Reference: Asia
American
One of the great divisions of the eastern continent, lying east of Europe. The Asia spoken of in the Bible is Asia Minor, a peninsula which lies between the Euxine or Black sea and the eastern part of the Mediterranean, and which formerly included the provinces of Phrygia, Cilicia, Pamphylia, Caria, Lycia, Lydia, Mysia, Bithynia, Paphlagonia, Cappadocia, Galatia, Lycaonia, and Pisidia. On the western coast were anciently the countries of Eolia, Ionia, and Doris, the names of which were afterwards retained, although the countries were included in the provinces of Mysia, Lydia, and Caria. Many Jews were scattered over these regions, as appears from the history in Acts, and from Josephus, the writers of the New Testament comprehend, under the name of Asia, either (1) the whole of Asia Minor, Ac 19:26-27; 20:4,16,18; or (2) only proconsular Asia, that is, the region of Ionia, of which Ephesus was the capital, and which Strabo also calls Asia, Ac 2:9; 6:9; 16:6; 19:10,22. Cicero speaks of proconsular Asia as containing the provinces of Phrygia, Mysia, Caria, and Lydia.
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Parthians and Medes and Elamites and those residing [in] Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
But some of those from the Synagogue of the Freedmen ({as it was called}), both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia, stood up [and] disputed with Stephen.
And they traveled through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message in Asia.
And this took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
So [after] sending two of those who were assisting him, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, he himself stayed [some] time in Asia.
and you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this man Paul has persuaded [and] turned away a large crowd [by] saying that the [gods] made by hands are not gods. So not only is there a danger this line of business of ours [will] come into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Artemis [will] be regarded as nothing--and [she] is about to be brought down even from her grandeur, [she] whom the whole [of] Asia and the [entire] world worship!"
And Sopater [son] of Pyrrhus from Berea, and Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, and Gaius from Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia, were accompanying him.
For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not be [having] to spend time in Asia. For he was hurrying if it could be possible for him to be in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.
And when they came to him, he said to them, "You know from the first day on which I set foot in Asia how I was the whole time with you--
Easton
is used to denote Proconsular Asia, a Roman province which embraced the western parts of Asia Minor, and of which Ephesus was the capital, in Ac 2:9; 6:9; 16/6/type/leb'>16:6; 19:10,22; 20:4,16,18, etc., and probably Asia Minor in Ac 19:26-27; 21:27; 24:18; 27:2. Proconsular Asia contained the seven churches of the Apocalypse (Re 1:11). The "chiefs of Asia" (Ac 19:31) were certain wealthy citizens who were annually elected to preside over the games and religious festivals of the several cities to which they belonged. Some of these "Asiarchs" were Paul's friends.
Illustration: Proconsular Asia and the Seven Churches
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Parthians and Medes and Elamites and those residing [in] Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
But some of those from the Synagogue of the Freedmen ({as it was called}), both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia, stood up [and] disputed with Stephen.
And they traveled through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message in Asia.
And this took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
So [after] sending two of those who were assisting him, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, he himself stayed [some] time in Asia.
and you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this man Paul has persuaded [and] turned away a large crowd [by] saying that the [gods] made by hands are not gods. So not only is there a danger this line of business of ours [will] come into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Artemis [will] be regarded as nothing--and [she] is about to be brought down even from her grandeur, [she] whom the whole [of] Asia and the [entire] world worship!"
And even some of the Asiarchs who were his friends sent [word] to him [and] were urging [him] not to risk himself [by going] into the theater.
And Sopater [son] of Pyrrhus from Berea, and Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, and Gaius from Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia, were accompanying him.
For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not be [having] to spend time in Asia. For he was hurrying if it could be possible for him to be in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.
And when they came to him, he said to them, "You know from the first day on which I set foot in Asia how I was the whole time with you--
But when the seven days were about to be completed, the Jews from Asia who had seen him in the temple [courts] stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him,
in which they found me purified in the temple [courts], not with a crowd or with a disturbance.
And we went aboard a ship from Adramyttium that was about to sail to the places along the [coast] of Asia [and] put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.
saying, "What you see, write in a book and send [it] to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea."
Fausets
In the New Testament not the continent, nor Asia Minor, but the W. of Asia Minor, with Ephesus as its capital, including Mysia, Lydia, Caria. Attalus, king of Pergamus, left it to the Romans 138 B.C. It was placed by Augustus among the senatorial provinces, as distinguished from the imperial provinces. Hence it was governed by a "proconsul," as Ac 19:38 (anthupatos), with the minute propriety which marks truth, incidentally intimates. It had its "assize days" (agoraioi, margin "the court days are kept.") Here were the seven churches addressed in the Revelation. In the Old Testament "Asia" does not occur.
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If then Demetrius and the craftsmen [who are] with him have a complaint against anyone, the court days are observed and there are proconsuls--let them bring charges against one another!
If then Demetrius and the craftsmen [who are] with him have a complaint against anyone, the court days are observed and there are proconsuls--let them bring charges against one another!
Hastings
In the NT this word invariably means the Roman province Asia, which embraced roughly the western third of the peninsula which we call Asia Minor. It was bounded on the N.E. by the province of Bithynia, on the E. by the province of Galatia, on the S. by the province of Lycia, and had been ceded to the Romans by the will of the Pergamenian king Attalus III. in b.c. 133. The following ethnic districts were in this province
Morish
A'sia
This term in the N.T. does not refer to the portion of the earth now called Asia, nor does it include the whole of Asia Minor; but applies simply to the western part of Asia Minor, which was bequeathed to Rome by Attalus III. Philometor, king of Pergamus or king of Asia, B.C. 133. The province, with Ephesus as its capital, included Caria, Lydia, and Mysia, which were anciently called Doris, Ionia, and AEolis. It was governed by a proconsul. In Ac 2:9-10 'Asia' does not include Cappadocia, Pontus, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, which are all included in Asia Minor. Again, in Ac 16:6, Phrygia and Galatia are distinct from Asia: see also 1Pe 1:1. It will be seen in a map that all the seven churches of Asia, mentioned in the Revelation, are in the above named district. As Paul laboured in other parts of Asia Minor, and there being frequent intercourse between the various places and Ephesus, it may be that a wider area is in some passages referred to as 'Asia,' as in Ac 19:10,26-27.
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Parthians and Medes and Elamites and those residing [in] Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya toward Cyrene, and the Romans who were in town,
And they traveled through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message in Asia.
And this took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
and you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this man Paul has persuaded [and] turned away a large crowd [by] saying that the [gods] made by hands are not gods. So not only is there a danger this line of business of ours [will] come into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Artemis [will] be regarded as nothing--and [she] is about to be brought down even from her grandeur, [she] whom the whole [of] Asia and the [entire] world worship!"
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the chosen who are residing temporarily in the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
Smith
A'sia
(orient). The passages in the New Testament where this word occurs are the following;
Ac 2:9; 6:9; 16/6/type/leb'>16:6; 19:10,22,26-27; 20:4,16,18; 21:27; 27:2; Ro 16:5; 1Co 16:19; 2Co 1:8; 2Ti 1:15; 1Pe 1:1; Re 1:4,11
In all these it may be confidently stated that the word is used for a Roman province which embraced the western part of the peninsula of Asia Minor and of which Ephesus was the capital.
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Parthians and Medes and Elamites and those residing [in] Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
But some of those from the Synagogue of the Freedmen ({as it was called}), both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia, stood up [and] disputed with Stephen.
And they traveled through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message in Asia.
And this took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
So [after] sending two of those who were assisting him, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, he himself stayed [some] time in Asia.
and you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this man Paul has persuaded [and] turned away a large crowd [by] saying that the [gods] made by hands are not gods. So not only is there a danger this line of business of ours [will] come into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Artemis [will] be regarded as nothing--and [she] is about to be brought down even from her grandeur, [she] whom the whole [of] Asia and the [entire] world worship!"
And Sopater [son] of Pyrrhus from Berea, and Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, and Gaius from Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia, were accompanying him.
For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not be [having] to spend time in Asia. For he was hurrying if it could be possible for him to be in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.
And when they came to him, he said to them, "You know from the first day on which I set foot in Asia how I was the whole time with you--
But when the seven days were about to be completed, the Jews from Asia who had seen him in the temple [courts] stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him,
And we went aboard a ship from Adramyttium that was about to sail to the places along the [coast] of Asia [and] put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.
also [greet] the church in their house. Greet Epenetus my dear [friend], who is {the first convert} of Asia for Christ.
[who] also made clear to us your love in the Spirit.
To the pure all [things] [are] pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing [is] pure, but both their mind and conscience are defiled.
John, to the seven churches in Asia: grace to you and peace from the one who is and the one who was and the one who is coming, and from the seven spirits who [are] before his throne,
saying, "What you see, write in a book and send [it] to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea."
Watsons
ASIA, one of the four grand divisions of the earth. It is also used in a more restricted sense for Asia Minor, or Anatolia. In the New Testament it always signifies the Roman Proconsular Asia, in which the seven Apocalyptic churches were situated.