Acts 18:7

7 Then he left the synagogue and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God; his house was next door to the synagogue.

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 occupied with proclaiming the word, testifying to the Jews that the Messiah was Jesus.
6 When they opposed and reviled him, in protest he shook the dust from his clothes and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles."
7 Then he left the synagogue and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God; his house was next door to the synagogue.
8 Crispus, the official of the synagogue, became a believer in the Lord, together with all his household; and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul became believers and were baptized.
9 One night the Lord said to Paul in a vision, "Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent;

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Gk [left there]
  • [b]. Other ancient authorities read [Titus]
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.