Acts 20:4 reads,

"He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Beroea, ...."

The name "Sopater" is an abbreviation of the name "Sosipater", which occurs at Rom.

16:21. "Sosipater" means "Saver of his father" or something similar. The mention of a

father is unusual in Acts, so may have a particular significance. I speculate that

Sopater brought his father to the faith and that he was given the name "Sosipater" in

recognition of the fact. This re-naming would then closely parallel the case of

Sosthenes.

A further observation is that Sopater is mentioned first in the list of seven names in

Acts 20:4. It is interesting to note that in the gospels and Acts every list of more than

two believers begins with someone who probably received a new name.

The name was held by three or four Jews in Palestine in the period 330BCE-200CE. If

it was indeed considered to be an appropriately Jewish name, this might have been

another reason why it was given. On the other hand, if it was somewhat popular

among Jews, it could equally have been the man's birth name.

Back to index page