Acts 18:1
in Acts 18After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
After these things he departed from Athens, and came to Corinth.
KJV
After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth;
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This verse in Acts 18
Commentary
9 notes on this versePaul was led by the Spirit to Corinth; and in Corinth he had to remain, because the Athenians, despite the fact that they loved to hear news, did not heed the truth, since they cared not about the essence of the matter, but about always …
This site's exposition
came to Corinth
on Acts 18:1-3
Paul leaves Athens, where the philosophical hearing produced only a small harvest, and comes to Corinth, a Roman colony and trade hub notorious across the ancient world for moral looseness. There he finds Aquila and Priscilla, Jewish refugees from Rome after Claudius expelled the Jews, an edict the Roman historian Suetonius independently records and dates to about AD 49, anchoring the chronology of Paul's whole mission. Being of the same craft, tentmaking, likely working leather for tents and sails, Paul lodges and works alongside them, supporting himself rather than drawing on the young churches he plants. The bench reads the detail as Paul's own later boast made visible, that he preached the gospel without charge rather than be chargeable to anyone.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
What can be the reason that, having persuaded some so far as to say that they would hear him again, and there being no dangers, Paul is so in haste to leave Athens? Probably he knew that he should do them no great good; moreover he was led by the Spirit to Corinth. For the Athenians, although fond of hearing strange things, nevertheless did not attend to him; for this was not their study, but only to be always having something to say; which was the cause that made them hold off from him. It seemed to Paul sufficient to have cast the seeds of the doctrines. To Corinth then, as I said, he was led by the Spirit, in which city he was to abide.
The Reformation1 voice
Furthermore, Luke showeth in this place with what great labor, and how hardly, Paul did win the same to Christ. It is well known what a rich city Corinthus was by reason of the noble mart, how populous, how greatly given to pleasure. And the old proverb doth testify that it was sumptuous and full of riot: All men cannot go to Corinthus.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Paul departing from Athens - He did not stay there long. The philosophers there were too easy, too indolent, and too wise in their own eyes to receive the Gospel.
After these things,.... The Arabic version renders it, "after these words, or discourses"; after the apostle's disputation with the philosophers, and his sermon in the Areopagus, the effects of which are before related: Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; the metropolis of Achaia, or Peloponnesus.
The great success of his ministry there, and the encouragement Christ gave him in a vision to continue his labours there, in hopes of further success,
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
After these things - After what occurred at Athens, as recorded in the previous chapter. Came to Corinth - Corinth was the capital of Achaia, called anciently Ephyra, and was seated on the isthmus which divides the Peloponnesus from Attica. The city itself stood on a little island; it had two ports, Lecheeum on the west, and Cenchrea on the east. It was one of the most populous and wealthy cities of Greece, and at the same time one of the most luxurious, effeminate, ostentatious, and dissolute.
Paul departed from Athens - How long he stayed here, we cannot tell; it is probable it could not be less than three months; but, finding that the Gospel made little progress among the Athenians, he resolved to go to Corinth. Corinth was situated on the isthmus that connects Peloponnesus to Attica; and was the capital of all Achaia, or Peloponnesus. It was most advantageously situated for trade; for, by its two ports, the Lecheum and Cenchreae, it commanded the commerce both of the Ionian and Aegean Sea. It was destroyed by the Romans under Mummius, about one hundred and forty-six years before Christ, in their wars with Attica; but was rebuilt by Julius Caesar, and became one of the most considerable cities of Greece. Like other kingdoms and states, it has undergone a variety of revolutions: from the oppressive and destructive government of the Turks it has been lately restored to that of the Greeks; but it is greatly reduced, its whole population amounting only to between thirteen and fourteen thousand souls. It is about 46 miles east of Athens, and 342 S.W. of Constantinople. Its public buildings were very superb; and there the order called the Corinthian Order, in architecture, took its rise.
The words behind it
9 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Μετὰ | meta | And after | G3326 → | 461 times |
| ταῦτα | tauta | these things | G3778 → | 1381 times |
| χωρισθεὶς | choristheis | having departed | G5563 → | 13 times |
| ἐκ | ek | from | G1537 → | 911 times |
| τῶν | ton | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| Ἀθηνῶν | athenon | Athens | G116 → | 4 times |
| ἦλθεν | elthen | he came | G2064 → | 628 times |
| εἰς | eis | to | G1519 → | 1755 times |
| Κόρινθον, | korinthon | Corinth, | G2882 → |
ΜετὰAnd after
metaG3326 →461 times
ταῦταthese things
tautaG3778 →1381 times
χωρισθεὶςhaving departed
choristheisG5563 →13 times
ἐκfrom
ekG1537 →911 times
τῶν<the>
tonG3588 →19766 times
ἈθηνῶνAthens
athenonG116 →4 times
ἦλθενhe came
elthenG2064 →628 times
εἰςto
eisG1519 →1755 times
Κόρινθον,Corinth,
korinthonG2882 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Corinthians 1:2To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their…
it leads to
- Romans 1:7
To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
- 1 Corinthians 6:9–11
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual…
- 1 Corinthians 1:30
It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.
- Acts 26:18
to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified…
- 1 Peter 1:15–16
But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do,
- Romans 1:7
Through
2 Corinthians 1:1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia:
it leads to
- 2 Timothy 1:1
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus,
- 2 Timothy 1:1
Through
Acts 17:15Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then returned with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.
it leads to
- 1 Thessalonians 3:1
So when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left on our own in Athens.
- Acts 18:5
And when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself fully to the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ.
- 1 Thessalonians 3:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
About Acts
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Calvin, Commentaries; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 39; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Acts and William Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen.