Acts 18:4

4 And he argued in the synagogue every Sabbath, attempting to persuade both Jews and Greeks.

Acts 18:4 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 18:4

And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath
In Corinth there was a synagogue of the Jews, in which they met together for worship on the seventh day of the week, which was their sabbath; and hither Paul went, and took the opportunity of reasoning with them out of the Scriptures, concerning Christ, his person, and offices, his incarnation, obedience, sufferings, and death, and about redemption and salvation by him: we may observe the diligence, industry, and indefatigableness of the apostle; on the sabbath day he went to the synagogue, and preached Christ to those who there attended; and on the weekdays he laboured with his own hands. Beza's most ancient copy, and the Vulgate Latin version add here, "interposing the name of the Lord Jesus"; frequently making mention of his name, or calling upon it, and doing miracles in it.

And persuaded the Jews and the Greeks;
this was the effect of his reasoning, and the success that attended it; some, both of the Jews, who were so by birth, as well as religion, and of the Greeks, or Gentiles, who were Jewish proselytes, and attended synagogue worship, were convinced by his arguments, and were induced to believe the truth of his doctrine, and to embrace it; or at least he endeavoured to persuade them that they were lost sinners, and that there was salvation for them in Christ, and in him only.

Acts 18:4 In-Context

2 And he found a certain Jew {named} Aquila, {a native} of Pontus who had arrived recently from Italy {along with} Priscilla his wife, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to depart from Rome, [and] he went to them.
3 And because [he] was practicing the same trade, he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade.
4 And he argued in the synagogue every Sabbath, attempting to persuade both Jews and Greeks.
5 Now when both Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began to be occupied with the message, solemnly testifying to the Jews [that] the Christ was Jesus.
6 And [when] they resisted and reviled [him], he shook out [his] clothes [and] said to them, "Your blood [be] on your [own] heads! I [am] guiltless! From now on I will go to the Gentiles!"

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. *Here the imperfect verb has been translated as conative ("attempting to persuade")
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