Acts 18:12
in Acts 18While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews coordinated an attack on Paul and brought him before the judgment seat.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment-seat,
KJV
And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat,
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This verse in Acts 18
Commentary
10 notes on this verseHow then, someone will ask, "did the Jews attack Paul with one accord?" By seizing him suddenly. And yet they dared do nothing, but brought him to the proconsul. And he drove them away from the judgment seat. It seems to me that this was …
This site's exposition
While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia
on Acts 18:12-13
While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews brought Paul before the judgment seat. An inscription found at Delphi dates Gallio's term to about AD 51 to 52, one of the few fixed dates for Paul's ministry.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. And when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment-seat." Do you mark why those men were ever contriving to give a public turn to the misdemeanors they accused them of? After the year and six months, they set upon him. Because they had no longer the use of their own laws.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
When Gallio was proconsul of Achaia - Of which Corinth was the chief city. This Gallio, the brother of the famous Seneca, is much commended both by him and by other writers, for the sweetness and generosity of his temper, and easiness of his behaviour.
In this city, though it be a very profane wicked city, full of impurity, and the more so for a temple of Venus there, to which there was a great resort, yet in this heap, that seems to be all chaff, there is wheat; in this ore, that seems to be all dross, there is gold. Let us not despair concerning any place, when even in Corinth Christ had much people.
They were unanimous in it: they came upon him with one accord; hand joined in hand to do this wickedness. They did it with violence and fury: They made an insurrection to the disturbance of the public peace, and hurried Paul away to the judgment-seat, and, for aught that appears, allowed him no time to prepare for his trial. How falsely Paul is accused before Gallio (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia,.... This province, which was now become a Roman one, Pliny the younger (q) calls true and mere Greece; it went by the name of Aegialus (r), and now it is called Livadia: it has on the north the country of Thessaly, and on the west the river Acheloo, or Aracheo, on the east the Aegean sea, and on the south Peloponnesus, or the Morea. Gallio, who was now deputy of it, was brother to L. Annaeus Seneca, the famous philosopher, who was preceptor to Nero; his name at first was M.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
When Gallio was the deputy of Achaia - The Romans comprehended, under the name of Achaia, all that part of Greece which lay between Thessaly and the southernmost coasts of Peloponnesus. Pausanias, in Attic. vii. 16, says that the Romans were accustomed to send a governor into that country, and that they called him the governor of Achaia, not of Greece; because the Achaeans, when they subdued Greece, were the leaders in all the Grecian affairs see also Suetonius, in his life of Claudius, cap. xxv., and Dio Cassius, lx. 24. Edit. Reimari.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
when Gallio was the deputy--"the proconsul." See on Ac 13:7. He was brother to the celebrated philosopher SENECA, the tutor of Nero, who passed sentence of death on both.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And Gallio - After the Romans had conquered Greece they reduced it to two provinces, Macedonia and Achaia, which were each governed by a proconsul. Gallio was the brother of the celebrated philosopher Seneca, and was made proconsul of Achaia in 53 a.d. His proper name was Marcus Annaeus Novatus, but, having been adopted into the family of Gallio, a rhetorician, he took his name. He is mentioned by ancient writers as having been of a remarkably mild and amiable disposition. His brother Seneca (“Praef. Quest.” Nat. 4) describes him as being of the most lovely temper: “No mortal,” says he, “was ever so mild to anyone as he was to all: and in him there was such a natural power of goodness, that there was no semblance of art or dissimulation.” Was the deputy - See this word explained in the notes on Act 13:7. It means here proconsul. Of Achaia - This word, in its largest sense, comprehended the whole of Greece. Achaia proper, however, was a province of which Corinth was the capital. It embraced that part of Greece lying between Thessaly and the southern part of the Peloponnesus. The Jews made insurrection - Excited a tumult, as they had in Philippi, Antioch, etc. And brought him to the judgment seat - The tribunal of Gallio; probably intending to arraign him as a disturber of the peace.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Γαλλίωνος | gallionos | When Gallio | G1058 → | 3 times |
| δὲ | de | however | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| ἀνθυπάτου | anthupatou | proconsul | G446 → | 5 times |
| ὄντος | ontos | being | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| τῆς | tes | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| Ἀχαΐας | achaias | of Achaia | G882 → | 10 times |
| κατεπέστησαν | katepestesan | rose up | G2721 → | |
| ὁμοθυμαδὸν | homothumadon | with one accord | G3661 → | 11 times |
| οἱ | hoi | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| Ἰουδαῖοι | ioudaioi | Jews | G2453 → | 192 times |
| τῷ | to | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| Παύλῳ | paulo | against Paul | G3972 → | 158 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἤγαγον | egagon | led | G71 → | 68 times |
| αὐτὸν | auton | him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ἐπὶ | epi | to | G1909 → | 883 times |
| τὸ | to | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| βῆμα, | bema | judgment seat, | G968 → | 12 times |
ΓαλλίωνοςWhen Gallio
gallionosG1058 →3 times
δὲhowever
deG1161 →2765 times
ἀνθυπάτουproconsul
anthupatouG446 →5 times
ὄντοςbeing
ontosG1510 →2333 times
τῆς<the>
tesG3588 →19766 times
Ἀχαΐαςof Achaia
achaiasG882 →10 times
κατεπέστησανrose up
katepestesanG2721 →
ὁμοθυμαδὸνwith one accord
homothumadonG3661 →11 times
οἱthe
hoiG3588 →19766 times
ἸουδαῖοιJews
ioudaioiG2453 →192 times
τῷ<the>
toG3588 →19766 times
Παύλῳagainst Paul
pauloG3972 →158 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἤγαγονled
egagonG71 →68 times
αὐτὸνhim
autonG846 →5565 times
ἐπὶto
epiG1909 →883 times
τὸthe
toG3588 →19766 times
βῆμα,judgment seat,
bemaG968 →12 times
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
Acts 13:50The Jews, however, incited the religious women of prominence and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of their district.
it leads to
- Acts 13:45
But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they blasphemously contradicted what Paul was saying.
- Acts 14:2
But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.
- Acts 14:19
Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won over the crowds. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, presuming he was dead.
- Acts 17:13
But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that Paul was also proclaiming the word of God in Berea, they went there themselves to incite and agitate the crowds.
- 2 Timothy 3:11
my persecutions, and the sufferings that came upon me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.
- Acts 13:45
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,
- Philippians 1:1
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:
- 2 Timothy 1:1
Through
Matthew 27:19While Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered terribly in a dream today because of Him.”
it leads to
- Zechariah 9:9
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of…
- Zechariah 9:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
What the record shows
3 entries- Lucius Junius Gallio — attested in contemporary inscriptionwell-supported
Delphi (Gallio) Inscription -- rescript of Claudius; Seneca; Tacitus
Biblical figure (Proconsul of Achaia, proconsul ca. AD 51-52) identified in extra-biblical epigraphy.
Counterpoint: The Delphi inscription is genuine and names Gallio, but it does not date his term directly — it dates an imperial acclamation of Claudius, from which his proconsulship is inferred. Scholars split over whether he served AD 51-52 or 52-53, and Dixon Slingerland argued that the Pauline chronology commonly built on this stone rests on more assumption than is usually admitted.
- Delphi (Gallio) Inscriptionwell-supported
Temple of Apollo, Delphi, Greece · Archaeological Museum of Delphi
Counterpoint: The stone dates a public honor of Claudius, not the start or end of Gallio's year in office, so his term has to be reconstructed backward — scholars land on either AD 51-52 or 52-53. Dixon Slingerland argued that the whole 'anchor' for Pauline chronology built on this text carries more uncertainty than the standard textbooks admit.
- Gallio proconsul of Achaia (AD 51-52)undisputed
Delphi (Gallio) Inscription
verse:act.18.12
Counterpoint: The Delphi inscription fixes a window rather than a term — it dates an acclamation of Claudius, and Gallio's year is inferred from it, with scholars dividing between AD 51-52 and 52-53. Because so much of Pauline chronology hangs on this one peg, Dixon Slingerland argued the standard reconstruction is held with more confidence than the evidence supports.
About Acts
Who and where
1 name 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); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.