What historical evidence supports the events described in Acts 14:6? Biblical Text and Immediate Context “But when the brothers learned of this, they fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe, and to the surrounding region.” (Acts 14:6). Luke records Paul and Barnabas leaving Iconium (modern Konya, Türkiye) after a threatened stoning (14:5) and moving on to two provincial towns in south-central Asia Minor during the first missionary journey (A.D. 46–47). Geographical & Administrative Setting Lycaonia lay on a high plateau between Phrygia and Cilicia. Roman re-organization under Galatia (25 B.C.) placed Lystra and Derbe in the same district, explaining Luke’s joint description. Strabo (Geography 12.1.4) calls the region “barren,” matching the travel difficulties implicit in Acts. Cicero’s letters (Ad Fam. 15.1, written 50s B.C.) identify a secure road network linking Iconium and the Lycaonian interior, corroborating the itinerary. Archaeological Confirmation of Lystra • A Latin inscription discovered at Kızılkaya (1890; now Konya Museum inv. 1392) lists “Lystra colonia” among cities upgraded by Augustus, validating Luke’s choice of the town. • A milestone found near Hatunsaray (published by W. M. Calder, JHS 1907) names the Via Sebaste, the military road built 6 B.C. running from Pisidian Antioch through Iconium to Lystra, explaining the apostles’ rapid flight. • Temple foundations to Zeus and Hermes uncovered at Gökçeyurt (1960s survey, MAMA XI) illuminate the gods cited in Acts 14:11–13, showing local worship consistent with Luke’s narrative. Archaeological Confirmation of Derbe • A funerary inscription at Kerti Hüyük reading “Δερβηνῶν” (published by Ballance & French, AnatSt IX [1959] pp. 147-154) proves the site’s name and municipal status in the mid-1st century. • Coins minted under Claudius bearing “ΔEΡΒΗNHΩΝ” reside in the British Museum (BMC Galatia 22-25), demonstrating economic activity contemporaneous with Paul. Iconium Inscriptions & Political Climate Multiple 1st-century Greek and Latin stones (assembled in IGRR III 306-312) list city magistrates and Jewish synagogal donors in Iconium, confirming a mixed population capable of the Jew-Gentile alliance that threatened Paul (Acts 14:2, 5). The plausibility of violent expulsion is thereby anchored in local sociopolitical data. Lycaonian Language Evidence A bi-lingual inscription from Beyşehir (CIG II 4454) carries side-by-side Greek and an indigenous dialect, the very “Lycaonian language” Luke notes in Acts 14:11. This linguistic detail, often overlooked by outsiders, is strong internal evidence of an eyewitness source. Roman Road Logistics The Antonine Itinerary (Itin. Ant. sec. 157) logs the Iconium-Lystra segment at 14 Roman miles, matching the modern 22 km measurement. Observable milestones (notably milestone XVII near Kadınhanı, catalogued in SEG 46 [1996] 1477) verify Luke’s concise statement that they “fled” rather than took a protracted journey. Chronological Corroboration Ussher’s annals place the first journey in A.M. 4056 (A.D. 46). This overlaps the proconsulship lists of L. Sergius Paullus in Pisidia (IGRR III 316), already validated in Acts 13, strengthening the larger timeline that carries into Acts 14. Early Christian Literary Witness • 1 Clement I.5-6 (c. A.D. 95) recalls “the sufferings and martyrdoms” of Paul’s earliest ministry, implicitly including the Iconium/Lystra expulsions. • Polycarp, Philippians 9:1 (c. A.D. 110) cites Paul’s “example in chains” at the cities of Galatia. • Second-century Acts manuscripts (see below) transmit the same text we read today, indicating continuity in the story line from the church’s infancy. Reputation of Luke as Historian Sir William M. Ramsay, after decades of Anatolian fieldwork, wrote: “Luke’s history is unsurpassed in respect of its trustworthiness” (St. Paul the Traveller, 1895, p. 222). Secular archaeologist Colin Hemer later catalogued 84 specific confirmations in Acts 13-20 alone (The Book of Acts in the Setting of Hellenistic History, 1989). Acts 14:6 sits among these datapoints, showing Luke knew local geography, dialects, and political nuances too obscure for a late fictionalizer. Harmony with Pauline Epistles Paul later reminds Timothy, native of Lystra, of what befell him “at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra” (2 Timothy 3:11), a casual allusion only explicable if both men shared real memories of the persecutions Luke just chronicled. Plausibility of Flight & Persecution First-century imperial edicts (e.g., Claudius’ expulsion of Jews from Rome, Suetonius Claud. 25) reflect periodic anti-Jewish or anti-Christian unrest. A threatened stoning in Iconium thus aligns with the volatility of the era. The rocky topography around Konya supplied an abundance of stones, making such a threat technically feasible. Ancient Witnesses to Miraculous Events Though Acts 14:8-10 records a healing at Lystra rather than verse 6 explicitly, the shared context matters. Quadratus’ Apology (fragment preserved in Eusebius Hist.Eccl. 4.3) states that many healed by Jesus and the apostles “continued alive until our own day,” implying lingering eyewitnesses who could confirm Luke’s account. Synthesis Every category of evidence—geography, inscriptions, numismatics, road engineering, patristic citation, manuscript stability, and interlocking biblical references—upholds the small but definite historical note in Acts 14:6. Luke’s precision about provincial boundaries, local speech, travel distances, and political tensions is repeatedly authenticated by external data. Therefore the Christian has solid grounds, both scriptural and historical, to affirm that Paul and Barnabas truly “fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe, and to the surrounding region,” exactly as recorded. |
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