Acts 20:17; 2Ti 4:20.
Miletus (Gr. Míl’tos, “red”). Town on the coast of Caria in Asia Minor, about 51 km south of Ephesus, at the mouth of the Meander River. She had suffered much at the hands of the Persians, but had recovered from her misfortunes when Paul visited her; It became a commercial center of some importance. German expeditions extensively excavated the site. The Pergamon Museum in Berlin houses the reconstructed market gate of Miletus, originally erected in the 2nd century BC On his way back to Jerusalem from his 3rd missionary journey, Paul stopped in Miletus and called the Ephesian church leaders for a meeting farewell (Acts 20:15-38). Because of the great distance from Miletus to Ephesus, a round trip of about 112 km, Paul’s ship must have been in port for 3 or more days. He visited the city again after his 1st imprisonment in Rome 789 and left Trophimus sick in it (2 Tit 4:20). Map XX, B-4.
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
The southernmost Greek city in Asia Minor. The amount of silt in the port, the common problem of that coast, caused the end of their control of the sea and of trade by water. When Paul visited (Acts 20:15, Acts 20:17), Miletus was a minor city in the Roman province of Asia.
Source: Hispanic World Bible Dictionary
Miletus was an important Greek port city on the western coast of Asia Minor. Over the years, the alluvium of the Maeander River has accumulated and the river itself has changed its course resulting in the ruins of Miletus now being 8 kms. of the coast.
Miletus was settled by the Minoans from Crete, after whom the Mycenaean Greeks made it an outpost. Hittite texts mention Millwanda on the shores of western Anatolia. This can be identified with Miletus. The city was destroyed ca. 200 BC from JC; but later it became a center of Ionic culture. For the seventh century a. JC , Ionic ships carried settlers to the shores of the Black Sea and to Egypt. Miletus was a rival of Lydia, but Lydia sought to make a treaty with the Persians after 546 BC. de JC, thus ensuring its territorial integrity.
Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes were philosophers from Miletus. A temple to Apollos was built at Didyma, 16 kms. south of Miletus and both cities were linked by a sacred road partially lined with statues. In 499 BC JC , Miletus joined with other Ionic cities in a revolt against Persia. In 494 the Persians conquered the city, killed or took its people as slaves, and looted and burned the temple of Didyma.
After the Persian defeat at Mycala (479 BC) Miletus was rebuilt by Hippodamo, a Milesian who made plans of the city according to an exact pattern. Miletus joined the Delian league, was conquered again by Persia, and was subject to Caria for a time. In 334 BC AD , Alexander the Great captured Miletus and from then on it was a major Hellenic port with grandiose architecture and monumental building projects. Miletus continued as a prosperous city under the Romans. Trade continued but the gradual flooding of the port became a threat in later Roman times. When Paul visited Miletus (Acts 20:15–17; 2 Tim. 4:20) the city had not yet reached the peak of its architectural beauty. It did, however, have two colonnaded markets with an ornate council house between them. The south market was reached through a triple gate. A large theater dominated one of its four ports. An inscription shows the place reserved in the theater for Jews and “God-fearing” people.
A German expedition sponsored by the Berlin museum excavated Miletus from 1899 to 1914. Work began again in 1938 and has been conducted intermittently ever since. An 8th-century (BC) house was found with a stone-covered drain running its entire length, indicating a higher culture than would be expected for this period. From the same period there is an oval platform of rustic stones that is about 2 meters high. diameter. It was located under the corner of the later temple to Athena and is thought to have served as an altar, the oldest yet discovered in Greek Asia Minor.
In addition to the ornate council house, excavators uncovered remains of a 500-foot barn. long and a market area of 183 meters. long, which was a gift from Antiochus I of Syria.
Source: Archaeological Biblical Dictionary
City on the coast of Asia Minor that was a Greek colony, later conquered by Alexander the Great, at the mouth of the Meander River. Originally it was a port, but the river blocked the cove. It was a famous commercial and cultural center, the birthplace of well-known Greek philosophers, such as Thales. Paul assembled the elders of the Ephesian church there, and took leave of them as he was on his way to Jerusalem (Acts 20: 15-38). On another occasion he left Trophimus there, who was ill (2Ti 4:20). At that time, M. no longer had its original splendor, but it continued as an important point for those who sailed along the Anatolian coast. An inscription has been found there, in a Roman amphitheater, marking the spot where “God-fearing” Jews sat.
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
tip, PUEM CITY
sit, a9, 356, 229
vet, seaport where Paul stopped (Acts 20:15). From there, the apostle summoned the elders of Ephesus, to bid them farewell in a solemn manner (Acts 20:17-38). In 2 Tim. 4:20 the apostle Paul says that he had left Trophimus sick at Miletus. This important city of Ionia was about 60 km south of Ephesus, in the confines of Caria and on the southern shore of the Bay of Latmus into which the Menander emptied. In this city the philosophers Thales, Democritus and Anaximander were born. There was a famous temple dedicated to Apollo and a magnificent theater.
Source: New Illustrated Bible Dictionary
City on the western coast of Asia Minor, which is currently in ruins. It is located near the mouth of the River Meandro (Menderes), and formerly had four ports. Apparently, for the seventh century a. CE, the Ionians had made Miletus a prosperous trading center with numerous colonies on the Black Sea and in Egypt. Woolen goods from Miletus became widely known, as shown by the Greek Septuagint’s inclusion at Ezekiel 27:18 of “Miletus wool” among Tyre’s trade goods. Miletus was also the birthplace of famous philosophers, such as Thales (c. 625-547 BCE), who is considered the founder of Greek geometry, astronomy, and philosophy. In the fifth century a. CE, the Persians captured and destroyed Miletus because it had participated in an uprising. Later (in 334 BCE), the rebuilt city fell to Alexander the Great. During the Hellenistic and Roman periods, Miletus witnessed considerable architectural activity. In this place are some impressive ruins of a great theater of that time built in the open air.
Over time the importance of the city diminished, possibly due to its port being filled with silt from the Meander River. Ancient Miletus appears to have been situated on a promontory extending from the S. side of the Latmic Gulf; however, today the ruins of the city are some 8 km inland, and what was once the gulf is now a lake.
Paul visits Miletus. Paul went to Miletus probably in 56 CE Since he wanted to reach Jerusalem as soon as possible by Pentecost, and did not want to stop unnecessarily in Asia Minor, he decided to take a ship—apparently at Assos—that did not stop at Ephesus. Still, Paul did not neglect the needs of the congregation in that city. From Miletus he sent for, no doubt by means of a messenger, the elders of the congregation at Ephesus (about 50 km away). The time it took for the message to reach them and for them to go to Miletus (perhaps a minimum of three days) must have been less than it would have been if Paul had gone to Ephesus, possibly because the ship leaving Assos to dock at Ephesus he had more stops on the journey than the one through Miletus. Or it may be that circumstances in Ephesus would have delayed Paul if he had stopped in that city. (Acts 20:14-17.)
Addressing the elders of the congregation, Paul recalled the ministry he had carried out in that city, urged them to pay attention to themselves and the flock, warned them against “oppressive wolves” who would enter the congregation and he encouraged them to stay awake and remember his example. When they learned that they would not see him again, these overseers yielded to tears, “they fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him tenderly,” after which they accompanied him to the ship. (Acts 20:18-38.)
On an unspecified occasion, after his first imprisonment in Rome, Paul appears to have returned to Miletus. Trophimus, who had previously accompanied him from Miletus to Jerusalem, fell ill, and Paul had to leave him behind. (Compare Ac 20:4; 21:29; 2Ti 4:20.)
Source: Dictionary of the Bible
The southernmost of the great Ionian (Gr.) cities on the west coast of Asia Minor. It flourished as a commercial center, and in the ss. VIII, VII and VI BC established many colonies in the Black Sea area; he also had contact with Egypt. Pharaoh Necho made an offering to a temple at Miletus after his victory at Megiddo in 608 BC (2 Kgs 23.29; 2 Chr 35.20ff). The Miletes resisted the expansion of Lydia, and in 499 BC they started the Ionian revolt against Persia, but the city was destroyed in 494 BC In its period of great prosperity Miletus was the birthplace of the first Greek philosophers, Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes, and Hecataeus the chronicler. Woolen articles of Miletin origin enjoyed worldwide fame.
After its destruction by the Persians, the city went through many vicissitudes, and when Paul visited it (Acts 20:15; 2 Tim. 4:20) he lived mainly on his past glories. At that time it was part of the Roman province of Asia, and due to the fact that its port was filled with sediment (currently there is an inland lake there) from the Meander, it was already in commercial decline. An inscription on the ruins shows the place reserved for the Jews in the stone theater, as well as for the “God-fearers”.
Bibliography. H. Metzger, Saint Paul’s Routes in the Greek East, 1962, pp. 57–58; R. Sánchez, “Mileto”, °EBDM, t
KLMcK.
Douglas, J. (2000). New Biblical Dictionary: First Edition. Miami: United Bible Societies.
Source: New…