LYDIA

(Lydʹi·a).

This woman and her household were among the first persons in Europe to accept Christianity as a result of the apostle Paul’s activity at Philippi in about 50 C.E. Originally she lived at Thyatira, a city in Asia Minor known for its dyeing industry. Later, at Philippi in Macedonia, Lydia sold purple, either the dye or garments and fabrics colored therewith. It appears that she was the head of her household (this could include slaves and servants), and therefore, she was possibly widowed or single.​—Ac 16:14, 15.

“A worshiper of God,” Lydia probably was a Jewish proselyte. It may be that there were few Jews and no synagogue at Philippi so that on the Sabbath day she and other devout women assembled by a river outside the city. When the apostle Paul preached to these women, Lydia listened attentively.

Ac 16:11-15.