The usual word for a purple dyer was porphyrobaphos. Although the information on her is sketchy, Bible scholars have concluded she was an exceptional person in the ancient world. She and her entire household were baptized, as was the custom in those days. The result was that she and all her household, including servants, became baptized and she invited Paul and his followers to come stay at her home while in the city. If Luke was present at the beginning of the mission at Philippi, he appears to be absent when Paul and Silas meet in Lydias home in Acts 16:40 as third-person plural (they) language is used in this verse: After leaving the jail, they came to Lydias house, where they encouraged the brothers and sisters There is no we in this last important meeting that was held immediately before Paul and Silas left Philippi. She opened her home to Paul and his fellow travelers. Lydia was a worshiper of God but, like Cornelius in Acts 10, had not yet heard the gospel. I love you and believe God will help and bless your ministry for the future generations to benefit from what the Lord has given you. And a purple cloth was used to cover the ashes of burnt offerings in the Tabernacle (Num. The footnotes are informative too. 65581. References to Lydia in the Bible The church in Jerusalem was meeting in the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark (Acts 12:12). And not only did some wealthy Jewish people wear purple in Jesuss day, Aarons high-priestly garments (especially the ephod, waistband, and breastpiece) were woven from purple yarn (as well as gold, blue, and scarlet yarn) (Exod. battle of omdurman order of battle. [13] For a brief discussion on the likelihood of Lydia being another name of either Euodia or Syntyche, see Davorlin Peterlin, Pauls Letter to the Philippians in the Light of Disunity in the Church (Leiden: Brill, 1995), 128-130. David E. Graves, What is the Madder with Lydias Purple? [3] Like many Jewish places of worship, this prayer-house was located by a water source. 4:23-24). Like you, I also believe that we are saved through faith and grace. Acts 16:15which begins with, When she and her household (ho oikos auts) were baptisedmakes it clear that it was her household. Lydia sounds almost exactly like a Proverbs 31 woman a description of a virtuous wife (taught to King Lemuel by his *mother*). 12:4ff). I think theres a bit (or a lot) of sexism in all of us. Her wealth allowed her to live independently in a spacious house. After Jesus is crucified, his body is buried, a stone is rolled in front of the tomb, and a Roman guard is placed there. As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying. That was how Lydia listened. And a church was established in Samaria (Acts 9:31; 15:3 CEB; cf. Her faithful pursuit of God as a Jew caused the Holy Spirit to make her receptive to Paul's message of the gospel. And when Paul and Silas, who were staying in her home and teaching about a new religion, were arrested and put in jail, she did not put the church out of her home, but continued to host these men and the church that had begun meeting there. Thank you for your time and research and heart! Priscilla was a businesswoman who, with her husband Aquila, likely owned leatherwork or tent-making shops in several urban centers of the ancient worldRome, Corinth and Ephesus. I guess you could say that I am a complementarian now leaning toward egalitarianism. After all, she sells purple dye, her whole family gets baptized, and she provides a means for Paul to have a temporary home. Acts 16:15 mentions her conversion to the Christian faith. Or a member of his household? Beers explains the connection between women and meals: "Because women were almost always in charge of the food in their extended family groups, organizing and hosting this meal for the assembly would have provided natural opportunities for women to . After all, the rich young ruler in Luke 18 doesnt receive an explicit name reference. [9] It has been estimated that roughly one-third of the population of the Roman Empire were slaves. Lydia was the first convert to Christianity in Europe. It seems that Philippi did not have a recognised synagogueperhaps they did not have enough Jewish men to form a quorum necessary for a synagogue[2]but they did have a proseuch, a prayer-house. Paul and his party may have spent several weeks staying with Lydia (cf. Finally, the Bible doesnt look down upon her trade. Deuteronomy 29:4 Paul's collection for the church in Jerusalem is also called diakonia (Acts 11:29; 12:25) and Paul often refers to himself as a diakonos (e.g., 1 Cor 3:5; 2 Cor 6:4). Lydia presumably told members of her household, who followed her lead and were baptised with her. Introduction to the Catholic Religion: Beliefs, Practices and History, Stephen in the Bible Was the First Christian Martyr, General Biblical Studies, Interdenominational Christian Training Center. Lydia was a region on the west coast of Asia Minor, supposedly named for legendary king Lydos. The translation of "God-worshiper . [25] The Birth of a Nation is a landmark of film history, lauded for its . Lydia opens her home. The narrator begins using first-person plural (we) language in Acts 16:10, at the beginning of the mission at Philippi, but stops using this language after Acts 16:17. She would have been a good person to help organize a church because she knew how to manage people, how to get them to work toward a common goal. Lydia believers because the Lord enables her to understand and accept the Gospel as Paul preached it. a very wicked or unprincipled person. Lydia had come from Thyatira, in western Asia Minor, and was a dealer in purple cloth. Paul would visit Philippi several times and write a letter to the church there. living. Because of the wealth she accrued (at the very least, a modest enough wealth for a larger household) she helped. Anyway, Im excited to see your well thought out, well presented exegesis, and will likely be spending much time reading your articles. She established her business in a foreign country. [4] Several first-century literary sources make it quite clear that many Diaspora Jewish communities actually preferred having their synagogues outside the city and near a body of water such as the proseuch at Philippi in Macedonia. Lee I. Levine, The Ancient Synagogue: The First Thousand Years, Second Edition (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2014), 316. ~ The women became believers in Jesus as Messiah and then told others about their experience. Second,Lydia may have experienced the Diaspora, or a diaspora of sorts, if she had to travel from Thyatira to Philippi. Lydia's story is told in Acts 16:13-15, 40. (lol) Thats just my preference and God bless you and your family. Samaria. The word "helper" ( 'ezer ), when used of a person in the Old Testament, always refers to God (in 29 places) apart from one reference to David. [8] Cynthia Westfall, Paul and Gender: Reclaiming the Apostles Vision for Men and Women in Christ (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2016), 268. When she and her household had been baptized, she prevailed upon the men to . She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. Jews who lived outside of Judea and Galilee). [25] I wonder if Jesus and Paul were sent on their journeys because God saw the hearts (and heard the possible prayers) of these women who were ready to put their trust in Jesus as Messiah. "The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul," (Acts 16:14b). This is unusual as women in Bible times were often identified by their relationship to a man: a father, a husband, an adult son, or even a brother. Lydia no longer lives in Thyatira when Paul meets her, but rather, in the city of Philippi, a city in Macedonia. Someone asked me if Lydia could have been a purple-dyer rather than a purple-seller. Your email address will not be published. Paul and his party may have spent several weeks staying with Lydia (cf. He says he is "of the tribe of Benjamin.". Covering or Testicle in 1 Corinthians 11:15? Romans 15:21 Pauls first ministry encounter in Philippi was not with a Macedonian man,[1] however, but with a group of women. They first traveled to the Roman colony of Philippi, one of the most important cities in Macedonia. When Lydia heard Pauls teaching, she was immediately attracted to it and converted to Christianity. And for the most part, that is true even of the apostles. Does the Bible Say Anything about Dieting? Follow him on Twitter: @DavidLimbaugh. There is no mention of Cornelius needing God to open his heart. They inspire me to be a risk-taking leader (appropriate risks, of course.) This was a unique achievement for a woman during the male-dominated Roman empire. The Lydia-Paul story provides an example of how the generosity shown to humanity through the sacrifice of Christ and given to us through the Holy Spirit is directly connected to the need to extend hospitality to others as a means of accomplishing the missio Dei. I am a Pastor and am so thankful for brothers and sisters like you in the body of Christ. There, she claims to be a true believer in the Lord, and she and her household were baptized. Would that be asking too much? I am preparing a report on Lydia for my Presbyterian bible study group in Austin, Texas. Only members of the royalty and other wealthy people could afford this cloth, because the dye was so expensive to make, and so it was a prosperous trade. Lydia in the Bible was one of thousands of minor characters mentioned in Scripture, but after 2,000 years, she is still remembered for her contribution to early Christianity. The women were equipped and empowered with faith, knowledge, and personal experience to tell others. If she were well off, she may have given him money or supplies for his further journey on the Egnatian Way, an important Roman highway. [20] In the first decades of the churchs existence, almost all Christian converts were either Jews or they were Gentiles with some kind of affiliation or sympathy with Judaism. First, she shows that honest jobs are not lesser jobs. 2:2), and he alludes to the persecution the Thessalonian Christians themselves suffered because of their new faith (1 Thess. Paul is one such Jew. The early Christian church there, supported by Lydia, may have influenced thousands of travelers over the years. 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