A fixed date: Gallio in Corinth
A letter of Emperor Claudius inscribed at Delphi, from AD 52, shows that Gallio was proconsul of Achaia around 51–52. This places Paul’s stay in Corinth (Acts 18:12) around those years.
Biblical context · Approved edition
Paul’s journeys: routes, cities and letters
Acts 13 tells how the church in Antioch sends Barnabas and Saul; from there the gospel reaches Cyprus, Asia Minor, Greece and, finally, Rome. We will first observe the sacred text and then the routes, the cities and the letters born of those journeys.
By the end: you will be able to distinguish what the sacred text affirms, what history and archaeology contribute about the cities and dates, and what remains a reconstruction.
- Passage
- Acts 13–14; 16:6–12; 18:1–17; 19:23–41; 27–28
- Central question
- What does Acts affirm about Paul’s journeys, and what can the routes, the cities and the letters contribute?
- Estimated reading time
- 10–12 minutes
- Status
- Approved for publication · version 1.0
First, look at the sacred text
Observe before reconstructing
Read Acts 13:1–12 and 14:26–27 and follow the movement of the account: who sends the missionaries, where do they go first, how do they preach and what do they report on their return?
Compare with a guided observation
| Element | What the passage tells us |
|---|---|
| Sending | In the church at Antioch, the Holy Spirit asks for Barnabas and Saul to be set apart; the church prays, fasts and sends them off (Acts 13:1–3). |
| First stage | They go down to Seleucia and sail to Cyprus, where they cross the island from Salamis to Paphos (13:4–6). |
| Method | They proclaim the word first in the synagogues (13:5, 14). |
| Turning point | Faced with rejection, they turn to the Gentiles, because the Lord has made them “a light for the Gentiles” (13:46–47). |
| Return | They go back to Antioch and report what God had done and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles (14:26–27). |
| New call | At Troas, a vision of a man from Macedonia leads them to cross into Europe (16:9–10). |
| End of the book | Paul reaches Rome and for two years proclaims the kingdom of God freely (28:14–16, 30–31). |
Acts narrates stages, cities and encounters, but it does not number the journeys or give a complete calendar.
Degrees of certainty
What can be recognized and what remains open
Paul’s journeys move through a well-documented Roman world; even so, known cities, probable dates and modern reconstructions should be kept apart.
Cities that can be visited today
Philippi was a Roman colony on the Via Egnatia (Acts 16:12). At Ephesus the great theatre, which held about 25,000 people, and remains of the Temple of Artemis survive (Acts 19:27–29).
The “three journeys”
Acts does not number the journeys: dividing them into three (13–14; 15:36–18:22; 18:23–21:17) is a modern way of ordering the account, and the boundary between the second and third is conventional.
Exact dates and where some letters were written
Apart from the fixed point of Gallio, the dates of Paul’s life are approximate. There is no agreement on whether the letters written from prison came from Rome, Ephesus or Caesarea.
Three complementary lenses
How to read the account and its world
These three lenses do not compete with each other: they answer different questions and must keep different degrees of certainty.
Theological reading: the gospel to the ends of the earth
What it contributes
It presents the journeys as the fulfilment of Acts 1:8: the Spirit sends, God opens doors and the gospel advances from Jerusalem to Rome despite opposition.
Which details it helps explain
The sending in prayer (13:1–3), the turn to the Gentiles (13:46–47), the hardships of the road (2 Corinthians 11:25–27) and the open ending in Rome (Acts 28:31).
Which limit must remain
The theological reading does not by itself fix the dates or the exact course of each route.
Related readings: source 1.
Routes through the Roman world
What it contributes
It places the journeys on roads such as the Via Egnatia and on Mediterranean sea routes, with their distances, seasons and dangers.
Which details it helps explain
Why Philippi, a Roman colony on the Via Egnatia, is the gateway to Europe (Acts 16:12), and why the voyage to Rome depends on ships and sailing seasons (Acts 27).
Which limit must remain
Maps of the journeys are reconstructions: on several stretches Acts does not say which exact road was taken.
Cities and letters
What it contributes
It links the cities in Acts with the letters Paul later wrote to his churches: Philippians, Thessalonians, Corinthians, Ephesians.
Which details it helps explain
The Gallio inscription as a fixed point in the chronology, the theatre at Ephesus where the crowd gathered (Acts 19:29) and the trade around Artemis that explains the riot.
Which limit must remain
A well-excavated city confirms the setting, not every detail of the visit or the exact place where each letter was written.
Comparison of lenses
What each approach answers and leaves unanswered
| Approach | Basis | Main contribution | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theological reading | Acts 1:8, 13–14 and 28. | Explains why and for what purpose Paul travels. | Gives no exact dates or routes. |
| Roman routes | Roads, ports and sailing accounts. | Gives distance, time and risk to the journeys. | Several stretches are reconstructions. |
| Cities and letters | Inscriptions, excavations and the letters themselves. | Confirms settings and provides a fixed point for chronology. | Does not fix every date or the place of every letter. |
Criterion: the sacred text, historical and archaeological data and modern reconstructions are presented as different levels of evidence.
What you can now recognize
What the Roman world contributes to Paul’s journeys
The roads, ports and cities such as Philippi, Corinth and Ephesus are well documented, and the Gallio inscription offers a fixed date that is rare in ancient history. This gives historical solidity to the account in Acts. But maps of “three journeys” and many dates remain reconstructions.
The centre of the account lies in God’s work: the Spirit sends, the gospel crosses boundaries and churches are born in very different cities. The Roman world illuminates the road; the sacred text defines the message.
Return to the sacred text
What does this add to my reading?
1. Who sends?
In Acts 13:1–3, who takes the initiative for the journey, and what does the church do?
See a guided answer
The Holy Spirit asks for Barnabas and Saul to be set apart for the work. The church prays, fasts, lays hands on them and sends them off. The journey is born in a community’s prayer, not in an individual plan.
2. The open door
In Acts 14:26–27, what do the missionaries report when they return to Antioch?
Read Acts 14:26–27See a guided answer
They report all that God had done with them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. The report focuses on God’s work rather than on the distances travelled.
Result of the journey: you can now recognize the central message of the journeys, place them prudently in the Roman world and distinguish firm data, such as the date of Gallio, from reconstructions of routes and dates.
Key terms
Brief glossary
- Antioch
- City in Syria where the disciples were first called Christians (Acts 11:26) and from which the journeys set out.
- Via Egnatia
- Roman road across Macedonia linking the Adriatic with Byzantium; Philippi and Thessalonica lay on it.
- Proconsul
- Roman governor of a province administered by the Senate, such as Achaia, whose capital was Corinth.
- Roman colony
- City with Roman status, such as Philippi (Acts 16:12), settled partly by veterans and Roman citizens.
- Gentiles
- People who were not Jewish; Paul’s preaching is increasingly directed to them.
Editorial record
Scope and review
- Responsible person
- Jose A Bejarano V
- Version
- 1.0 · trilingual edition
- Last reviewed
- Approved for publication by the responsible editor on 27 September 2026
- Method
- A guided reading that distinguishes the sacred text, the historical and archaeological context and theological interpretations.
About the images: the conceptual illustrations generated with artificial intelligence serve as visual support. They are not historical, archaeological or geographical evidence.
Sources for further study
Works consulted
- Encyclopaedia Britannica: “Saint Paul, the Apostle” — overview of Paul’s life, his letters and the debate about where the prison letters were written.
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Archaeological Site of Philippi — Philippi, a Roman colony on the Via Egnatia, and Paul’s arrival around 49–50.
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Ephesus — the Roman port city, its great theatre and the Temple of Artemis.
- Biblical Archaeology Society: “Biblical Riot at Ephesus: The Archaeological Context” — the theatre of Ephesus and the trade around Artemis in the setting of Acts 19.
- Bryan Windle (Bible Archaeology Report): “Gallio: An Archaeological Biography” — the Delphi inscription and the date of Gallio’s proconsulship in Achaia.