Paul at Corinth. Corinth (p. 832), the seat of the Roman proconsul, was to the Christian missionary as good a field as Athens was the opposite. A great seaport, it was much addicted to vice and luxury, and had a very mixed population, as the Corinthian epistles show us, of rich people and poor, of tradesmen and would-be philosophers.
Acts 18:2 f. The edict of Claudius (Suet. Claudius, 25) is to be placed in his 9 th year, A.D. 49 or 50. We shall see in connexion with Gallio that Paul's arrival in Corinth falls early in 50. Aquila and Priscilla (her name is, for an unknown reason, placed first in Acts 18:18 and Acts 18:26, also Romans 16:3), were there before him, Jews of the Dispersion like himself, and carrying on the same craft. It was natural that he should live with them and join his forces to theirs in the trade whatever it was. [100] It was important for him to set an example of industry and of independence.
Acts 18:4 is an editorial insertion, as Acts 18:5 (read with AV, Paul was pressed in spirit) tells us that the effective synagogue preaching did not begin till Silas and Timothy joined him. The tenor of the preaching is different from that at Athens, but Paul's preaching was more than this (1 Corinthians 2:2). It is addressed to the Jews in the synagogue, and sets up vehement opposition on their part; Paul then acts according to the principle stated in Acts 13:46, and turns to the Gentiles. From 1 Cor. we see that the Corinthian church contained a Jewish element (Acts 7:18), but was predominantly Gentile (Acts 12:2).
Acts 18:7. The opposition decided Paul to change his lodgings; he left the house of Aquila the Jew and went to that of Titus Justus, a Gentile by birth, who had frequented the synagogue. That this house was close to the synagogue would make the breach more marked; the Christian meeting probably took place there. Crispus is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 1:14 as an early convert whom Paul himself baptized.
Acts 18:9. This promise explains Paul's long residence at Corinth. The attack (Acts 18:12-17) did not take place at once. The chronological data in Ac. are satisfactory.
[100] There is some difference of opinion as to the meaning of tent maker, and we should like to know whether Paul sat at his work as a weaver, or stood at a table as an upholsterer (Renan translates tapissier), or cut out at a table and moved about the floor putting the tent together. In Corinth, as a place much concerned with travel, there would be a steady market for tents.