Charles Ellicott Commentary Acts 16:14

"And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple of the city of Thyatira, one that worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened to give heed unto the things which were spoken by Paul." — Acts 16:14 (ASV)

Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira.—The city so named, now known as Ak-hissar, was in the Roman province of Asia but fell within the boundaries of the older kingdom of Lydia, and it is probable that, like many slaves and women of the libertinæ class, she took her name from her country.

Afra, Græca, and Syra are familiar examples of similar names. “Lydia” occurs, it will be remembered, repeatedly in Horace (Od. i. 14; iii. 9).

Thyatira, one of the cities in the valley of the Lycus, was, like many other towns in Asia Minor, famous for its dyeing works, especially for purple, or crimson, which rivalled the fame of Tyre or Miletus (Strabo, xiii. 4, § 14). Inscriptions found on the spot bear witness to the existence of a guild, or corporation, of purple-sellers, with which Lydia was doubtless connected.

In Revelation 1:11; Revelation 2:18, it appears as one of the seven churches to which special epistles were to be sent from their divine Head.

It had been founded as a colony (in the modern sense of the term) from Macedonia, following the conquest of the Persian monarchy by Alexander the Great, and this may in part explain Lydia’s presence at Philippi. The fact that she, and not her husband, is named as the purple-seller is at least presumptive evidence that she was carrying on the business by herself.

Which worshipped God.—She was, i.e., a proselyte (see Note on Acts 13:10), and, as the subsequent account shows, one of the better type, drawn to Judaism, not by superstitious fear or weak credulity, but by the higher ethical and spiritual teaching it presented.

Heard.—For “heard” read was listening.

Whose heart the Lord opened.—The scene is one which might well call for the master touches of a great painter. The river flowing calmly by, the preacher sitting and talking familiarly, but earnestly, to the groups of women, one, at least, among them listening with looks and tears that told of deep emotions and the consciousness of a new life.

That she attended.—Better, to give heed to, as in Acts 8:6 and elsewhere.