Sosipater
Sosipater
Info
- #coworker
- Home:: Possibly Berea (if same as Sopater)
- Other Locales:: Corinthian Church (present when Romans was written)
- References:: Romans 16#16:21
Notes
- Paul calls him "my kinsman" (fellow Jew)
- Possibly the same person as Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea (Acts 20#20:4)
Summary
Sosipater is mentioned once in Romans 16#16:21, where Paul sends greetings from "Timothy, my fellow worker, and Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen." The designation "kinsman" (syngenēs) identifies Sosipater as a fellow Jew.
The name Sosipater (Sōsipatros, "saving father") is the full form of which Sopater (Sōpatros) is the shortened version. Scholars identify Sosipater with the "Sopater the Berean, son of Pyrrhus" who accompanied Paul on the collection journey to Jerusalem (Acts 20#20:4). Sosipater was a Jewish believer from Berea who was present with Paul in Corinth during the writing of Romans and subsequently traveled with Paul to Jerusalem as part of the collection delegation.
The Berean connection is significant. The Berean synagogue community was praised by Luke for their practice of examining Scripture daily (Acts 17#17:11). If Sosipater came from this community, he was formed in an environment that valued careful scriptural engagement, the kind of person Paul would value as a coworker.
Sosipater's presence alongside Timothy, Lucius, and Jason in Corinth at the time Romans was written places him in Paul's inner circle during one of the most theologically productive moments of Paul's career.
References
- theodoretCommentaryRomansc425 - Theodoret of Cyrus's patristic commentary on Romans, with early church interpretation of Sosipater in Romans 16:21.
- mouleEpistlePaulApostle2015 - Moule's commentary on Romans covering Sosipater's mention in Romans 16:21.
- bruceRomans2014 - F.F. Bruce's Romans commentary addressing Sosipater in Romans 16:21.
- mcclainRomansGospelGod1989 - McClain's Romans commentary covering Sosipater in Paul's closing greetings.
- mooEncounteringBookRomans2002 - Moo's Romans survey covering the greetings context where Sosipater appears in Romans 16:21.
- Romans 16:21 Commentaries - BibleHub
- Sosipater - Wikipedia