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Philip the Apostle

Philip the Apostle

b. c. 1 CE · Bethsaida

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Philip was one of the Twelve Apostles, from Bethsaida in Galilee, the town of Andrew and Peter (John 1:44). The Gospel of John gives him the most attention. Jesus calls him with the words 'Follow me'. Philip then brings Nathanael, telling him they have found the one Moses and the prophets wrote about (John 1:43-46). Before the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus tests him by asking where they could buy bread (John 6:5-7). Greek pilgrims at the feast approach Philip to see Jesus (John 12:20-22). At the Last Supper he asks Jesus to 'show us the Father' (John 14:8-9). He is listed with the apostles in Jerusalem after the resurrection (Acts 1:13). He should be distinguished from Philip the Evangelist, one of the seven chosen in Acts 6:5. That Philip preached in Samaria, baptized an Ethiopian official, and later lived at Caesarea with four prophesying daughters (Acts 8; 21:8-9). Around 190, Bishop Polycrates of Ephesus wrote that Philip 'one of the twelve apostles' was buried at Hierapolis in Asia Minor, with two of his daughters. Because daughters are attached to both men, many scholars think the two Philips were already merged in early tradition.

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Stop 1 of 31–28Hometown; called by Jesus

BethsaidaIsrael

What they did here

John twice identifies Philip as being from Bethsaida of Galilee, the town of Andrew and Peter (John 1:44; 12:21). There Jesus calls him in the Galilee setting of John 1:43.

About Bethsaida

Bethsaida, a town on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee, in modern Israel. The Gospel of John names it the home town of the apostles Peter, Andrew and Philip.

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In the same place & time

Sages whose lives overlapped with Philip the Apostle’s in the same cities, drawn from their recorded journeys.

The world in their lifetime

Thinkers, teachers, and rulers whose lives overlapped with Philip the Apostle’s — a glimpse of the wider world they lived in. Drawn from recorded birth and death years (reign years for rulers whose lives are undated); where only one end of a life is known, a span of about 70 years is assumed.

Works

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