Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 17:1

"Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:" — Acts 17:1 (ASV)

Thirty-three miles southwest of Philippi was Amphipolis, at one time the capital of the northern district of Macedonia. Situated on the east bank of the Strymon River, it straddled the Via Egnatia. But though it was larger and more important than Philippi, Paul and his companions “passed through” it. As they continued west-southwest, they also passed through Apollonia some twentyseven miles beyond Amphipolis. Their desire was to reach Thessalonica, the capital of Macedonia and its largest and most prosperous city, lying another forty miles southwest of Apollonia.

Thessalonica (modern Salonika) was strategically located on the Thermaic Gulf. Straddling the Via Egnatia, it linked the rich agricultural plains of the Macedonian interior with the land and sea routes to the east. When Rome conquered Macedonia in 167 B. C., Thessalonica became the capital of the second of the four administrative districts of the province. With the reorganization of Macedonia into one province in 142 B. C. it became the capital. It was declared a free city in 42 B. C. As a large commercial and government city of perhaps two hundred thousand, Thessalonica naturally attracted diverse groups of people, including a substantial Jewish contingent (1 Thessalonians 2:14–16). Paul seems to have looked on it as the strategic center for the spread of the Gospel throughout the Balkan peninsula (1 Thessalonians 1:7–8). Therefore Paul and Silas—though doubtless in some pain from their recent beating and time in the stocks—pushed on resolutely the hundred miles from Philippi to Thessalonica.