100 Reasons to Believe New Testament History
45. Gallio Proconsul of Achaia
In Acts 18, we read of Paul’s visit to the city of Corinth, where the Jews with one accord again brought him to the local authorities for discipline, the charge being that Paul “persuaded men to worship God contrary to the law.” (18:12). The ruler presiding over the affair was Gallio, who is referred to as “deputy” of Achaia (Greek - “proconsul”).
Achia was governed by a proconsul from 27 B.C. to A.D. 15, and then again from A.D. 44 onwards A. Inscriptional evidence from Delphi in central Greece names Gallio proconsul sometime in A.D. 51 B. Not only does such evidence give us a fixed chronological point in the journeys of Paul (since the proconsul there would have only ruled for one year C), it also demonstrates once again Luke’s accuracy as a careful historian.
Some have suggested that the anonymous author of Acts simply went to a public archive to find the chronologically correct proconsul for Paul’s time to include in the narrative. This idea overlooks the fact that proconsular provinces did not have regular archives or permanent personnel in the first century D. The idea that coins were used as a source of proconsular names is equally flawed. Though the names of proconsuls were inscribed on some coins, this was not so in Corinth, where coins bore the names of magistrates, not proconsuls. White concludes:
“[The] suggestion that the author could have easily found the chronologically correct proconsul for Paul’s adventure at Corinth, turns out to be surprisingly improbable.” A.N. Sherwin-White, “Roman Law and Roman Society in the New Testament”, Baker Book House, 1962, reprint of 1963 Ed., p. 107
45. Gallio Proconsul of Achia - Notes and References
A. J.A. Thompson, “The Bible and Archaeology”, Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1962, p. 394
B. “In old Delphi a letter of the emperor Claudius came to light from which it appeared that Gallio must have been in Corinth from A.D. 51-52. The letter contains the words: ‘As Lucius Junius Gallio, my friend the proconsul of Achaia, wrote…”and is dated at the beginning of the year 52. According to a decree of Claudius newly appointed officials had to leave Rome for their provinces on June 1. Gallio must therefore have arrived in Achaia about July 1, A.D. 51.” Werner Keller, “The Bible as History”, New Revised English Translation, Hodder and Stoughton, 1980, p. 362
C.“As Proconsul of Achaia, Gallio would have governed for one year only, beginning on July 1, and most scholars are certain this occurred in AD 51-52 – a rare absolute date in the chronology of Paul’s history.” James Harpur, “The Journeys of St. Paul”, 1997, p. 50 D. A.N. Sherwin-White, “Roman Law and Roman Society in the New Testament”, Baker Book House, 1992, reprint of 1963 Ed., p.106