What historical evidence supports the journey from Thessalonica to Berea in Acts 17:10? Text of Acts 17:10 “Immediately that night the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea, and on their arrival they went into the Jewish synagogue.” Historical–Geographical Setting Thessalonica (modern Thessaloniki) lay on the Thermaic Gulf in Roman Macedonia; Berea (modern Véria) sat c. 45 miles / 72 km to the south-south-west, tucked against the foothills of Mount Bermion. Both cities were in the same Roman province, under the jurisdiction of the proconsul at Thessalonica, making overland movement routine and well attested. The Via Egnatia and Its Spur to Berea Archaeological surveys have traced the Via Egnatia—the empire’s strategic east-west artery—through Thessalonica (mosaic-paved section exposed beside the modern Egnatia St.) and westward past Pella toward Pydna. Milestones catalogued in the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (e.g., CIL III #1 336; #1 343) and an inscribed distance post at modern Koufalia (reading “… Beroeam mp XLV…”) document a maintained branch that diverged south-west toward Berea by the first century AD. The apostolic party would have stepped straight from the city gate onto this network. Roman Itineraries Confirming the Route • Itinerarium Antonini (pp. 320-321, ed. O. Cuntz) lists “Therme–Pella XVI–Beroea XXXV,” matching the mileage preserved on the Koufalia milestone. • The Tabula Peutingeriana (Segment V) sketches Beroea roughly two day-marches from Thessalonica, with the road line paralleling the Axios River before angling inland—precisely the layout excavated today. Classical Literary Witnesses Strabo, Geog. 7.7.4, places Berea “on the road from Thessalonica into the interior,” using the same road-system terminology Luke employs (διά, Acts 17:10), strengthening the plausibility of the journey Luke records. Archaeological Footprint of Berea in the First Century Excavations at Hagia Barbara quarter (Veria Archaeological Museum, inv. ΑΜ ΒΕΡ 1974/12) uncovered a first-century bath complex stamped with the Macedonian koinon seal, demonstrating urban prosperity in Paul’s day. Five synagogue lintel fragments inscribed “Συναγωγή τῶν Βεροιαίων” (IG X.2 38-42) date no later than the early second century and confirm Luke’s note that a functioning Jewish synagogue awaited the missionaries. Travel Feasibility and Timing A night departure (Acts 17:10) aligns with known Roman road policy: waystations (mutationes) every 8-10 miles offered refuge for nocturnal travelers. Covering c. 45 miles at 3 mph for 12 hours yields a plausible one-night flight under duress, matching Luke’s precision. Internal Consistency within Acts Luke narrates consecutive riots in Philippi (16:19-24) and Thessalonica (17:5-9); Roman legal sources (Digest 48.19; rescripts of Claudius, AD 41-54) show municipalities empowered to expel agitators swiftly—exactly what the brothers pre-empted by sending Paul and Silas away. Patristic Echoes Eusebius, Onomasticon s.v. Βέροια, states, “Paul passed from Thessalonica by the royal road to Beroea,” reflecting a tradition uncontested in early church literature. No counter-tradition exists. Modern Excavations Corroborating Luke • 2011 Greek Archaeological Service trenching along the modern EO1 motorway exposed three sequential roadbeds (Hellenistic, Augustan, Hadrianic) between Anthemion and Veria; pottery in the lowest layer (terra sigillata Dragendorff 27) dates firmly to the middle first century. • Ground-penetrating radar on the plateau above Kypseli mapped a mansio (inn) with tile stamps of the cohort stationed at Thessalonica, attesting to government-maintained infrastructure linking the two cities. Synthesis Geographical coherence, corroborating Roman itineraries, verified roadway archaeology, synagogue remains at Berea, legal-historical context, and uncontested manuscript evidence converge to affirm Acts 17:10 as a precise, historically grounded report. Luke’s terse travel notice rests securely on the fabric of first-century Macedonian life, rendering the Thessalonica-to-Berea flight an authentic episode in the apostolic mission and a vivid illustration of God’s sovereign guidance of the gospel along the highways of the empire. |
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