Acts 16:1

Came he. Gr. katantad, “to come to,” “to arrive at” a certain place. For the use of the singular form see ch. 15:41. Textual evidence is divided (cf. p. 10) concerning the inclusion of “also” between “he” and “to.” Its inclusion may serve to emphasize the continuity between chs. 15:41 and 16:1. The chapter division would be better placed in ch. 15 between vs. 35 and 36.

Derbe and Lystra. This continues the visiting of churches previously raised up (ch. 15:36). See on ch. 14:6, where the order is reversed in accord with geography. Here, Paul and Silas would naturally come first to Derbe (see Paul’s Second Missionary Tour). To get to this region from Cilicia, Paul and his companions must have passed through the famous mountain pass, the Cilician Gates, through which Alexander the Great had marched his soldiers.

Was there. It is uncertain whether this refers to Lystra or to Derbe. Informed opinion favors Lystra, although some, on the basis of ch. 20:4, prefer Derbe (see on ch. 14:6). It at least is clear that Timothy came from the Derbe-Lystra district, and was known to the churches in that area as a fruitful disciple.

Timotheus. A common Greek name, meaning “honored of God.” Its English form is “Timothy.” He was probably converted by Paul during his visit to Lystra and Derbe in the First Missionary Journey (see on ch. 14:6). Thus Paul could truly call him “my beloved son” (1 Cor. 4:17) and “my own son in the faith” (1 Tim. 1:2). He was young (1 Tim. 4:12; see AA 203), probably not more than 18 or 20, since his youth is still spoken of about a dozen years later in 1 Tim. 4:12. But in the almost two years that had passed since Paul’s departure from Lystra (for chronology see pp. 100, 102) Timothy had become well reported of for his devotion and “unfeigned faith” (2 Tim. 1:5). He had been brought up to know the OT from his childhood (2 Tim. 3:15). The fact that he was well thought of by the brethren at Iconium as well as Lystra (Acts 16:2) suggests that he busied himself maintaining contact between the two churches. Paul writes to him and of him as though he were not physically strong, and perhaps less so in later life from having followed a rigorous missionary program (1 Tim. 5:23). He appears to have been emotional (2 Tim. 1:4), yet ready to face hardships and responsibilities in the strength of Christ (1 Cor. 16:10). Timothy is spoken of as a fellow worker with Paul (Rom. 16:21), and was the companion of his labors in the Second and Third Missionary Journeys at least as far as Troas (Acts 20:4, 5). From 1 Cor. 4:17 we learn that he was Paul’s messenger to Corinth, and in 2 Cor. 1:1 he is joined with Paul in the greeting to that church. He was also a messenger between Paul and the church in Thessalonica (1 Thess. 3:2, 6), and must have been at Rome with Paul during his first imprisonment there, for he is mentioned in the epistle to the Philippians (chs. 1:1; 2:19), to the Colossians (ch. 1:1), and to Philemon (v. 1). Heb. 13:23 refers to his being in prison, an event that cannot be located as to time or place. Eusebius (Ecclesiastical History iii. 4. 5) writes of him as the first bishop of Ephesus. He is said to have suffered martyrdom at the hands of the Ephesian populace.