These accompanied him as far as Asia: Sopater of Beroea; Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians; Gaius of Derbe; Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia.
Parallel Translations
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These accompanied him as far as Asia: Sopater of Beroea; Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians; Gaius of Derbe; Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia.
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Ther acompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berrea and of Thessalonia Aristarcus and Secundus and Gayus of Derba and Timotheus: and out of Asia Tychicus and Trophimos.
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And there accompanied him into Asia, Sopater of Berea, and of them of Thessalonica, Aristarchus, and Secundus, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus, and of them of Asia, Tychicus, and Trophimus.
Cross-references (24)
Passages linked to Acts 20:4 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Acts 19:29 The whole city was filled with confusion, and they rushed with one accord into the theater, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel.
- Ephesians 6:21 But that you also may know my affairs, how I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will make known to you all things.
- 2 Timothy 4:20 Erastus remained at Corinth, but I left Trophimus at Miletus sick.
- Acts 16:1 He came to Derbe and Lystra: and behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewess who believed; but his father was a Greek.
- Acts 21:29 For they had seen Trophimus, the Ephesian, with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.
- Colossians 4:7 All my affairs will be made known to you by Tychicus, the beloved brother, faithful servant, and fellow bondservant in the Lord.
- 2 Timothy 4:12 But I sent Tychicus to Ephesus.
- Titus 3:12 When I send Artemas to you, or Tychicus, be diligent to come to me to Nicopolis, for I have determined to winter there.
- Acts 14:6 they became aware of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra, Derbe, and the surrounding region.
- Colossians 4:10 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, greets you, and Mark, the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you received commandments, “if he comes to you, receive him”),
- 2 Corinthians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the assembly of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia:
- 2 Corinthians 1:19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, by me, Silvanus, and Timothy, was not “Yes and no,” but in him is “Yes.”
- 2 Corinthians 8:23-24 As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker for you. As for our brothers, they are the apostles of the assemblies, the glory of Christ. Therefore show the proof of your love to them before the assemblies, and of our boasting on your behalf.
- Philippians 2:19 But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered up when I know how you are doing.
- 1 Timothy 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ our hope;
- 2 Timothy 1:2 to Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
- Philemon 1:24 as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.
- 3 John 1:1 The elder to Gaius the beloved, whom I love in truth.
- Acts 14:20 But as the disciples stood around him, he rose up, and entered into the city. On the next day he went out with Barnabas to Derbe.
- Acts 17:1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.
- Acts 17:10-12 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Beroea. When they arrived, they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Many of them therefore believed; also of the prominent Greek women, and not a few men.
- Acts 27:2 Embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail to places on the coast of Asia, we put to sea, Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us.
- Romans 16:21 Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you, as do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my relatives.
- Romans 16:23 Gaius, my host and host of the whole assembly, greets you. Erastus, the treasurer of the city, greets you, as does Quartus, the brother.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 4 And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of…
4 And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.
Ver. 4. Sopater of Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus, &c.] These all were the very "glory of Jesus Christ," 2Co 8:23, and yet counted the offscouring of all things: {περιψημα, 1Co 4:13} these precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, were esteemed as earthen pitchers, Lam 4:2. These worthies of whom the world was not worthy, Heb 11:38, were cast out of the world as it were by an ostracism. These jewels of Jesus Christ, these "excellent ones of the earth," these earthly angels, were shamefully slighted, and trampled upon by the fat bulls of Bashan with the feet of insolence and cruelty. Howbeit as stars (though we see them sometimes in a puddle, though they reflect there, yet) have they their situation in heaven; so God’s saints, though in a low condition, yet they are fixed in the region of happiness. Content they are to pass to heaven (as Christ their head did) as concealed men, and would not change estates with the earth’s mightier monarchs.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain There accompanied him into Asia; their names are set…
There accompanied him into Asia; their names are set down, as being men called and known at that time in the churches, and that what they did for this holy apostle might be remembered in all ages.
Sopater; who is called also Sosipater, Rom 16:21. It is added in some copies, that he was the son of Pyrrhus; which in Greek is the same with Rufus in Latin.
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Berea; a city of Macedonia, Act 17:10.
Aristarchus; of whom, Act 19:29, as also of the others, mention hath been formerly made.
Of Asia; of Ephesus, a city in Asia.
Tychicus; of whom, Eph 6:21; Col 4:7; 2Ti 4:12; and of
Trophimus we read, Act 21:29; 2Ti 4:20. These seem to have been the apostles or messengers of the churches, spoken of 2Co 8:23; in the number of whom St. Luke is to be reckoned, but being the penman of this book, he declines mentioning of himself by name; but his praise will be for ever in the gospel, 2Co 8:18,19.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea,....…
And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea,.... This Sopater is thought to be the same with Sosipater in Rom 16:21 and in three of Beza's copies, and in as many of Stephens's, he is so called here; the Ethiopic version calls him Peter, a citizen of Berea; and the Arabic version Sopater of Aleppo. The Alexandrian copy, Beza's most ancient copy, and others, the Complutensian edition, and the Vulgate Latin version, read, Sopater of Pyrrhus, the Berean; that is, the son of Pyrrhus. He is reckoned among the seventy disciples, and is said to be bishop of Iconium; See Gill on Luk 10:1. This name was common among the Greeks; there was one of this name a native of Paphus, in the times of Alexander the great, a comical poet, and who also is sometimes called Sosipater, as this man was; there was another Sopater the sophist, who wrote the affairs of Alexander; and there was another of this name, who, among other things, collected much concerning painters and statuaries. The name signifies "a father saved". Pyrrhus is a Grecian name well known, being the name of a famous king of Greece who engaged in war with the Romans. This man went along with the apostle into Asia; and it seems, that of the persons here mentioned, he only accompanied him; for the verb is in the singular number, and the other six persons following did not go along with him, as Sopater did, but went before him to Troas, which was in Asia, and there waited for him; though the Syriac version reads in the plural number; but then it renders the words, "they went forth with him", as they might do from Greece, and yet not accompany him into Asia: the phrase into Asia is left out in the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions.
And of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; the former of these is before said to be a Macedonian, Act 19:29 and here he appears to be of Thessalonica, and his name is a Greek one; but Secundus is a Roman name, though he might be born at Thessalonica, or at least have lived there, and so be said to be of it. His name signifies "Second"; very likely was his father's second son, and therefore so called; though the name was used among the Grecians. We read of Secundus an Athenian, the master of Herod the sophist, who flourished under the emperor Adrian, there are sentences under his name still extant; and another called Secundus the grammarian, a friend of Poleman, a philosopher at Athens, who corrected his writings; so that this man might be a Grecian, and a native of Thessalonica; mention is made of him nowhere else.
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And Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; the former of these is so called to distinguish him from Gaius the Macedonian in Act 19:29 and the latter by being joined with him should be of the same place, as he might be; see Act 16:1 though the Syriac version reads, "and Timotheus of Lystra"; and so does the Arabic version used by De Dieu; and this is mentioned with Derbe in the above cited place.
And of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus: of the former see Eph 6:21 and of the latter see Ti2 4:20 Act 21:29 where he is called an Ephesian, as they both are here in Beza's most ancient copy; Ephesus being the metropolis of Asia, strictly so called. These are both of them said to be among the seventy disciples: Trophimus, we are told, taught at Arles in France, and suffered martyrdom with the Apostle Paul; and that Tychicus was bishop of Chalcedon in Bithynia; and that another of the same name was bishop of Colophon; See Gill on Luk 10:1. Trophimus signifies "nourished", and is a name to be found in a funeral inscription of the Romans (h), though Greek, and in the fragments of the poet Menander: and Tychicus signifies "fortunate"; whether the same with Fortunatus in Co1 16:17 may be inquired.
(h) Kirchman. de Funer. Roman. l. 3. c. 26. p. 525.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain To Asia - There some of them left him.…
To Asia - There some of them left him. But Trophimus went with him to Jerusalem, chap. xxi, 29. Aristarchus, even to Rome,. xxvii, 2.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 4. And there accompanied him] Rather, says Bishop…
Verse 4. And there accompanied him] Rather, says Bishop Pearce, there followed him as far as to Asia; for they were not in his company till he set sail from Philippi, and came to them at Troas, in Asia, whither they had gone before, and where they tarried for him, Ac 20:5.
Into Asia] αχρι της ασιας; These words are wanting in two MSS., Erpen, the AEthiopic, Coptic, and Vulgate. Some think that they embarrass this place; for how these could accompany him into Asia, and go before him, and tarry for him at Troas, Ac 20:6, is not so very clear; unless we suppose, what I have glanced at in the table of contents, that they came with him to Asia, but, he tarrying a short time, they proceeded on their journey, and stopped for him at Troas, where he shortly after rejoined them. Mr. Wakefield gets rid of the difficulty by reading the verse thus: Now Sopater of Berea accompanied him; but Aristarchus and Secundus of Thessalonica, Gaius of Derbe, Timothy of Lystra, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia, went before, and tarried for us at Troas.
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Sopater of Berea] Sopater seems to be the same as Sosipater, whom St. Paul mentions as his kinsman, Ro 16:21. ADE, more than twenty others, with the Coptic, Armenian, later Syriac in the margin, Vulgate, Itala, Theophylact, Origen, and Bede, add πυρρου Sopater the SON OF PYRRHUS. Griesbach has received this into his text.
Aristarchus of Thessalonica] This person occurs in Ac 19:29, and is mentioned there as a Macedonian. He attended Paul in his journey to Rome, Ac 27:2, and was his fellow labourer, Phm 1:24, and his fellow prisoner, Col 4:10-11. Secundus is mentioned nowhere but in this place.
Gaius of Derbe] This is supposed to be the same who is mentioned Ac 19:26, and who is there called a man of Macedonia, of which some suppose he was a native, but descended from a family that came from Derbe; but as Gaius, or Caius, was a very common name, these might have been two distinct persons. One of this name was baptized by St. Paul at Corinth, 1Co 1:14, and entertained him as his host while he abode there, Ro 16:23, and was probably the same to whom St. John directs his third epistle.
And Timotheus] Of Lystra, is added by the Syriac. This was the same person of whom mention is made, Ac 16:1, and to whom St. Paul wrote the two epistles which are still extant; and who was a native of Lystra, as we learn from the above place. It was on this evidence, probably that the ancient Syriac translator added, of Lystra, to the text. This reading is not supported by any MSS.
Tychicus-of Asia] This person was high in the confidence of St. Paul. He styles him a beloved brother, and faithful minister in the Lord, whom he sent to the Ephesians, that he might know their affairs, and comfort their hearts, Eph 6:21-22. He sent him for the same purpose, and with the same commendations, to the Colossians, Col 4:7-8. Paul seems also to have designed him to superintend the Church at Crete in the absence of Titus; see Tit 3:12. He seems to have been the most intimate and confidential friend that Paul had.
Trophimus.] Was an Ephesian; and both he and Tychicus are called εφεσιοι, Ephesians, instead of ασιανοι, Asiatics, in the Codex Bezae, both Greek and Latin, and in the Sahidic. He accompanied Paul from Ephesus into Greece, as we see here; and from thence to Jerusalem, Ac 21:29. He had, no doubt, travelled with him on other journeys, for we find, by 2Ti 4:20, that he was obliged to leave him sick at Miletus, being then, as it is likely, on his return to his own kindred at Ephesus.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Act 20:4-6. And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater…
Act 20:4-6. And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea, &c. — The several persons mentioned in this verse are thought by some to have been joined with Paul as messengers of the churches, in carrying their contributions to the poor brethren at Jerusalem. We know but few particulars of most of them. Sopater is thought to be the same with Sosipater, mentioned by Paul as his kinsman, Rom 16:21. Aristarchus and Secundus are the Macedonians of whom he speaks, 2Co 9:4; and Gaius of Derbe, the person who, with Aristarchus, was hurried into the theatre at Ephesus during the riot; he was baptized by Paul at Corinth, 1Co 1:14; and entertained him as his host, while he abode there, Rom 16:23; and afterward John directs his third epistle to him. Of Timothy, see Act 16:1, &c. Tychicus of Asia, was often sent on messages by Paul, 2Ti 4:12; Tit 3:12; and more than once is recommended by him to the churches, as a beloved brother, and fellow-servant in the Lord, whom he employed, not only to acquaint them with his own affairs, but that he might know their state, and comfort their hearts, Eph 6:21-22; Col 4:7-8. Trophimus, who was of Ephesus, appears to have been a Gentile convert, whom we find afterward with Paul at Jerusalem, Act 21:29; and who attended him in other journeys, till he left him at Miletum sick, 2Ti 4:20. These two last, being distinguished here from Timothy and Gaius, who were of Lystra and Derbe, which lay in Asia Minor; and yet being said to be Asiatics, must have been so called, because they were natives of the proconsular Asia. These, going before, tarried for us at Troas — It appears from the construction of the original, that this refers not to all the persons mentioned in the preceding verse, but only to the two last named, Tychicus and Trophimus. And we sailed from Philippi —
Some time after the forementioned persons left us; (Luke was now with Paul again, as we learn from his manner of expressing himself;) after the days of unleavened bread — That is, after the passover week was ended; and came to Troas in five days — Paul, in his former progress, crossed over from Troas to Philippi in two days; where we abode seven days — Conversing with the Christians there. This Paul might choose to do so much the rather as he had declined such great views of service as were here opened to him, when he passed through it before, in his way to Macedonia. See 2Co 2:12-13.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain And there accompanied him - It was usual for…
And there accompanied him - It was usual for some of the disciples to attend the apostles in their journeys.
Into Asia - It is not meant that they attended him from Greece through Macedonia, but that they went with him to Asia, having gone before him, and joined him at Troas.
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Sopater of Berea - Perhaps the same person who, in Rom 16:21, is called Sosipater, and who is there said to have been a kinsman of Paul.
Aristarchus - Act 19:29.
Gaius of Derbe - See the notes on Act 19:29.
Tychicus - This man was high in the confidence and affection of Paul. In Eph 6:21-22 he styles him “a beloved brother, and faithful minister in the Lord.”
And Trophimus - Trophimus was from Ephesus, Act 20:29. When Paul wrote his Second Epistle to Timothy he was at Miletum, sick, 2Ti 4:20.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain there accompanied him into Asia--the province of Asia.
there accompanied him into Asia--the province of Asia.
Sopater of Berea--The true reading, beyond doubt, is, "Sopater [the son] of Pyrrhus of Berea." Some think this mention of his father was to distinguish him from Sosipater (the same name in fuller form), mentioned in Rom 16:21. But that they were the same person seems more probable.
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of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus--(See on Act 19:29).
and Secundus--of whom nothing else is known.
Gaius of Derbe--Though the Gaius of Act 19:29 is said to be of "Macedonia," and this one "of Derbe," there is no sufficient reason for supposing them different persons; on the contrary, Rom 16:23 (compare with Jo3 1:1, where there is hardly any reason to doubt that the same Gaius is addressed) seems to show that though he spent an important part of his Christian life away from his native Derbe, he had latterly retired to some place not very far from it.
and Timotheus--not probably of Derbe, as one might suppose from this verse, but of Lystra (see on Act 16:1); both being so associated in his early connection with the apostle that the mention of the one in the previous clause would recall the other on the mention of his name.
and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus--The latter was an Ephesian, and probably the former also. They seem to have put themselves, from this time forward, at the apostle's disposal, and to the very last been a great comfort to him (Eph 6:21-22; Col 4:7-8; Act 21:29; Ti2 4:12, Ti2 4:20). From the mention of the places to which each of these companions belonged, and still more the order in which they occur, we are left to conclude that they were deputies from their respective churches, charged with taking up and bringing on the collection for the poor saints at Jerusalem, first at Berea, next at Thessalonica, then at Philippi [HOWSON], where we gather that our historian himself rejoined the party (from the resumption at Act 20:5 of the "us," dropped at Act 16:17), by whom the Philippian collection would naturally be brought on.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 4. Accompanied—Seven persons now form Paul’s company, a retinue…
4. Accompanied—Seven persons now form Paul’s company, a retinue unprecedentedly large. They are said to have accompanied Paul to Asia; but as we find that both Aristarchus and Trophimus were with him at Jerusalem, it is probable the whole seven went thither. (See note on Act_21:1.)
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 4. And there accompanied him into Asia] The literal…
4. And there accompanied him into Asia] The literal rendering of the last words is “as far as Asia,” but they are altogether omitted by the oldest MSS. We find Trophimus went to Jerusalem (Act_21:29) and that Aristarchus was with St Paul in the voyage to Rome (Act_27:2).
Sopater of Berea] The oldest MSS. add the son of Pyrrhus. A various reading here has Sosipater, a name which is found in Rom_16:21, but there is no reason for connecting the two persons. We know nothing of Sopater beyond the mention of him in this verse.
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and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus] Aristarchus has been before mentioned (Act_19:29), and in the Epistles written during the Roman imprisonment, to Philemon (24) he is one of those who sends greeting, and also to the Colossians (Act_4:10) in which place the Apostle calls him his fellow-prisoner, shewing that he shared in a great degree the whole hardships of St Paul’s life at Rome. Secundus is only mentioned here.
and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus] As Timotheus was probably of Lystra, these men may have been friends from an early period and the former may have been a convert at the same time as the latter. We only know of him from this verse, and he has no connexion with any other Gaius named in the New Testament.
and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus] Of the former of these we have mention several times. In Eph_6:21, he is called a beloved brother and faithful minister, and St Paul states that he is about to send him to Ephesus. To the Colossians (Act_4:7) he writes, “All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you.” From both which notices we see that Tychicus was with St Paul in his first Roman imprisonment. He was also at hand when the Apostle wrote to Titus (Tit_3:12), and also had been with St Paul in the later imprisonment, when the second Epistle to Timothy was written (Act_4:12) and had again been sent to Ephesus. Perhaps Tychicus like Trophimus was by birth an Ephesian. Trophimus also continued much with St Paul, for we read (2Ti_4:20) that the Apostle at that time had left him detained by sickness at Miletus.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (4) And there accompanied him into Asia . .…
(4) And there accompanied him into Asia . . .—The occurrence of the two names, Timotheus and Sosipater (another form of Sopater) in Rom_16:21 makes it probable that all of those here named were with St. Paul at Corinth. As they were to go with him to Jerusalem, it was indeed natural they should have gone to the city from which he intended to embark. It is not difficult to discover the reason of their accompanying him. He was carrying up a large sum in trust for the churches of Judæa, and he sought to avoid even the suspicion of the malversations which the tongue of slanderers was so ready to impute to him (2Co_8:20-21). Representatives were accordingly chosen from the leading churches, who acting, as it were, as auditors of his accounts, would be witnesses that all was right. As regards the individual names, we note as follows: (1) The name of Sopater, or Sosipater, occurs in the inscription on the arch named in the Note on Act_17:8 as belonging to one of the politarchs of Thessalonica. (2) Aristarchus had been a fellow-worker with St. Paul at Ephesus, and had been a sufferer in the tumult raised by Demetrius (Act_19:29). (3) Of Secundus nothing is known, but the name may be compared with Tertius in Rom_16:22, and Quartus in Rom_16:23, as suggesting the probability that all three were sons of a disciple who had adopted this plan of naming his children. The corresponding name of Primus occurs in an inscription from the Catacombs now in the Lateran Museum, as belonging to an exorcist, and might seem, at first, to supply the missing link; but the inscription is probably of later date. In any case, it is a probable inference that the three belonged to the freed-man or slave class, who had no family names; and the Latin form of their names suggests that they had been originally Roman Jews, an inference confirmed by the fact that both Tertius and Quartus send salutations to their brethren in the imperial city (Rom_16:22-23). The names Primitivus and Primitiva, which occur both in Christian and Jewish inscriptions in the same Museum, are more or less analogous. (4) Gains of Derbe. The Greek sentence admits of the description being attached to the name of Timotheus which follows; and the fact that a Caius has already appeared in close connection with Aristarchus makes this construction preferable. On this assumption he, too, came from Thessalonica. (See Note on Act_19:29.) (5) Timotheus. (See Note on Act_16:1.) (6) Tychicus. The name, which means “fortunate,” the Greek equivalent for Felix, was very common among slaves and freed-men. It is found in an inscription in the Lateran Museum from the Cemetery of Priscilla; and in a non-Christian inscription, giving the names of the household of the Emperor Claudius, in the Vatican Museum, as belonging to an architect. The Tychicus of the Acts would seem to have been a disciple from Ephesus, where men of that calling would naturally find an opening. Such vocations tended naturally, as has been said in the Note on Act_19:9, to become hereditary. (7) Trophimus (= “nursling,” or “foster-child” was, again, a name of the same class, almost as common as Onesimus ( = “profitable”). In a very cursory survey of inscriptions from the Columbaria and Catacombs of Rome, I have noted the recurrence of the former four, and of the latter five times Trophimus appears again in Act_21:29, and is described more definitely as an Ephesian. We find him again in contact with St. Paul towards the close of the Apostle’s life, in 2Ti_4:20. That they were seven in number suggests the idea of a reproduction either of the idea of the Seven, who are commonly called Deacons in Acts 6, or of the Roman institution upon which that was probably based. It may be noted here, in addition to what has there been said on the subject, that the well-known pyramidal monument of Caius Cestius, of the time of Augustus, near the Porta Latina at Rome, records that he was one of the Septemviri Epulonum there referred to.
We must not forget what the sudden change to the first person plural in the next verse reminds us of, that the name of Luke has to be added to the list of St. Paul’s companions. We may, perhaps, assume that he went less as an official delegate from the Church of Philippi than as a friend, and probably, St. Paul’s health needing his services, as physician.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain As far as for into, A.V.; Beraea for Berea,…
As far as for into, A.V.; Beraea for Berea, A.V.; the son of Pyrrhus is added in the R.T. and R.V; Timothy for Timotheus, A.V. Accompanied; suneipeto, peculiar to Luke in the New Testament, but common in medical writers. As far as Asia. If it were merely said, "there accompanied him," it might have been thought, with regard to the Macedonians Sopater, Aristarchus, and Secundus, that they had merely gone as far as their respective cities, Beraea and Thessalonica; it is therefore added (in most manuscripts, though not in B or the Codex Sinaiticus), "as far as Asia." It does not necessarily follow that they all went as fax as Jerusalem, though we know Trophimus and Aristarchus did. Sopater may probably be the same as Sosipater, (Rom_16:21) whom St. Paul calls "his kinsman," though some think "the son of Pyrrhus" was added to distinguish him from him. The Thessalonian Aristarchus is doubtless the same as the person named in Act_19:29 Act_27:2; and so one would have thought Gaius must be the same as is named with Aristarchus in Act_19:29, were it not that this Gaius is described as of Derbe, whereas the Gaius of Act_19:29 was a man of Macedonia. Gaius of Derbe is here coupled with Timothy, who was of the neighboring city of Lystra, (Act_16:1) but was too well known to make it needful to specify his nationality. Secundus is not mentioned elsewhere. Compare Tertius and Quartus, (Rom_16:22, Rom_16:23) and the common Roman names, Quinctus, Sextus, Septimus, Octavius, Decimus. Tychicus , of Asia, is mentioned in Eph_6:21; Col_4:7; 2Ti_4:12; Tit_3:12; by which we learn that he continued to be in constant attendance on St. Paul, and have abundant confirmation of his being "of Asia." Trophimus is called "an Ephesian", (Act_21:29) and is named again as a companion of St. Paul, and presumably "of Asia". (2Ti_4:20) It is not improbable that some at least of there followers were chosen by the Churches to carry their alms to Jerusalem. (see 2Co_8:19-23 2Co_9:12, 2Co_9:13; 1Co_16:3, 1Co_16:4; Rom_15:25-28)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain And there accompanied him into Asia Pauls companions.
Act_20:4
And there accompanied him into Asia Pauls companions.
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Paul accompanied by friends
I. They were not deterred by persecutions.
II. They accompanied Paul because of--
1. Their love to Christ.
2. Their love to him.
3. Their desire to see Christianity spread through the world.
III. Their love and kindness was rewarded.
1. By peace of mind.
2. Usefulness.
3. Heaven. (Biblical Museum.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain 4-6. Meanwhile his evangelistic comrades, Sopater of Asia, Aristarchus…
4-6. Meanwhile his evangelistic comrades, Sopater of Asia, Aristarchus and Secundus, Gaius and Timothy, Tychicus and Trophinius, embarking, sail directly to Asia, landing at Troas, whither Paul and Luke, leaving Philippi after the Passover, April 14, arrive in five days, and there remain for a week, preaching.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain 4, 5. (4) " And there accompanied him, as…
4, 5. (4) " And there accompanied him, as far as Asia, Sopater of Berea; Aristarchus and Secundus of Thessalonica; Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia. (5) These, going before, waited for us at Troas. " This sentence brings us again into company with two familiar companions of Paul, from whom we have been parted for some time. The name of Timothy has not occurred in the history before, since he was dispatched with Erastus from Ephesus into Macedonia. He had, however, joined company again with Paul while the latter was in Macedonia, as we learn from the fact that his name appears in the salutation of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians. Luke, the other party here introduced, has not been an eye-witness of the scenes he was describing since the scouring of Paul and Silas in Philippi. His significant we and us were discontinued then, and are not resumed until he says, in this verse, "These, going before, waited for us in Troas." The probability is, that he had resided in that city during the whole of this period, and now, as Paul was passing through on his way to Jerusalem, he once more joined the company. During his absence the narrative has been very hurried and elliptical. We shall now, for a time, find it circumstantial in the extreme.
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
Here the word "him" refers to Paul. (See: Acts 20:1)
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General Information:
All instances of "us" and "we" refer to the writer and Paul and those traveling with them, but not to the reader. (See: Exclusive and Inclusive "We")
Accompanying him
"Traveling with him"
Sopater ... Pyrrhus ... Secundus ... Tychicus ... Trophimus
These are names of men. (See: How to Translate Names)
Berea ... Derbe ... Troas
These are names of places. (See: How to Translate Names)
Aristarchus ... Gaius
These are names of men. See how you translated these names in Acts 19:29.
these men had gone before us
"these men had traveled ahead of us"
the days of unleavened bread
This refers to a time of Jewish religious feast time during the Passover season. See how you translated this in Acts 12:3.
translationWords
Asia
Berea
Thessalonica
Timothy
Troas
Philippi
day
unleavened bread
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 20:4 Paul’s traveling companions were disciples from Berea, Thessalonica,…
20:4 Paul’s traveling companions were disciples from Berea, Thessalonica, Derbe, and Asia, whom he was mentoring and equipping to lead (cp. 2 Tim 2:2).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.