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Bible Dictionaries
Lydia
Smith's Bible Dictionary
or Lyd'ia. (land of Lydus).
1. A maritime province, in the west of Asia Minor, bounded by Mysia on the north, Phrygia on the east, and Caria on the south. It is enumerated among the districts which the Romans took away from Antiochos the Great after the battle of Magnesia in B.C. 190, and transferred to Eumenus II, king of Pergamus. Lydia is included in the "Asia" of the New Testament.
2. The first European convert of St. Paul, and afterward, his hostess during his first stay at Philippi. Acts 18:14-15, also Acts 18:40. (A.D. 47). She was a Jewish proselyte at the time of the apostle's coming; and it was at the Jewish Sabbath-worship by the side of a stream, Acts 18:13, that the preaching of the gospel reached her heart.
Her native place was Thyatira, in the province of Asia. Acts 18:14; Revelation 2:18. Thyatira was famous for its dyeing works; and Lydia was connected with this trade, as a seller either of dye or of dyed goods. We infer that she was a person of considerable wealth.
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Smith, William, Dr. Entry for 'Lydia'. Smith's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/sbd/l/lydia.html. 1901.
