NT FigureNew Testament

Lydia

Acts

When

c. AD 50· In the text

Tied to events dated from records outside the Bible, usually within a few years. How the dates are worked out

Name meaning

"woman of Lydia" · Greek

A seller of purple from Thyatira, in the region of Lydia (Acts 16:14).

About

A dealer in purple cloth from Thyatira who was worshiping by a river outside Philippi when Paul arrived. She listened to Paul's message and the Lord opened her heart. She and the members of her household were baptized, making her the first recorded convert to Christianity in Europe. She insisted that Paul and Silas stay at her house and later opened her home as a gathering place for the new church.

Relationships

HostedPaulApostle whose words she heeded and whom she urged to stay in her house

Key Scripture AppearancesKJV

Acts 16:14

And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.Acts 16:14, KJV

Acts 16:15

And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.Acts 16:15, KJV

Acts 16:40

And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.Acts 16:40, KJV

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