Acts 18:7

7 He walked out and went to the home of Titius Justus, a God-fearing man who lived right next to the Jews' meeting place.

Acts 18:7 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 18:7

And he departed thence
. Not from Corinth, but from the synagogue:

and entered into a certain man's house named Justus;
he did not return to Aquila and Priscilla, because they were Jews, lest he should be thought not to abide by his words, that he would henceforth go to the Gentiles; wherefore as he came out of the synagogue, he turned into a house adjoining to it, which belonged to one Justus: in one copy of Beza's, and in some others, and in the Vulgate Latin version, he is called "Titus Justus"; and in the Arabic version, "Titus the son of Justus"; the Syriac version only reads "Titus": whether this is not the same Titus, who afterwards was a companion of the apostle, and to whom he wrote an epistle, may be inquired.

One that worshipped God;
a Gentile, but a religious man, such an one as Cornelius: he might be a proselyte either of the gate, or of righteousness; though if he was the same with Titus, he could not be the latter, because he was not circumcised, ( Galatians 2:3 ) whose house joined hard to the synagogue; had this man been a Jew, his house might very well have been taken for the house which was (tonkh tybl Kwmo) , "near to the synagogue", in which travellers were entertained, and ate, and drank, and lodged F9; and that he was the person appointed to take care of them, and so a very suitable house for Paul, a stranger, to take up his lodging in. The Ethiopic version adds, very wrongly, taking it from the beginning of the next verse, "because he was the ruler of the synagogue"; as if Justus was the ruler of the synagogue; and this the reason why his house was so near; whereas not he, but Crispus, was the ruler, as follows.


FOOTNOTES:

F9 Vid. Maggid Misna in Maimon. Hilchot Sabbat, c. 29. sect. 3. & Gloss. in T. Bab. Pesachim, fol. 10. 1. & in Bava Bathra, fol. 3. 2.

Acts 18:7 In-Context

5 When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was able to give all his time to preaching and teaching, doing everything he could to persuade the Jews that Jesus was in fact God's Messiah.
6 But no such luck. All they did was argue contentiously and contradict him at every turn. Totally exasperated, Paul had finally had it with them and gave it up as a bad job. "Have it your way, then," he said. "You've made your bed; now lie in it. From now on I'm spending my time with the other nations."
7 He walked out and went to the home of Titius Justus, a God-fearing man who lived right next to the Jews' meeting place.
8 But Paul's efforts with the Jews weren't a total loss, for Crispus, the meeting-place president, put his trust in the Master. His entire family believed with him.
9 One night the Master spoke to Paul in a dream: "Keep it up, and don't let anyone intimidate or silence you.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.