SOSTENE (Σοσθένες, Sosthenes). — In the New Testament this name occurs twice; but it is uncertain whether it refers to the same person or merely to a namesake. St Paul, according to a practice dear to him, associates S. with himself in addressing the first letter to the Corinthians (I Cor. 1:1); he designates him only by the title “brother,” as with Timothy elsewhere (II Cor. 1:1; Col. 1:1).
In Acts 18:17, mention is made of a S. who, after the unsuccessful attempt to have the Apostle condemned by the proconsul Gallio, is mocked and beaten by a group of pagans. Luke merely reports the anecdote and notes Gallio’s ostentatious indifference to the rather comic scene. S. was the archisynagogue of the numerous Jewish community. If the identification is accepted, one must suppose that, from being the accuser of St Paul, S. became his faithful and dear collaborator after his conversion to Christianity.