G1050 — Beroiaios (Berean (from Berea))

G1050 · Greek · New Testament

Βεροιαῖος

Beroiaios

Adjective/Noun

Berean (from Berea)

Definition

Beroiaios means 'a person from Berea' — a city in Macedonia (modern Veria, Greece). It appears only once in the New Testament (Acts 20:4) to identify Sopater as a Berean among Paul's traveling companions.

Usage & Theological Significance

While beroiaios itself appears only once, the Bereans themselves (described with the related term) earned enduring fame in Acts 17:10-12. Unlike the Thessalonians who responded with riot, the Bereans 'received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.' The result: 'many of them believed.' This text has made 'Berean' synonymous with diligent, Scripture-testing faith — the noble posture of receiving teaching with openness while measuring everything against God's word. The Berean model is the antidote to both closed-minded rejection and gullible acceptance: enthusiastic, critical, Scripture-anchored engagement with the gospel.

Key Bible Verses

Acts 20:4 He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy also, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.

Acts 17:10 As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.

Acts 17:11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

Acts 17:12 As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.

Acts 17:13 But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up.

Related Words

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