Philadelphia
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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PHILADELPHIA

fil-a-del-'fi-a (Philadelphia: A city of ancient Lydia in Asia Minor on the Cogamus River, 105 miles from Smyrna. It stood upon a terrace 650 ft. above the sea. Behind it are the volcanic cliffs to which the Turks have given the name of Devitt, or "inkwells"; on the other side of the city the land is exceedingly fertile, and there was produced a wine of whose excellence the celebrated Roman poet Virgil wrote. Philadelphia is not so ancient as many of the other cities of Asia Minor, for it was founded after 189 B.C. on one of the highways which led to the interior. Its name was given to it in honor of Attalus II, because of his loyalty to his elder brother, Eumenes II, king of Lydia. Still another name of the city was Decapolis, because it was considered as one of the ten cities of the plain. A third name which it bore during the 1st century. A.D. was Neo-kaisaria; it appears upon the coins struck during that period. During the reign of Vespasian, it was called Flavia. Its modern name, Ala-shehir, is considered by some to be a corruption of the Turkish words Allah-shehir, "the city of God," but more likely it is a name given it from the reddish color of the soil. In addition to all of these names it sometimes bore the title of "Little Athens" because of the magnificence of the temples and other public buildings which adorned it. Philadelphia quickly became an important and wealthy trade center, for as the coast cities declined, it grew in power, and retained its importance even until late Byzantine times. One of the Seven Churches of the Book of Revelation (Revelation 3:7) was there, and it was the seat of a bishop. As in most Asia Minor cities, many Jews lived there, and they possessed a synagogue. During the reign of Tiberius the city was destroyed by an earthquake, yet it was quickly rebuilt. Frederick Barbarossa entered it while on his crusade in 1190. Twice, in 1306 and 1324, it was besieged by the Seljuk Turks, but it retained its independence until after 1390, when it was captured by the combined forces of the Turks and Byzantines. In 1403 Tamerlane captured it, and, it is said, built about it a wall of the corpses of his victims.

Ala-shehir is still a Christian town; one-fourth of its modern population is Greek, and a Greek bishop still makes his home there. One of the chief modern industries is a liquorice factory; in the fields about the city the natives dig for the roots. On the terrace upon which the ancient city stood, the ruins of the castle and the walls may still be seen, and among them is pointed out the foundation of the early church. The place may now best be reached by rail from Smyrna.

E. J. Banks

Greek
5359. Philadelpheia -- Philadelphia, a city of Lydia
... Philadelphia, a city of Lydia. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration:
Philadelpheia Phonetic Spelling: (fil-ad-el'-fee-ah) Short Definition ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5359.htm - 6k

5360. philadelphia -- the love of brothers, brotherly love
... 5359, 5360. philadelphia. 5361 . ... see GREEK philadelphos. (philadelphia) -- 3
Occurrences. (philadelphian) -- 2 Occurrences. (philadelphias) -- 1 Occurrence. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5360.htm - 7k

Library

Philadelphia
... PHILADELPHIA. We have had two references to Israel's history, and now we
are to have two references to Judah's, and these refer, not ...
//christianbookshelf.org/bullinger/commentary on revelation/philadelphia.htm

Philadelphia Rev 3:7-13
... Hymn 139 Philadelphia Rev 3:7-13. John Newton 8,8,8,8. Philadelphia Rev 3:7-13.
Thus saith the holy One, and true,. To his beloved faithful few; ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/newton/olney hymns/hymn 139 philadelphia rev 3 7-13.htm

Short Account of the Life and Writings of Robert Barclay ...
... Short account of the Life and Writings of Robert Barclay, published at
Philadelphia, in 1805. Among Robert Barclay's other valuable ...
/.../short account of the life.htm

Henry Melchior Muhlenberg.
... In the same year he accepted the call to the congregations in Pennsylvania:
Philadelphia, Providence, and New Hanover. September ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/bente/american lutheranism/henry melchior muhlenberg.htm

The Articles of the Reformed Episcopal Church. AD 1875.
... Philadelphia (James A. Moore), 1874. (This took the place of the 'Proposed Book'
of 1785, republished for provisional use in Dec., 1873.). ... Philadelphia, 1874. ...
/.../creeds of christendom with a history and critical notes/ 86 the articles of.htm

Historical Notice of the Church in the United States.
... North and East of Maryland; and these, with the exception of those in the towns
of Boston and Newport, and the cities of New York and Philadelphia, derived the ...
/.../hayward/the book of religions/historical notice of the church.htm

Muhlenberg's Unionism.
... of other communions, with strict adherence to principle." (331.) Similar views had
been expressed by Dr. WJ Mann at the First Free Lutheran Diet at Philadelphia ...
//christianbookshelf.org/bente/american lutheranism/muhlenbergs unionism.htm

Literature.
... Samuel Miller (Presbyterian d.1850): Letters concerning the Constitution and Order
of the Christian Ministry, 2d ed., Philadelphia, 1830. ... Philadelphia, 1855. ...
/.../schaff/history of the christian church volume i/section 58 literature.htm

Lutherans in Pennsylvania.
... which they state: "There is not one German Lutheran preacher in the whole land,
except Caspar Stoever, now sixty miles distant from Philadelphia." (Jacobs, 191 ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/bente/american lutheranism/lutherans in pennsylvania.htm

I Know Thy Works
... XXX I Know thy Works. To the angel of the church in Ephesus"in Thyatira"in
Sardis"in Philadelphia"in Laodicea write: I know thy works.' [2] "Rev.2-3 ...
//christianbookshelf.org/murray/working for god/xxx i know thy works.htm

Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary
Philadelphia

love of a brother

Smith's Bible Dictionary
Philadelphia

strictly Philadelphia (brotherly love), a town on the confines of Lydia and Phrygia Catacecaumene, 25 southeast of Sardis, and built by Attalus II., king of Pergamos, who died B.C. 138. It was situated on the lower slopes of Tmolus, and is still represented by a town called Allah-shehr (city of God). Its elevation is 952 feet above the sea. The original population of Philadelphia. Seems to have been Macedonian; but there was, as appears from (Leviticus 3:9) a synagogue of Hellenizing Jews there, as well as a Christian church. (It was the seat of one of "the seven churches of Asia.") The locality was subject to constant earthquakes, which in the time of Strabo rendered even the town walls of Philadelphia unsafe. The expense of reparation was constant, and hence perhaps the poverty of the members of the church. (Revelation 3:8) (The church was highly commended.) (Revelation 3:7-13) Even Gibbon bears the following well-known testimony to the truth of the prophecy, "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee in the hour of temptation": "At a distance from the sea, forgotten by the (Greek) emperor encompassed, all sides by the Turks, her valiant citizens defended their religion and freedom above fourscore years. Among the Greek colonies and churches of Asia, Philadelphia is still erect, a column in a scene of ruins." "The modern town (Allah-shehr , city of God), although spacious, containing 3000 houses and 10,000 inhabitants, is badly built; the dwellings are mean and the streets filthy. The inhabitants are mostly Turks. A few ruins are found, including remains of a wall and about twenty-five churches. In one place are four strong marble pillars, which once supported the dome of a church. One of the old mosques is believed by the native Christians to have been the church in which assembled the primitive Christians addressed in the Apocalypse." Whitney's Bible Geography.)

ATS Bible Dictionary
Philadelphia

A city of Lydia, in Asia Minor, where was one of the seven Asiatic churches, highly praised by Christ for its fidelity, Revelation 3:7 13. Philadelphia as so called from Attalus Philadelphus, king of Pergamos, by whom it was founded. It stood between the river Hermus and Mount Tmolus, about twenty-eight miles southeast of Sardis. It suffered greatly by frequent earthquakes, and it was anciently matter of surprise that the city was not on this account abandoned. It is now a mean and ill-built town, of large extent, with a population of 12,000, including about 1,000 Greek Christians, who have a resident bishop and about twenty inferior clergy. There are five churches, and six mosques, one of which the native Christians believe to have been the church in which worshipped the primitive Christians whom John addressed.

Easton's Bible Dictionary
Brotherly love, a city of Lydia in Asia Minor, about 25 miles south-east of Sardis. It was the seat of one of the "seven churches" (Revelation 3:7-12). It came into the possession of the Turks in A.D. 1392. It has several times been nearly destroyed by earthquakes. It is still a town of considerable size, called Allahshehr, "the city of God."
Thesaurus
Philadelphia (2 Occurrences)
...PHILADELPHIA. fil-a-del-'fi-a (Philadelphia: A city of ancient Lydia in Asia Minor
on the Cogamus River, 105 miles from Smyrna. It stood upon a terrace 650 ft. ...
/p/philadelphia.htm - 10k

Dictionaries
... Vind., 1776, 2 volumes. Davis, JD Dictionary of the Bible. Philadelphia, 1898; new
edition, 1903. Eadie, John. ... Tr. Soc., 1865, Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1877. ...
/d/dictionaries.htm - 38k

Brotherly (8 Occurrences)
... bruth'-er-li ('ach, "brother"; philadelphia, "brotherly love"): Like a brother in
all the large human relationships indicated above; eg the early friendly and ...
/b/brotherly.htm - 15k

Kindness (295 Occurrences)
... kind'-nes (the King James Version 2 Peter 1:7), or LOVE (the King James Version
Romans 12:10 1 Thessalonians 4:9; Hebrews 13:1; philadelphia): 1. As Moral Ideal ...
/k/kindness.htm - 45k

Decapolis (3 Occurrences)
... ten cities on the west of Jordan), Hippos, Gadara, Pella (to which the Christians
fled just before the destruction of Jerusalem), Philadelphia (ancient Rabbath ...
/d/decapolis.htm - 10k

Minnith (2 Occurrences)
... Eusebius, Onomasticon mentions a place called Maanith, 4 Roman miles from Heshbon,
on the road to Philadelphia (`Amman), and locates Abelcheramim, which is ...
/m/minnith.htm - 8k

Ramothgilead (19 Occurrences)
... and Jerome (Onomasticon, under the word) contradict each other, the former placing
Ramoth-gilead 15 miles West, and the latter 15 miles East of Philadelphia. ...
/r/ramothgilead.htm - 19k

Ramoth-gilead (20 Occurrences)
... and Jerome (Onomasticon, under the word) contradict each other, the former placing
Ramoth-gilead 15 miles West, and the latter 15 miles East of Philadelphia. ...
/r/ramoth-gilead.htm - 20k

Sardis (3 Occurrences)
... corruption of its ancient name. The ruins may be reached by rail from Smyrna,
on the way to Philadelphia. The ancient city was noted ...
/s/sardis.htm - 13k

Love (703 Occurrences)
... kind'-nes (the King James Version 2 Peter 1:7), or LOVE (the King James Version
Romans 12:10 1 Thessalonians 4:9; Hebrews 13:1; philadelphia): 1. As Moral Ideal ...
/l/love.htm - 65k

Bible Concordance
Philadelphia (2 Occurrences)

Revelation 1:11 saying, " What you see, write in a book and send to the seven assemblies : to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and to Laodicea."
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Revelation 3:7 "To the angel of the assembly in Philadelphia write: "He who is holy, he who is true, he who has the key of David, he who opens and no one can shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says these things:
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Subtopics

Philadelphia

Philadelphia: One of the Seven Congregations In

Related Terms

Dictionaries

Brotherly (8 Occurrences)

Kindness (295 Occurrences)

Decapolis (3 Occurrences)

Minnith (2 Occurrences)

Ramothgilead (19 Occurrences)

Ramoth-gilead (20 Occurrences)

Sardis (3 Occurrences)

Love (703 Occurrences)

Openeth (48 Occurrences)

Opens (30 Occurrences)

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Cart (12 Occurrences)

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Shutteth (17 Occurrences)

Seest (52 Occurrences)

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Partridge (2 Occurrences)

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Thyatira (4 Occurrences)

Key (8 Occurrences)

Follows (65 Occurrences)

Synagogue (52 Occurrences)

Opening (242 Occurrences)

Smyrna (2 Occurrences)

Pergamum (2 Occurrences)

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Book (211 Occurrences)

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