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Study Number 3—Measuring Events in the Stream of Time“All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial”
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This would bring him to Corinth, in the province of Achaia, in the autumn of 50 C.E., after having made a journey of about 1,300 miles [2,090 km], mostly on foot. (Acts 16:9, 11, 12; 17:1, 2, 10, 11, 15, 16; 18:1) According to Acts 18:11, Paul stayed there 18 months, bringing us to early 52 C.E.
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Study Number 3—Measuring Events in the Stream of Time“All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial”
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25. (a) How does archaeology support 50-52 C.E. for Paul’s first visit to Corinth? (b) How does the fact that Aquila and Priscilla “had recently come from Italy” confirm this?
25 An archaeological discovery supports 50-52 C.E. as the dates of Paul’s first visit to Corinth. This is a fragment of an inscription, a rescript from Emperor Claudius Caesar to the Delphians of Greece, which contains the words “[Lucius Ju]nius, Gallio, . . . proconsul.” Historians are generally agreed that the number 26, which is also found in the text, refers to Claudius’ having been acclaimed emperor for the 26th time. Other inscriptions show that Claudius was acclaimed emperor for the 27th time before August 1, 52 C.E. The proconsul’s term ran for a year, starting with the beginning of summer. Thus, Gallio’s year as proconsul of Achaia appears to have run from the summer of 51 C.E. to the summer of 52 C.E. “Now while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews rose up with one accord against Paul and led him to the judgment seat.” After Gallio’s acquitting Paul, the apostle stayed “quite some days longer,” and then he sailed away to Syria. (Acts 18:11, 12, 17, 18) All of this seems to confirm the spring of 52 C.E. as the conclusion of Paul’s 18-month stay in Corinth. Another time marker is found in the statement that on arrival in Corinth, Paul “found a certain Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus who had recently come from Italy, and Priscilla his wife, because of the fact that Claudius had ordered all the Jews to depart from Rome.” (Acts 18:2) According to the historian Paulus Orosius, of the early fifth century, this expulsion order was given in Claudius’ ninth year, that is, in 49 C.E. or early in 50 C.E. Thus, Aquila and Priscilla could have reached Corinth sometime before the autumn of that year, allowing for Paul’s stay there from the autumn of 50 C.E. to the spring of 52 C.E.a
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