Acts 18

After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth. 2He found a certain Jew named Aquila, a man of Pontus by race, who had recently come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome. He came to them, 3and because he practiced the same trade, he lived with them and worked, for by trade they were tent makers. 4He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded Jews and Greeks. 5But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, testifying to the Jews that ‘ISA1 was AL-MASIH2. 6When they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook out his clothing and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on, I will go to the non-Jews!”

7He departed there, and went into the house of a certain man named Justus, one who worshiped God3, whose house was next door to the synagogue. 8Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his house. Many of the Corinthians, when they heard, believed and were baptized. 9The Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; 10for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many people in this city.”

11He lived there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. 12But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat, 13saying, “This man persuades men to worship God contrary to the Taurat4.”

14But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If indeed it were a matter of wrong or of wicked crime, you Jews, it would be reasonable that I should bear with you; 15but if they are questions about words and names and your own law, look to it yourselves. For I do not want to be a judge of these matters.” 16He drove them from the judgment seat.

17Then all the Greeks laid hold on Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. Gallio didn’t care about any of these things.

18Paul, having stayed after this many more days, took his leave of the brothers5, and sailed from there for Syria, together with Priscilla and Aquila. He shaved his head in Cenchreae, for he had taken a vow. 19He came to Ephesus, and he left them there; but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews. 20When they asked him to stay with them a longer time, he declined; 21but taking his leave of them, and saying, “I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem, but I will return again to you if God wills,” he set sail from Ephesus.

22When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the congregation, and went down to Antioch. 23Having spent some time there, he departed, and went through the region of Galatia, and Phrygia, in order, establishing all the disciples. 24Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by race, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus. He was well-versed in Al-Kitab6. 25This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning ‘ISA, although he knew only the baptism of Yahya7. 26He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside, and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

27When he had determined to pass over into Achaia, the brothers encouraged him, and wrote to the disciples to receive him. When he had come, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace; 28for he powerfully refuted the Jews, publicly showing by Al-Kitab that ‘ISA was AL-MASIH.

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  1. 18:5 ‘ISA – The names ‘ISA (Arabic), ISHO (Syriac) and JESUS (Greek, IESOUS) are all derived from the Hebrew name YEHOSHUA, which means “YAHWEH saves.” (YAHWEH is God’s personal name revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15 – God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.”) ↩︎
  2. 18:5 AL-MASIH – an Arabic title equivalent to the Messiah (Hebrew) or Christ (Greek), all of which mean the Anointed One, that is, God’s Chosen One. In ancient times, divinely-appointed kings, priests and prophets were anointed with oil to signify their appointment to office. All of them point ahead to God’s ultimate Anointed One, the Messiah, AL-MASIH.  Al-Kitab unanimously points to ‘ISA Ibn Maryam as the only person worthy to bear the title AL-MASIH. He is the one whom God sent into this world to save people from sin, and to usher in God’s Kingdom at his Second Coming. ↩︎
  3. 18:7 God, English translation of theos. It is the Greek equivalent of elohim and eloah (Hebrew) which are related to allah (Arabic) and alaha (Syriac), all of which translate as “God,” and refer to the one true God. ↩︎
  4. 18:13 Taurat, this Arabic word is derived from Torah (Hebrew) which literally means “instruction” or “teaching.” Depending on context, Taurat can refer to, 
    1. The whole Hebrew Bible contained here under the title Taurat, equivalent to what Jews today call Tanakh, and what Christians call the Old Testament. 
    2. The book of Prophet Musa, which is also called the Law (of Moses), or the Pentateuch. Pentateuch is a Greek word meaning “five books” and includes Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
    3. Taurat can refer to divine instruction and teaching in general without reference to a particular book. ↩︎
  5. 18:18 The word for “brothers” here and where the context allows may also be correctly translated “brothers and sisters” or “siblings.” ↩︎
  6. 18:24 Al-Kitab, is an Arabic-derived term for “the scriptures.” It is related to the Aramaic ketab and Hebrew terms ketab, miktab, and ktb. The same meaning of “the Scriptures” is expressed in Greek by graphe. In this verse, Al-Kitab refers to the Hebrew scriptures, including the Taurat, the Zabur, and the writings of the Prophets. ↩︎
  7. 18:25 Yahya, this Arabic name and the English name John (for John the Baptist/Baptizer) are both derived from the Hebrew name Yochanan, which means “YAHWEH is gracious”. (YAHWEH is God’s personal name revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15 – God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.”) ↩︎