LYDIA. – Name or surname of a woman converted by St Paul during his third missionary journey, at Philippi (q.v.), near the Gangites, where was the place of prayer of the Jews; she then gave hospitality to the Apostle with Luke and Silas (“we”; Acts 16:14 ff.).
L. was a dealer in purple goods, that is, in wool and fabrics dyed purple; she came from the city of Thyatira in the Asian region of Lydia. “She feared God,” that is, she worshipped the true God of the Jews. Having “heard” the evangelical preaching of Paul, she inwardly assented, for “the Lord had opened her heart to understand the truths spoken by Paul.” Baptised with her household, L. invited Paul and his companions thus: “Since you have judged me faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she “constrained us.”
To the house of L. Paul also went after his release from prison (Acts 16:40). From these passages and from Phil. 4:3 it does not follow, as E. Renan thinks, that Paul married L.