ƐYI 12

“Bá Ī Kɛlā Kú Ujísɔ̄si Ā Tɛ́ɛcɛ Pāālā”

GBƆƆ

Upɔlu mla Ubanabasi ta iyi uwa waajɛ, mafu ɔtu ō lɛ klla gē yuklɔ ku ɔna ō ta eko doodu

Ŋma Ɔkpá Ku Úklɔ́ Kú Ācotɛ̄hɔ̄ 14:1-28

1, 2. Ɔdi ya eko nɛ Upɔlu mla Ubanabasi yɔ Ulistra a?

Jé Ipu Uce Ku Oyibo

² Jé Ipu Uce Ku Oyibo

3. Aɔ̄kā nyá nɛ alɔ géē leyi yɛ uwa ipu ikpɛyi ɛlā nyā?

³ Jé Ipu Uce Ku Oyibo

“Ɛwa Nɛ̄hi Kú Ācɛ . . . Cɛ̄ɛ̄lā Ujísɔ̄si” (Úklɔ́ kú Ācotɛ̄hɔ̄ 14:1-7)

4, 5. Ɔdiya nɛ Upɔlu mla Ubanabasi nyɔ gā Ukoniyɔm a, ɔdi kē ya abɔɔ a?

⁴ Jé Ipu Uce Ku Oyibo

⁵ Jé Ipu Uce Ku Oyibo

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. Ɔdiya nɛ Upɔlu mla Ubanabasi wɛ aitica olɔhi a, ɛgɛnyá nɛ alɔ géē gbla uwa ya a?

⁶ Jé Ipu Uce Ku Oyibo

7. (a) Ɛgɛnyá nɛ ācɛ ya lɛyikwu ɔkoolɔhi a? (b) Ɔdaŋ ku apɔlɛ ku uwɔ le kɔ ohigbu ku a gē gba Ujehofa ɛ̄gbā a, ɔdi nɛ a cika ō bla kwu ɔ a?

⁷ Jé Ipu Uce Ku Oyibo

8. Ɔdiya nɛ Upɔlu mla Ubanabasi nyɛɛ ŋma Ukoniyɔm a, ɛlā nyá nɛ alɔ nwu ŋma ocabɔ ku uwa a?

⁸ Jé Ipu Uce Ku Oyibo

“Pīyeyī Tá Ɔwɔicō Oyēeyī” (Úklɔ́ kú Ācotɛ̄hɔ̄ 14:8-19)

9, 10. Imi nɛ Ulistra yɔ a, ɔdi nɛ alɔ jé lɛyikwu ācɛ nōo lā abɔɔ a?

⁹ Jé Ipu Uce Ku Oyibo

¹⁰ Jé Ipu Uce Ku Oyibo

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.”