Berea (Bible)

Berea or Beroea was a city of the Hellenic and Roman era now known as Veria (or Veroia) in Macedonia, northern Greece. It is a small city on the eastern side of the Vermion Mountains north of Mount Olympus. The town is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, where the apostles Paul, Silas and Timothy preached the Christian gospel.

Paul, Silas and Timothy travelled to Berea by night after fleeing from Thessalonica, as recorded in Acts 17:10. They 'immediately' went to the synagogue of the Jews to preach, and the Bereans were very accepting: the writer of the Acts of the Apostles noted the difference between the Thessalonians' response to the gospel and the Bereans' response: the Bereans were 'open-minded' or 'fair-minded' and willing to 'examine the scriptures to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth'. Many of the Bereans believed, both men and women, but when the Jewish Thessalonian non-believers heard about this, they came to Berea, stirring up crowds, starting riots, and ensuring that Paul, Silas and Timothy could not preach. Then the believers sent Paul to the coast, while Timothy and Silas stayed behind. Paul was taken to Athens, and word was given to Timothy and Silas to join him as soon as possible. ()

Berea was located in southwestern Macedonia, which was a province of the Roman empire in its time. No one has verified the date of the establishment of the city, although it has been known to have been surrendered to the Romans from the Persians after the Battle of Pydna in 168 B.C. There is a city of the same name that is mentioned in a section of Thucydides, which dates it to be around the year 432 B.C. In Polybius there were two insertions about an inscription that dates the city back to the later part of the 4th century BC The city's foundation stood where modern day Verria or Kar-Verria in Greece is today. It was located in a unique position. There was a variety of terrain that surrounded the city back then and even today.

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