Bible Dictionary · L
Lydia
(1.) Ezek 30:5 (Heb. Lud), a province in the west of Asia Minor, which derived its name from the fourth son of Shem (Gen 10:22). It was bounded on the east by the greater Phrygia, and on the west by Ionia and the AEgean Sea.
(2.) A woman of Thyatira, a “seller of purple,” who dwelt in Philippi (Acts 16:14, Acts 16:15). She was not a Jewess but a proselyte. The Lord opened her heart as she heard the gospel from the lips of Paul (Acts 16:13). She thus became the first in Europe who embraced Christianity. She was a person apparently of considerable wealth, for she could afford to give a home to Paul and his companions. (See Thyatira.)
Named in the Bible
3 verses
- Ezekiel 30:5 Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the mingled people, and Chub, and the men of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.
- Acts 16:14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
- Acts 16:40 And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.
From Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), by Matthew George Easton.
