Acts 16:1

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

16:1 He also came to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple named Timothy was there, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but whose father was a Greek.

Acts 16:15

16:15 After she and her household were baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me to be a believer in the Lord, come and stay in my house.” And she persuaded us.


sn Derbe was a city in Lycaonia about 35 mi (60 km) southeast of Lystra. It was about 90 mi (145 km) from Tarsus.

map For location see JP1-E2; JP2-E2; JP3-E2.

sn Lystra was a city in Lycaonia about 25 mi (40 km) south of Iconium.

map For location see JP1-E2; JP2-E2; JP3-E2.

tn Grk “And behold, a disciple.” Here ἰδού (idou) has not been translated.

tn L&N 31.103 translates this phrase “the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer.”

sn His father was a Greek. Timothy was the offspring of a mixed marriage between a Jewish woman (see 2 Tim 1:5) and a Gentile man. On mixed marriages in Judaism, see Neh 13:23-27; Ezra 9:1-10:44; Mal 2:10-16; Jub. 30:7-17; m. Qiddushin 3.12; m. Yevamot 7.5.

tn Grk “urged us, saying.” The participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

tn This is a first class condition in Greek, with the statement presented as real or true for the sake of the argument.

tn Or “faithful to the Lord.” BDAG 821 s.v. πίστος 2 states concerning this verse, “Of one who confesses the Christian faith believing or a believer in the Lord, in Christ, in God πιστ. τῷ κυρίῳ Ac 16:15.” L&N 11.17 has “one who is included among the faithful followers of Christ – ‘believer, Christian, follower.’”

tn Although BDAG 759 s.v. παραβιάζομαι has “urge strongly, prevail upon,” in contemporary English “persuade” is a more frequently used synonym for “prevail upon.”