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Acts 18 · a question people ask

Is the Sosthenes of Acts 18 the Sosthenes named in 1 Corinthians?

In the text

Acts names him "Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue" (18:17), at Corinth. 1 Corinthians opens, "Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes" (1 Corinthians 1:1). Neither verse says whether they are the same man, and these notes don't say either.

The verses

“Then all the Greeks seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. Gallio didn’t care about any of these things.”
Acts 18:17 · World English Bible
“Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,”
1 Corinthians 1:1 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Acts 18

Acts 18: Tent makers in Corinth

Apollos "taught accurately the things concerning Jesus" (18:25), and still Priscilla and Aquila "explained to him the way of God more accurately" (18:26). And the chapter's testifying and its last verse end on the same words: "that Jesus was the Christ" (18:5, 18:28).

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Last reviewed October 7, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions