EMHUOGHAẠPH PHỌ 12

‘Ughaạph Ghan R’akpọ Olhoghi Dị Eego Esi Iikpọ AZihova’

PEGH

APọl r’aBanabạs usooromhi loor, okpọ olhoghi, kụ oghiọm ghisigh oḍighi iphelhegbeel phọ

Okpasị ḍinyạ Iiḍighi phọ 14:1-28

1, 2. Ighẹn araraạr kụ imite mem mọ aPọl r’aBanabạs odi bọ Listrạ?

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3. Ighẹn asipuru kụ edị yira kooḅeghiọn siẹn emhuoghaạph phọ ephẹn phọ?

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“Iminighạn . . . Omeeraam” (Iiḍighi 14:1-7)

4, 5. Uḍighi ika kụ aPọl r’aBanabạs oghị bọ epẹ Aikoniom, kụ eeghe kụ imite epẹ phọ?

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ICONIUM—CITY OF THE PHRYGIANS

Iconium was located on a high, well-watered, and fertile plateau. The city stood at a crossroads on an important trade route linking Syria with Rome, Greece, and the Roman province of Asia.

The local religion in Iconium was worship of the Phrygian fertility goddess Cybele, which included elements adopted from Greek worship during the Hellenistic period. The city came under Roman influence in 65 B.C.E., and in the first century C.E., it was a large and prosperous center of trade and agriculture. Although Iconium was home to an influential Jewish population, the city seems to have retained its Hellenistic character. The Acts account, in fact, refers to resident Jews and to “Greeks.”—Acts 14:1.

Iconium lay on the border between the Galatian regions of Lycaonia and Phrygia. Certain ancient writers, including Cicero and Strabo, called Iconium a city of Lycaonia, and from a geographic standpoint, the city did belong to that region. The Acts account, however, distinguishes Iconium from Lycaonia, where “the Lycaonian language” was spoken. (Acts 14:1-6, 11) For this reason, critics argued that the book of Acts was inaccurate. In 1910, though, archaeologists found inscriptions in the city indicating that Phrygian was indeed the language used in Iconium for two centuries following the visit of Paul and Barnabas. Hence, the writer of Acts was correct in distinguishing Iconium from the cities of Lycaonia.

6. Uḍighi ika kụ aPọl r’aBanabạs oḍighi bọ bugey abutughemhiạ, kụ ika kụ idị yira kotughaạny bidị?

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7. (a) Awe romegheron ghan ika kụ okị esi iiḅi iinhaghạn phọ? (b) Ewạ mọ tuutughiạn eeghe eḍighi maạr dị igbaragbarạ edi eghunotu anyinha loor iduọn nạ rakumu bọ aZihova?

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8. Uḍighi ika kụ aPọl r’aBanabạs oḍuạ bọ Aikoniom, kụ eḍeenhaan phọ abidị itughemhị iyira eeghe?

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“Ekiton Esoman Enaạn” (Iiḍighi 14:8-19)

9, 10. AListrạ arọl ghan eghẹn, kụ yira olegheri eeghe ilọ awe phọ orugh ghan bọ epẹ phọ?

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LYSTRA AND THE CULT OF ZEUS AND HERMES

Lystra was located in a secluded valley off the main highways. Caesar Augustus designated the city a Roman colony, naming it Julia Felix Gemina Lustra. Its garrison was to defend the province of Galatia from local mountain tribes. The city was thus administered according to traditional Roman civic organization, with its officials bearing Latin titles. Even so, Lystra retained much of its local character. It remained more Lycaonian than Roman, and indeed, the Lystran protagonists in the Acts account spoke the Lycaonian language.

Among the archaeological finds in the vicinity of ancient Lystra are inscriptions referring to “priests of Zeus” and a statue of the god Hermes. An altar dedicated to Zeus and Hermes has also been discovered in that area.

A legend recorded by the Roman poet Ovid (43 B.C.E. to 17 C.E.) provides further background for the Acts account. According to Ovid, Jupiter and Mercury, the Roman counterparts of the Greek gods Zeus and Hermes, visited the hill country of Phrygia disguised as mortal men. They sought hospitality in a thousand homes, but everyone turned them away. Only an elderly couple, named Philemon and Baucis, welcomed them into their humble cottage. As a result, Zeus and Hermes transformed that home into a temple of marble and gold, made the elderly couple its priest and priestess, and destroyed the homes of those who had refused them lodging. “If the people of Lystra remembered such a legend when they saw Paul and Barnabas heal the lame man,” says The Book of Acts in Its Graeco-Roman Setting, “it is not surprising that they would want to welcome them with sacrifices.”

“Turn from these vain things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth.”—Acts 14:15

11-13. (a) APọl r’aBanabạs uḅenhị eeghe we phọ orugh bọ epẹ Listrạ? (b) Eeghe kụ eḅẹl iyaạr ituughạ dị yira omhiịn esi ipẹ aPọl r’aBanabạs oghaạph bọ?

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14-16. Ighẹn iyạl araraạr kụ edị yira oḅilhẹ otuughạ esi ipẹ aPọl r’aBanabạs oḅenhị bọ we phọ orugh bọ epẹ Listrạ?

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