John Gill Commentary Acts 14:25

"And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia;" — Acts 14:25 (ASV)

And when they had preached the word in Perga
A city in Pamphylia, (Acts 13:13) . The Alexandrian copy, and others, and three manuscripts of Beza's, read, "the word of the Lord"; as do the Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions: they went down into "Attalia"; not Italia or Italy, as some Latin copies, and as the Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions read; but a city in Pamphylia, bordering on the sea, as Ptolomy writes ^F2 ; as this place did, as appears by what follows. So Jerom says ^F3 , that Attalia is a city of Pamphylia, on the sea coast; it was formerly the metropolis of it: it is now in the hands of the Turks, and is called Sattalia; near it is a bay, called Golfo di Sattalia, where there is a considerable mart for the whole country: it is famous for tapestry, which is made in it: it had its name from Attalus, king of Pergamus, the first founder of it.

Beza's ancient copy here adds, "preaching the Gospel to them"; to the inhabitants of Attalia, and doubtless with success, though no mention is made of it here, nor elsewhere, nor of any church in this place; nor do we read of any in ecclesiastical history until the "sixth" century, when Dionysius, bishop of Attalia, is said to be present in the fifth synod at Rome {d}; unless Attalia, called a city of Lycia, can be thought to be the same with this, of which another Dionysius was bishop in the fifth century; and assisted at the council of Chalcedon ^F5 .

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FOOTNOTES:

• F2: Geograh. l. 5, c. 5.
• F3: De locis Hebraicis. fol. 95. K.
• F5: Ib. cent. 5. c. 10. p. 589.