Atlas Biblica

    person · also Sosipater

    Sopater

    Σώπατρος

    Sopater (or Sosipater) was a companion of Paul from Berea who accompanied him on his journey to Jerusalem and later sent greetings to the church in Rome.

    verses
    2
    first named
    Acts 20:4
    last named
    Romans 16:21
    period
    the New Testament
    role
    Man

    Description

    Who was Sopater?

    In the words of STEPBible TIPNR:

    Sopater, also known as Sosipater, was a Christian mentioned in the New Testament as a companion of the apostle Paul. He is first mentioned in Act.20.4 as a Berean who accompanied Paul on his journey from Greece to Jerusalem, along with several others, including Aristarchus, Secundus, Gaius, Timothy, Tychicus, and Trophimus. This journey took place during Paul's third missionary journey, as he was returning to Jerusalem with an offering for the believers there (Act.24.17).

    Sopater's inclusion in this group suggests that he was a trusted member of the early Christian community and a close associate of Paul. As a Berean, he likely came from the city of Berea (modern-day Veria) in Macedonia, where Paul had previously preached the gospel and found the people to be open-minded and receptive to his message (Act.17.10-12).

    Later, in Rom.16.21, a Sosipater is mentioned among those sending greetings to the church in Rome, along with Timothy, Lucius, Jason, and others. While it is not explicitly stated, it is likely that this Sosipater is the same person as Sopater from Berea, as both names were used interchangeably in ancient times.

    The mention of Sopater/Sosipater in these two passages highlights the close-knit nature of the early Christian community and the importance of personal relationships in the spread of the gospel. As a companion of Paul and a member of the delegation carrying the offering to Jerusalem, Sopater played a role in the practical support and unity of the church.

    Relations

    Direct connections

    Every entity the graph places in a stated relation with this one, grouped by the kind of link. Each relation is authored once and its inverse derived, so both ends always agree. Rows marked “registry” come from the identity spine rather than from a verse, and a row marked “which bearer is the source’s decision” is one where the name could have meant more than one person. The last group is not a relation at all — it counts the events two entities stand in together.

    How the graph connects Sopater10 of 13 entities the graph connects to Sopater, in 2 groups: company 2, events 8. Kinship, company and ground are stated relations; events counts the acts two entities stand in together and is not a relation. Each mark is sized by how many verses name that entity and labelled with the link and the count, so the grouping and the size are both readable without colour. Distance from the centre carries nothing.BereaAssociated with · 3 versesTertius’ greeting of AddresseeTook part in · 2 versesCompanyPaul1 event · 182 versesTimothy2 events · 28 versesTychicus1 event · 7 versesAristarchus1 event · 5 versesJason1 event · 5 versesTrophimus1 event · 3 versesLucius1 event · 2 versesGaius1 event · 1 verseEventsSopater

    The 10 best-attested of 13 are drawn. All 13 are listed below.

    Associated with

    Child of

    Took part in

    Stands in the same events as

    Places

    Where this happens

    The places the claims about this person reach, drawn where the gazetteer locates them. A point is where a row puts them and never where tradition does; no line joins two points, because the rows state where and not in what order.

    Where the story of Sopater happensThe one place the claims about Sopater reach, on a map of the world the text moves through, framed to them: Berea. Each dot is a coordinate from the gazetteer, sized by how many rows put Sopater there. The coastline is a modern one, simplified; no border, road or settlement of any period is drawn, and no line joins two points, because the rows state where and not in what order.Berea
    the New TestamentThe one place the claims about Sopater reach

    Read it

    Where to read it

    Every verse of the text carried here that names this entity — 2, across 2 books.

    1. Acts1 verse

      20:4

    2. Romans1 verse

      16:21

    Onward

    Where this page goes

    Not the direct relations above — these are one hop further out, ranked so that a rare shared connection outweighs a common one. Descriptions by STEPBible TIPNR.

    via Tertius’ greeting of AddresseeGreetingGreeting is a concept gathering 31 labelled instances in the text.via Tertius’ greeting of AddresseeJasonPaul's host in Thessalonica; relative of Paulvia Tertius’ greeting of AddresseeLuciusProphet and teacher in the church at Antioch.via Tertius’ greeting of AddresseeTertiusPaul's scribe who wrote the Epistle to the Romansvia Tertius’ greeting of AddresseeTimothyPaul's young disciple and co-worker

    Where they appear

    Chapter by chapter

    Atlas's reading of each chapter this person appears in, in canonical order. One line per chapter, and each leads to the whole of it.

    Sources

    What this rests on