Bible Strands
Acts 14:1
At Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue, where they spoke so well that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul and Barnabas address a mixed audience of Jews and Greeks inside the Iconium synagogue. This moment occurs after their arrival in the city and immediately precedes the stirred-up opposition recorded in Acts 14:2.
The words — The Greek phrase Ἐγένετο δὲ (Egeneto de) literally renders "it came to pass now," functioning as a narrative marker. The verb εἰσελθεῖν (eiselthein) means "entering," describing their deliberate movement into the synagogue space.
The thread — This pattern of synagogue preaching to Jews and Greeks recurs in Acts 18:4, where Paul reasons there every Sabbath. It also connects to the missional shift in Acts 13:46 and the geographic movement in Acts 13:51.
Why it lands — The text states that their proclamation produced belief among a great number of Jews and Greeks. A reader must note that this initial success directly precipitates the poisoning of minds by unbelieving Jews in the next verse.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed.
Cross-references
- Acts 18:4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks alike.
- Acts 13:46 Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “It was necessary to speak the word of God to you first. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.
- Acts 13:51 So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.
- Acts 14:21 They preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,
- Acts 9:20 Saul promptly began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, declaring, “He is the Son of God.”
- Acts 11:21 The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
- Acts 13:43 After the synagogue was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.
- Acts 17:1 When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.
- Acts 17:4 Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few leading women.
- Acts 17:12 As a result, many of them believed, along with quite a few prominent Greek women and men.