New Testament · History

Acts 18

Corinth

Paul settles in Corinth for eighteen months, making tents and making converts. God tells him in a vision: do not be afraid — I have many people in this city.

King James Version BSB KJV

1After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth;

2And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them.

3And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.

4And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.

5And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.

6And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.

7And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man’s house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue.

8And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.

9Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace:

10For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.

11And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

12And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat,

13Saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law.

14And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you:

15But if it be a question of words and names, and of your law, look ye to it; for I will be no judge of such matters.

16And he drave them from the judgment seat.

17Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. And Gallio cared for none of those things.

18And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow.

19And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews.

20When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not;

21But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.

22And when he had landed at Cæsarea, and gone up, and saluted the church, he went down to Antioch.

23And after he had spent some time there, he departed, and went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.

24And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.

25This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.

26And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.

27And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace:

28For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.

Understand This

Acts 18, explained

What Acts 18 is saying

Paul arrives in Corinth, partners with the tentmakers Aquila and Priscilla (recently expelled from Rome by Claudius's edict), and spends eighteen months establishing the church. A vision encourages him to stay despite opposition. When Jews bring Paul before the proconsul Gallio, the case is dismissed as an internal religious dispute. Paul eventually departs and begins his third journey, while Apollos arrives in Ephesus with incomplete teaching that Priscilla and Aquila correct.

The background behind it

The Gallio inscription from Delphi provides one of the most important chronological anchors for Pauline chronology, dating his proconsulship to approximately 51–52 AD. Claudius's expulsion of Jews from Rome (ca. 49 AD) is independently attested by Suetonius, who mentions disturbances 'at the instigation of Chrestus'—likely a reference to disputes about Christ within the Roman Jewish community.

Themes running underneath

Gallio's refusal to adjudicate religious disputes represents a de facto legal protection for the church under Roman law, a theme Luke develops throughout Acts. The Priscilla-Aquila-Apollos episode illustrates the role of lay theological education in the early church—notably with Priscilla named first, suggesting her prominence. Paul's Nazirite vow at Cenchreae reveals his continued engagement with Jewish piety.

Why it still matters

The Corinthian mission demonstrates that long-term, patient presence in a difficult context bears greater fruit than rapid itinerancy. Priscilla and Aquila's mentoring of Apollos models how established believers can shape gifted but incomplete teachers without public humiliation.

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Scripture text: King James Version — public domain.