Albert Barnes Commentary Acts 16:1

"And he came also to Derbe and to Lystra: and behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewess that believed; but his father was a Greek." — Acts 16:1 (ASV)

CHAPTER 16

Then came he. That is, Paul, in company with Silas. Luke does not give us the history of Barnabas, but confines his narrative to the journey of Paul.

To Derbe and Lystra. See Barnes on Acts 14:6.

And behold a certain disciple—named Timotheus. It was to this disciple that Paul afterwards addressed the two epistles which bear his name. It is evident that he was a native of one of these places, but whether of Derbe or Lystra it is impossible to determine.

The son of a certain woman, etc. Her name was Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5).

And believed. And was a Christian. It is evident also that her mother was a woman of distinguished Christian piety (2 Timothy 1:5).

It was not lawful for a Jew to marry a woman of another nation, or to give his daughter in marriage to a Gentile (Ezra 9:12). But it is probable that this law was not regarded very strictly by the Jews who lived in the midst of heathen nations.

It is evident that Timothy, at this time, was very young. For when Paul urged him to remain at Ephesus to take charge of the church there (1 Timothy 1:3), he addressed him then as a young man: Let no man despise thy youth (1 Timothy 4:12).

But his father was a Greek. Evidently a man who had not been circumcised—for had he been, Timothy would have been also.