Νεάπολις
Neapolis
Definition
Νεάπολις (Neapolis) refers to a specific city in the ancient world, meaning 'new city.' In the New Testament, it is identified as the port city in Macedonia where the Apostle Paul and his companions first landed in Europe on his second missionary journey (Acts 16:11). This location, modern-day Kavala in Greece, served as the gateway from Asia Minor into the Roman province of Macedonia. The term does not carry multiple biblical senses; it functions solely as a proper name for this significant geographical location in the narrative of Acts.
Biblical Usage
Νεάπολις is used only once in the New Testament, in Acts 16:11. It is used strictly as a proper noun to designate the specific city where Paul's missionary team arrived by ship from Troas. The usage is purely geographical, setting the stage for their subsequent travel to the major city of Philippi.
Etymology
The word is a compound of the Greek adjective νέος (neos, G3501), meaning 'new,' and the noun πόλις (polis, G4172), meaning 'city.' It is a common Hellenistic place-name for newly founded or re-founded cities throughout the Greco-Roman world, similar to Naples in Italy.
Semantic Range
While Νεάπολις itself is a geographical name, its mention in Acts 16:11 is theologically significant as it marks the precise point of the gospel's entry into Europe. This moment represents a major fulfillment of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8), as the message of Jesus Christ crossed from Asia into a new continent. Understanding this location enriches the reading of Acts by highlighting the deliberate, guided expansion of the early church under the Holy Spirit's direction (Acts 16:6-10).
As a 'new city,' Neapolis was a thriving Roman port, part of the extensive network of trade and travel in the empire. Its status as the port for the larger, inland colony of Philippi (Acts 16:12) underscores its role as a gateway. For the original readers of Acts, naming this specific port would have provided a recognizable and concrete starting point for the narrative of Paul's pivotal mission in Macedonia.
πόλις (polis, G4172) — The generic Greek word for 'city,' of which Νεάπολις is a specific compound form.
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Dodson Greek-English Lexicon, a concise public-domain resource suitable for introductory word study. Brief glosses are supplemented by STEPBible TBESG data (CC BY 4.0). For advanced research, standard scholarly references include BDAG (Danker, 3rd ed.) and LSJ.
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