The Apostolic Age · AD 4–70
Sosthenes of Corinth
fl. c. 51 (death unrecorded) · Synagogue ruler · Later co-sender of 1 Corinthians · Corinth
The Apostolic Age
Who Sosthenes of Corinth was
Crispus’s successor as ruler of the Corinthian synagogue, beaten before Gallio’s judgment seat when the proconsul refused to hear the case against Paul — beaten, remarkably, by the Greek crowd while Gallio “cared for none of those things.” That 1 Corinthians is sent from “Paul… and Sosthenes our brother” has been read since antiquity as the sequel: the beaten prosecutor become a believer and amanuensis. Eusebius counts him among the Seventy.
Common questions
When was Sosthenes active?
Sosthenes of Corinth is dated fl. c. 51 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Sosthenes in the Apostolic Age (AD 4–70). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
What did Sosthenes write?
Sosthenes of Corinth has 1 catalogued writing in the archive: Co-sender of First Corinthians.
Which early sources mention Sosthenes?
Sosthenes of Corinth is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Paul and Luke the Evangelist. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Sosthenes from?
The archive associates Sosthenes of Corinth with Corinth.
Writings (1)
Co-sender of First Corinthians
Named beside Paul in the letter's opening linePaul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother.Read the full text ↗
Scripture record
Primary-source mentions (2)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
1 Corinthians 1:1
c. AD 55Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother…Paul · read ↗
Acts 18:17 (beaten before Gallio's judgment seat)
c. AD 62Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat.Luke the Evangelist · read ↗
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 30 · Crucifixion, Resurrection and Pentecost, AD 30–33
- AD 44 · Persecution under Herod Agrippa I, AD 44
- AD 49 · The Council of Jerusalem, AD 49
- AD 57 · Paul writes Romans, AD 57
- AD 62 · James the Just stoned, AD 62
- AD 64 · The Great Fire and Nero’s persecution, AD 64
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Sosthenes.