Acts 20:4 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Acts 20:4
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.
to attend (travel) in company with · verb — imperfect middle or passive deponent indicative, 3rd person singular
him
αὐτῷautō
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative singular masculine
into
ἄχριachri
G891
(of time) until or (of place) up to · preposition
Asia
ἈσίαςAsias
G773
Asia · noun — genitive singular feminine, a place
Sopater
ΣώπατροςSōpatros
G4986
of a safe father · noun — nominative singular masculine, a proper name
Berea
Βεροιαῖος,Beroiaios
G961
a Berœoean or native of Berœa · adjective — nominative singular masculine, a people or place name
and
δὲde
G1161
but · conjunction
Thessalonians
ΘεσσαλονικέωνThessalonikeōn
G2331
a Thessalonican · noun — genitive plural masculine, a people or place name
Aristarchus
ἈρίσταρχοςAristarchos
G708
best ruling · noun — nominative singular masculine, a proper name
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
Secundus
ΣεκοῦνδοςSekoundos
G4580
"second" · noun — nominative singular masculine, a proper name
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
Gaius
ΓάϊοςGaios
G1050
Gaius (i.e. Caius) · noun — nominative singular masculine, a proper name
Derbe
ΔερβαῖοςDerbaios
G1190
a Derbæan or inhabitant of Derbe · adjective — nominative singular masculine, a place
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
Timotheus
Τιμόθεος·Timotheos
G5095
dear to God · noun — nominative singular masculine, a proper name
and
δὲde
G1161
but · conjunction
Asia
ἈσιανοὶAsianoi
G774
an Asian (i.e. Asiatic) or an inhabitant of Asia · noun — nominative plural masculine, a people or place name
Tychicus
ΤύχικοςTuchikos
G5190
fortuitous · noun — nominative singular masculine, a proper name
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
Trophimus
Τρόφιμος,Trophimos
G5161
nutritive · noun — nominative singular masculine, a proper name
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Acts 19:29 And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel, they r…
Ephesians 6:21 But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you a…
2 Timothy 4:20 Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick.
Acts 16:1 Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess…
Acts 21:29 (For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)
Colossians 4:7 All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord:
Titus 3:12 When I shall send Artemas unto thee, or Tychicus, be diligent to come unto me to Nicopolis: for I have determined there to winter.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Acts 20:1-6
These travels of Paul which are thus briefly related, if all in them had been recorded that was memorable and worthy to be written in letters of gold, the world would not contain the books that would have been written; and therefore we have only some general hints of occurrences, which therefore ought to be the more precious. Here is,
I. Paul's departure from Ephesus. He had tarried there longer than he had done at any one place since he had been ordained to the apostleship of the Gentiles; and now it was time to think of removing, for he must preach in other cities also; but after this, to the end of the scripture-history of his life (which is all we can depend upon), we never find him brea…
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.
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…
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, Act 20:5.
Into Asia - Αχρι της Ασιας; These words are wanting in two MSS., Erpen, the Ethiopic, 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, Act 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 jou…
The Church Fathers
And with him was Sosipater, son of Pyrrhus, from Beroea. This one from Beroea, not that Beroean. Moreover, it is more in the Greek: And he went with him as far as Asia.
"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. These going before tarried for us at Troas." But how does he call Timothy a man "of Thessalonica?" This is not his meaning, but, "Of Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus and Gaius: of Derbe, Timothy," etc., these, he says, went before him to Troas, preparing the way for him.
"Gaius of Derbe and Timothy." Of the others he also mentions their hometowns, making them more recognizable in that way. But concerning Timothy he was content with the name alone, because he himself, through his character and virtue, provided the identification, and because previously he had invoked his memory of his homeland in passages where he said: "He came down to Derbe and Lystra, and behold, there was a certain disciple there named Timothy." If of Derbe is now an ethnic name rather than a proper name, perhaps he has just recalled his homeland.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Apostle — A person sent by another; a messenger; envoy. This word is once used as a descriptive designation of Jesus Christ, the Sent of the Father (Heb. 3:1; John 20:21). It is, however, generally used as…
Aristarchus — Best ruler, native of Thessalonica (Acts 20:4), a companion of Paul (Acts 19:29; 27:2). He was Paul’s “fellow-prisoner” at Rome (Col. 4:10; Philemon 1:24).
Asia — Is used to denote Proconsular Asia, a Roman province which embraced the western parts of Asia Minor, and of which Ephesus was the capital, in Acts 2:9; 6:9; 16:6; 19:10, 22; 20:4, 16, 18, etc., and…
Berea — A city of Macedonia to which Paul with Silas and Timotheus went when persecuted at Thessalonica (Acts 17:10, 13), and from which also he was compelled to withdraw, when he fled to the sea-coast and…
Derbe — A small town on the eastern part of the upland plain of Lycaonia, about 20 miles from Lystra. Paul passed through Derbe on his route from Cilicia to Iconium, on his second missionary journey (Acts…
Ephesus — The capital of proconsular Asia, which was the western part of Asia Minor. It was colonized principally from Athens. In the time of the Romans it bore the title of “the first and greatest metropolis…
Gaius — (1.) A Macedonian, Paul’s fellow-traveller, and his host at Corinth when he wrote his Epistle to the Romans (16:23). He with his household were baptized by Paul (1 Cor. 1:14). During a heathen…
Jason — He that will cure, the host of Paul and Silas in Thessalonica. The Jews assaulted his house in order to seize Paul, but failing to find him, they dragged Jason before the ruler of the city (Acts…
John, Third Epistle of — Is addressed to Caius, or Gaius, but whether to the Christian of that name in Macedonia (Acts 19: 29) or in Corinth (Rom. 16:23) or in Derbe (Acts 20:4) is uncertain. It was written for the purpose…
Philippians, Epistle To The — was St. Paul from Rome in A.D. 62 or 63. St. Paul’s connection with Philippi was of a peculiar character, which gave rise to the writing of this epistle. St. Paul entered its walls A.D. 52. (Acts…
And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea,.... This Sopater is thought to be the same with Sosipater in Romans 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 Luke 10:1. This name was common among the Greeks; there was one of this name a native of Paphus, in the times…
Acts 20:1-6
1. And after the tumult was ceased, when Paul had called unto him the disciples, and had embraced them, he took his journey that he might go into Macedonia. 2. And when he had walked through those parts, and had with much speech exhorted them, he came into Greece. 3. And when he had spent three months there, when the Jews laid in wait for him as he was about to loose into Syria, he purposed to return through Macedonia. 4. And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarebus and Secundus; and Gains of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus. 5. When these were gone before, they stayed for us at Troas. 6. And we sailed away…
Pyrrhus — the father of Sopater of Berea. (Acts 20:4) in Revised Version. (A.D. 55.)
Sabbath — (Heb. verb shabbath, meaning “to rest from labour”), the day of rest. It is first mentioned as having been instituted in Paradise, when man was in innocence (Gen. 2:2). “The sabbath was made for…
Secundus — Second, a Christian of Thessalonica who accompanied Paul into Asia (Acts 20:4).
Sopater — The father who saves, probably the same as Sosipater, a kinsman of Paul (Rom. 16:21), a Christian of the city of Berea who accompanied Paul into Asia (Acts 20:4-6).
Timothy — Honouring God, a young disciple who was Paul’s companion in many of his journeyings. His mother, Eunice, and his grandmother, Lois, are mentioned as eminent for their piety (2 Tim. 1:5). We know…
Trophimus — A foster-child, an Ephesian who accompanied Paul during a part of his third missionary journey (Acts 20:4; 21:29). He was with Paul in Jerusalem, and the Jews, supposing that the apostle had brought…
Tychicus — Chance, an Asiatic Christian, a “faithful minister in the Lord” (Eph. 6:21, 22), who, with Trophimus, accompanied Paul on a part of his journey from Macedonia to Jerusalem (Acts 20:4). He is alluded…
Aristarchus · A companion of Paul — A companion of Paul
Berea · A city in the — A city in the
Derbe · Gaius born in — Gaius born in
Gaius · 2. A man of — 2. A man of
Macedonia · Revisits — Revisits
Philippi · (A city of Macedonia) -Paul preaches in — (A city of Macedonia) -Paul preaches in
Secundus · Accompanies Paul from Corinth — Accompanies Paul from Corinth
Sopater · A Christian of Berea — A Christian of Berea
Thessalonica · Men of, accompany Paul — Men of, accompany Paul
Timothy · Rejoined by Paul; accompanies Paul to Asia — Rejoined by Paul; accompanies Paul to Asia
Trophimus · Accompanies Paul from Greece to Asia — Accompanies Paul from Greece to Asia
Tychicus · Accompanies Paul from Greece to Asia — Accompanies Paul from Greece to Asia
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
