EMHUOGHAẠPH PHỌ 16

“Ḅeẹny Ephẹn Masidonia”

PEGH

Aḍisẹph dị eḍuạ emite loor iduọn aPọl r’abuphẹ rodạph bọ nyodị omheeraam bọ osighẹ oḍighi dị ongọ bidị oḅilhẹ okparạm igbiphoghọm r’ibo

Okpasị ḍinyạ Iiḍighi phọ 16:6-40

1-3. (a) Ika kụ idị uwaloor iigbia phọ aaḅakị Pọl r’abuphẹ rodạph bọ nyodị? (b) Yira kooḅeghiọn eeghe araraạr dị emite?

¹Bạl onhụ English

² Bạl onhụ English

³ Bạl onhụ English

“Enaạn Mimạgh Iyoor” (Iiḍighi 16:6-15)

4, 5. (a) Eeghe kụ imitenhaan Pọl r’abuphẹ rodạph bọ nyodị mem dị bidị motuman Baitinia? (b) Eeghe osopha kụ idị abumatuạn phọ osopha, kụ eeghe kụ iḍuạ emite?

⁴ Bạl onhụ English

⁵ Bạl onhụ English

“So we put out to sea from Troas.”—Acts 16:11

6, 7. (a) Yira otuughạ eeghe esi ipẹ emite bọ mem mọ aPọl odi bọ erelhe amisonarị phọ odị? (b) Uḍighi ika kụ ipẹ emitenhaan bọ Pọl ketue bọ ni ikparamhị iyira?

⁶ Bạl onhụ English

⁷ Bạl onhụ English

8. (a) Kaạph ipẹ emhạ phọ aFilipai erọl bọ. (b) Eeghe iyaạr ibo kụ imite loor iduọn aPọl aghị bọ “esi iiḅereghị” aghaạph oghaạph phọ?

⁸ Bạl onhụ English

9. Ika kụ idị ibadị rodon motuughaạny eḍeenhaan phọ aPọl, kụ eeghe aḍisẹph kụ meḍuạ emite?

⁹ Bạl onhụ English

How can we “step over into Macedonia” today?

“Kụ Aḍita Awe Phọ . . . Orupheom Bidị” (Iiḍighi 16:16-24)

10. Ikarạph aruwaloor phọ uḍighi eeghe pidị awe phọ osophoghom Pọl r’abuphẹ rodạph bọ nyodị?

¹⁰ Bạl onhụ English

11. Eeghe kụ imitenhaan Pọl r’aSailạs mem mọ okarạph uwaloor phọ aḍuạ bọ loor onyanhị phọ amite?

¹¹ Bạl onhụ English

12. (a) Abumatuạn phọ aKraist umhiịn ika igbiphoghọm, kụ eeghe kụ iḍighi? (b) Ighẹn areten kụ edị aSetan r’abuphẹ oḍighan bọ nyodị rogbiphoghọm ghan bumatuạn phọ aKraist rodon?

¹² Bạl onhụ English

‘U/piemi Mem Oḍiinye Abidị Muụm’ (Iiḍighi 16:25-34)

13. Eeghe kụ iḍighi bọ iyaạr phọ okoriom mọ apuru bọ mọ: “Minạ kaḍighi ika kụ amoọgh pelieẹny?”

¹³ Bạl onhụ English

14. (a) Eeghe olhoghonhaạn aḍighaạgh kụ edị aPọl r’aSailạs ongọ okoriom mọ? (b) Eeghe aḍisẹph kụ edị aPọl r’aSailạs omhoọgh loor esi okparạm igbiphoghọm r’ibo?

¹⁴ Bạl onhụ English

15. (a) Ika kụ idị ibadị Abugbaanhaạn aZihova rodon modaphạn eḍeenhaan phọ aPọl r’aSailạs? (b) Uḍighi ika kụ yira koḅilhẹ ghan bọ oḅula opogh buphẹ odi bọ ekool arukumuan phọ ayira?

¹⁵ Bạl onhụ English

“Bidị Rowạ Ghan Ilọ Omian Omiteom Ayoor?” (Iiḍighi 16:35-40)

16. Rogurọgh bọ Pọl r’aSailạs, eeghe kụ imite ḍieriphọ aḍio phọ?

¹⁶ Bạl onhụ English

17. Eeghe iyaạr dị emhạn maạr kụ idị abumhoom abumatuạn phọ otuughạ loor iduọn aPọl r’aSailạs okparạm bọ igbiphoghọm?

¹⁷ Bạl onhụ English

18. (a) Ika kụ idị abupoghom mọ siẹn ookpomhoghan phọ rotuughaạny eḍeenhaan phọ aPọl rodon? (b) Ika kụ idị yira ‘rokaạph ghan kophelhọm oḅilhẹ okparamiọm iiḅi iinhaghạn phọ’ rodon?

¹⁸ Bạl onhụ English

LUKE—THE WRITER OF ACTS

Up to chapter 16, verse 9, the book of Acts is narrated strictly in the third person. That is, the writer limits himself to reporting what others said and did. At Acts 16:10, 11, however, there is a change in that style. In verse 11, for instance, the writer says: “We put out to sea from Troas and made a straight run to Samothrace.” This is where Luke, the writer, joined the action. But since Luke’s name does not appear anywhere in Acts of Apostles, how do we know that he was, in fact, the writer?

The answer lies in the introductions to the book of Acts and Luke’s Gospel. Both introductions are addressed to a certain “Theophilus.” (Luke 1:1, 3; Acts 1:1) The opening words of Acts read: “The first account, O Theophilus, I composed about all the things Jesus started to do and to teach.” Since ancient authorities agree that “the first account,” the Gospel, was written by Luke, he must also have written Acts.

We do not know very much about Luke. His name appears only three times in the Bible. The apostle Paul calls Luke “the beloved physician” and one of his own “fellow workers.” (Col. 4:14; Philem. 24) The “we” sections of the book of Acts—those in which Luke includes himself in the narrative—indicate that Luke first accompanied the apostle Paul from Troas to Philippi in about 50 C.E. but that when Paul left Philippi, Luke was no longer with him. The two men met up again in Philippi in about 56 C.E. and traveled with seven other brothers from Philippi to Jerusalem, where Paul was arrested. Two years later, Luke accompanied Paul, who was still in chains, from Caesarea to Rome. (Acts 16:10-17, 40; 20:5–21:17; 24:27; 27:1–28:16) When Paul, who had been jailed for a second time in Rome, perceived that his execution was near, “only Luke” was with him. (2 Tim. 4:6, 11) It is clear that Luke traveled long distances and was willing to suffer hardships for the sake of the good news.

Luke did not claim to have witnessed what he wrote about Jesus. On the contrary, he said that he undertook “to compile an account of the facts” based on the accounts of “eyewitnesses.” Moreover, he “traced all things from the start with accuracy, to write them to you in logical order.” (Luke 1:1-3) The results of Luke’s labors show that he was a careful researcher. Perhaps he conducted interviews with Elizabeth, with Jesus’ mother, Mary, and with others in order to collect his material. Much of what he wrote is unique among the Gospel accounts.—Luke 1:5-80.

Paul stated that Luke was a physician, and a doctor’s interest in those who suffer can be perceived in what he wrote. Just to mention a few examples: Luke noted that when Jesus cured a demon-possessed man, “the demon came out of him without hurting him”; that the apostle Peter’s mother-in-law was distressed with “a high fever”; and that a woman whom Jesus helped had been afflicted with “a spirit of weakness for 18 years; and she was bent double and was unable to straighten up at all.”—Luke 4:35, 38; 13:11.

Clearly, Luke put “the work of the Lord” first in his life. (1 Cor. 15:58) His objective was, not to pursue a secular career or prominence, but simply to help others know and serve Jehovah.

LYDIA—THE SELLER OF PURPLE

Lydia lived in Philippi, a prominent city in Macedonia. She was originally from Thyatira, a city in the region called Lydia in western Asia Minor. To ply her trade as a seller of purple, Lydia had moved across the Aegean Sea. She likely traded in purple goods of various kinds—rugs, tapestries, fabrics, and even dyes. An inscription found in Philippi testifies to the presence of a guild of sellers of purple in that city.

Lydia is described as “a worshipper of God,” likely meaning that she was a proselyte to Judaism. (Acts 16:14) She may have become acquainted with the worship of Jehovah in her home city. In contrast with Philippi, it hosted a Jewish meeting place. Some believe that Lydia was a nickname—meaning “Lydian Woman”—given to her in Philippi. However, there is documentary evidence to show that Lydia was also in use as a proper name.

The Lydians and their neighbors were famed for their skill in the dyeing of purple since the days of Homer, in the ninth or eighth century B.C.E. Indeed, Thyatira’s water was reputed to produce “the brightest and the most permanent hues.”

Purple materials were luxury items, accessible only to the rich. Although different sources for purple dye were known, the best and most expensive—used for treating fine linen—came from Mediterranean shellfish. A single drop of dye could be extracted from each mollusk, and some 8,000 shellfish had to be processed to obtain just one gram of the precious liquid; thus, cloth of that color was very costly.

Since Lydia’s trade required substantial capital and she had a large house capable of hosting four men—Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke—in all likelihood she was a successful and wealthy merchant. The reference to her “household” could mean that she lived with relatives, but it may also imply that she had slaves and servants. (Acts 16:15) And the fact that before leaving the city, Paul and Silas met with some brothers in this hospitable woman’s home suggests that it became a meeting place for the first Christians in Philippi.—Acts 16:40.

When Paul wrote to the Philippian congregation some ten years later, he made no mention of Lydia. So the details contained in Acts chapter 16 are all we know about her.

ARINYẠ R’ASIBROSỌ