Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 18

Corinth was on a plateau overlooking the isthmus connecting central Greece to the north with the Peloponnesus to the south. It was built on the north side of the Acrocorinth, an acropolis rising precipitously to 1,886 feet and providing an almost impregnable fortress for the city. To the east was the port of Cenchrea leading out to the Aegean Sea, and to the west, the port of Lechaeum opening to the Adriatic. Smaller ships were actually dragged over wooden rollers across the isthmus for the three and one-half miles between Cenchrea and Lechaeum in order to avoid the long and dangerous trip around the southern tip of the Peloponnesus; cargoes of larger ships were carried overland from port to port.

Because of its strategic land and sea location, Corinth had become a prosperous city-state in the eighth century B. C., reaching its zenith during the seventh and sixth centuries with a population of approximately two hundred thousand free men and five hundred thousand slaves. In 338 B. C. the city was captured by Philip II of Macedon, who made it the center of his Hellenic League; and after Alexander the Great died, it became a leading member of the Achaian League of Greek city-states. In 196 B. C. Corinth was captured by the Romans and declared a free city. In 146 B. C., however, it was destroyed as retribution for the leading part it played in the revolt of the Achaian League against Rome. Julius Caesar decreed in 46 B. C. that it should be rebuilt; in 27 B. C. it became the capital of the Roman province of Achaia. The population of Corinth in NT times was probably over two hundred thousand, made up of local Greeks, freedmen from Italy, Roman army veterans, businessmen and governmental officials, and Orientals from the Levant— including a large number of Jews. Thanks to its commercial advantages, the city greatly prospered. But along with its wealth and luxury, there was immorality of every kind. Beginning with the fifth century B. C., the verb “to corinthianize” meant to be sexually immoral. Corinth was also the center for the worship of the goddess Aphrodite, whose temple at one time boasted of a thousand sacred prostitutes and crowned the Acrocorinth. Many other pagan shrines, such as those built to Melicertes (the god of sailors), Apollo, and Asclepius (the god of healing), were also located there.

Entering this large and thriving city, Paul probably asked a passerby where he could find a master tentmaker or leather worker to seek a job from so that he could support himself. On his missionary journeys Paul earned his living in this occupation (cf. 20:34; 1 Corinthians 9:1–18; 2 Corinthians 11:7–12). So he came in contact with the Jewish Christian couple Aquila and Priscilla, with whom he lived and worked, presumably alongside other journeymen. Aquila was a native of Pontus, a region in northern Asia Minor on the south shore of the Black Sea. Priscilla is the diminutive of the more formal name Prisca. Since Priscilla is often listed before her husband (18:18–19, 26; Romans 16:3; 2 Timothy 4:19), we may conclude that she came from a higher social class than her husband or was in some way considered more important. Perhaps Aquila was a former Jewish slave who became a freedman in Rome and married a Jewess connected with the Roman family Prisca, which possessed citizenship rights. Together they owned a tentmaking and leather-working firm, with branches of the business at Rome, Corinth, and Ephesus (see texts listed above). Lately Aquila and Priscilla had been forced to leave Rome because of the Edict of Claudius, an expulsion order proclaimed during the ninth year of Emperor Claudius’s reign (i.e., January 25, A. D. 49 to January 24, 50). It was directed against the Jews in Rome to put down the riots arising within the Jewish community there “at the instigation of Chrestus” (according to the Roman historian Suetonius). Many take this to be a reference to Christ (Gk. Christos), where the dispute in the Jewish community was between those who accepted his messiahship and those did not. We do not know whether Aquila and Priscilla had any part in the riots—either as agitators or victims.

Entering this large and thriving city, Paul probably asked a passerby where he could find a master tentmaker or leather worker to seek a job from so that he could support himself. On his missionary journeys Paul earned his living in this occupation (cf. 20:34; 1 Corinthians 9:1–18; 2 Corinthians 11:7–12). So he came in contact with the Jewish Christian couple Aquila and Priscilla, with whom he lived and worked, presumably alongside other journeymen. Aquila was a native of Pontus, a region in northern Asia Minor on the south shore of the Black Sea. Priscilla is the diminutive of the more formal name Prisca. Since Priscilla is often listed before her husband (18:18–19, 26; Romans 16:3; 2 Timothy 4:19), we may conclude that she came from a higher social class than her husband or was in some way considered more important. Perhaps Aquila was a former Jewish slave who became a freedman in Rome and married a Jewess connected with the Roman family Prisca, which possessed citizenship rights. Together they owned a tentmaking and leather-working firm, with branches of the business at Rome, Corinth, and Ephesus (see texts listed above). Lately Aquila and Priscilla had been forced to leave Rome because of the Edict of Claudius, an expulsion order proclaimed during the ninth year of Emperor Claudius’s reign (i.e., January 25, A. D. 49 to January 24, 50). It was directed against the Jews in Rome to put down the riots arising within the Jewish community there “at the instigation of Chrestus” (according to the Roman historian Suetonius). Many take this to be a reference to Christ (Gk. Christos), where the dispute in the Jewish community was between those who accepted his messiahship and those did not. We do not know whether Aquila and Priscilla had any part in the riots—either as agitators or victims.

While working with Aquila and Priscilla, Paul attended the local synagogue every Sabbath. There, Luke tells us, “he reasoned” (GK 1363) with those gathered, “trying to persuade” both Jews and Gentiles. But his ministry during those weeks seems to have been relatively unobtrusive, probably conforming to the kind of witness Aquila and Priscilla were already carrying on among the Jews.

The coming of Silas and Timothy to Corinth altered the situation for Paul. They brought good news about the Christians at Thessalonica (cf. 1 Thessalonians 3:6) and a gift of money from the congregation at Philippi (cf. 2 Corinthians 11:9). The news from Thessalonica was better than Paul dared expect, and it greatly comforted and encouraged him (cf. 1 Thessalonians 3:7–10)—though it also told of a slanderous campaign started against him outside the congregation (1 Thessalonians 2:3–6) and of some perplexity within it concerning the return of Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:5–13:11). The money from Philippi was especially welcome at this time, for Paul was now able to devote himself “exclusively to preaching.” His purpose was to proclaim the Good News to the Jews of the synagogue that Jesus is “the Christ.” In response to the report from Thessalonica, Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians, in which are interwoven (1) commendation for growth, zeal, and fidelity; (2) encouragement in the face of local persecution; (3) defense of his motives against hostile attack; (4) instruction regarding holiness of life; (5) instruction about the coming of the Lord; and (6) exhortation to steadfastness and patience. Some weeks later, on learning of continued confusion at Thessalonica regarding the return of Christ and the believer’s relation to it, he wrote 2 Thessalonians. In that second letter, while acknowledging that the church lives in eager expectation of the Lord’s return, Paul insists that imminency must not be construed to mean immediacy but is rather the basis for dogged persistence in doing right.