Acts 16:13On the Sabbath day we went forth outside of the city by a riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down, and spoke to the women who had come together.
The setting
Gangites River, outside Philippi, Saturday morning ~50 AD. Paul's team walks to an informal Jewish prayer gathering — no synagogue existed because fewer than 10 Jewish men lived in the city.
The emotion here: hopeful expectation of finding receptive hearts
The original word
proseukhē (προσευχή) — place of prayer, often by water for ritual washing
Why it matters
Jewish law required 10 adult Jewish men to establish a synagogue
Read with care
What most readers miss in Acts 16:13
Paul specifically sought out women because there weren't enough Jewish men for a proper synagogue
Common misconceptionPeople think Paul randomly found women by a river, but he was strategically looking for the only Jewish gathering in a Roman city with no synagogue.
The thread continues
Verses that echo Acts 16:13
Bible Genome reading
Acts 16:13 — Bible Genome reading
Emotional genome
Acts 16:13 comes from the book of Acts, written during the early_church period. These words are attributed to Luke. The dominant emotion in this verse is seeking, with a comfort power of 45% and a tone that is reflective. It belongs to the narrative genre of biblical literature. Key themes include prayer, ministry. Notable phrases: place of prayer; spoke to the women.
Emotionally similar
Verses that meet the same seeking
“Pray without ceasing.”
— 1 Thessalonians 5:17
“But let justice roll on like rivers, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
— Amos 5:24
“Be it far from you to do things like that, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be like the wicked. May that …”
— Genesis 18:25
“Call to me, and I will answer you, and will show you great things, and difficult, which you don't know.”
— Jeremiah 33:3
“Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evi…”
— Luke 11:4
Your reflection
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