12 TOGÓ

“Ge Taaá Ló kọ́ Kpẹ̀a Ea Kil Ló Dõò Jíízọ̀s”

BÌLÀ

Pọ́ọ̀l nè Bánabàs beè kìlmà kpá ló kẽ, ié agẹló, vaá kilsĩ́ gè kọ́ kpẹ̀a

Dẹ̀ẹ̀a Boo Nú Ea Di Mm̀ Kpá Tóm 14:1-28

1, 2. Éé beè naaá tṍó e Pọ́ọ̀l nè Bánabàs di-dí Léstrà ẹ?

¹Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè

² Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè

3. Mókà bíb ní eé áálá mm̀ nakà togó belí é?

³ Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè

“Gã́bug Pá Júù Nè Gbò E Bè Níì Pá Júù Nì Beè Ziga Ló Lé Kpẹ̀a Ea Kil Ló Kráìst” (Tóm 14:1-7)

4, 5. Éé beè naa kọọ̀ Pọ́ọ̀l nè Bánabàs á kil Àìkónìòm ẽ, vaá éé beè naaá gbẹá kĩá ẽ́?

⁴ Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè

⁵ Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè

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. Éé ní ea náa vaá Pọ́ọ̀l nè Bánabàs beè láá noomà nu leevè e, vaá mósĩ́ deè ní eé láá nó va ẹ́?

⁶ Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè

7. (a) Gbò nen beè labví láb naa vàẹ tṍó e bà dã́ lé kpẹ̀aá ẹ́? (b) Be à gá náa vaá bọọ tọ à pòòà boo béè kọ ò dã́à lé kpẹ̀aí, éé ní ea bọ́ló kọ ó kẽ̀èa boo é?

⁷ Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè

8. Éé ní ea beè naa kọọ̀ Pọ́ọ̀l nè Bánabàs á aa Àìkóniòm ẽ, vaá éé ní e beele é láá nó lọl ló ba nu dòòmà báẹ́?

⁸ Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè

“Fã̀ Bàrì Ea Di Dùm” (Tóm 14:8-19)

9, 10. Ãàe ní e Léstrà beè dìe, vaá éé ní e nyímà ea kil ló gbò e ba beè di kĩá ẽ́?

⁹ Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè

¹⁰ Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè

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) Éé ní e Pọ́ọ̀l nè Bánabàs beè kọ́ nè pá Léstràẹ? (b) Éé ní ea dú túá kà nú eé láá nó lọl ló bel e Pọ́ọ̀l nè Bánabàs beè lòe?

¹¹ Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè

¹² Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè

¹³ Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè

14-16. Éé ní ea égè bàà nè taà kà nú eé láá nó lọl ló bel e Pọ́ọ̀l beè ló nè pá Léstràẹ?

¹⁴ Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè

¹⁵ Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè

¹⁶ Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè

“Ba Beè Tú Gbò E Baè Sàa Nvee Bá Bàrì” (Tóm 14:20-28)

17. Tṍó e bà aa Dẹ́bì, ãàe ní e Pọ́ọ̀l nè Bánabàs beè kìle, vaá ló éé?

¹⁷ Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè

18. Éé ní ea ólò naaá besĩ́ bà kálá íbá ló neǹ vígà naamá neǹ kànen ẽ́?

¹⁸ Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè

19. Gbò kànen nyímá kọọ̀ mée ní e bàé neè kpẹ̀a ló ba tóm ẽ́, vaá mósĩ́ deè ní e bà ólò nó Pọ́ọ̀l nè Bánabàs e?

¹⁹ Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè

20. Mósĩ́ deè ní e gè dã́ lé kpẹ̀a ea kil ló pá vígà e bà bọ́ló dẹ̀lẹ̀ nyíé boo ólò dọ̀ bélè nèi ẽ́?

²⁰ Bugí Mm̀ Bèkéè

See the box “ Iconium—City of the Phrygians.”

PALÀGE VEE LÉ KPẸ̀A EA KIL LÓ BOǸ MÉNÉ BÀRÌ