy 4:19), which was unusual and suggests her standing in the church.
Textually stated
Paul sailed from Ephesus and landed at Caesarea.
Acts 18:21–22. The course past Rhodes and south of Cyprus is a reconstruction.
Textually stated
Aquila and Priscilla shared Paul's trade and his lodging in Corinth.
Acts 18:2–3: Aquila, a Jew of Pontus lately come from Italy after Claudius' order, was a tent-maker like Paul, and Paul lived and worked with them.
Strongly supported
"Gone up": to Jerusalem? (Acts 18:22): The Greek says only that Paul landed at Caesarea, went up and greeted the church. KJV keeps that: he had "gone up, and saluted the church". The 和合本 writes the destination in: "上耶路撒冷去" (went up to Jerusalem). Meyer, the Expositor's Greek Testament, Bengel and the Cambridge Bible all read going up as the usual phrase for going to Jerusalem. The map draws the visit as Plausible.
Strongly supported
Gallio was proconsul of Achaia about AD 51–52.
The Delphi inscription quotes Claudius in his 26th acclamation as emperor (early to mid AD 52) and names Gallio as proconsul; proconsuls served one year from early summer.

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