Man living at the time of the New Testament
Philip, one of the seven deacons chosen by the early church in Jerusalem, who preached the gospel in Samaria and baptized an Ethiopian eunuch.
🗺 Places mentioned alongside Philip on the map →
Philip was one of the seven men chosen by the early church in Jerusalem to serve as deacons, responsible for the daily distribution of food to widows (Act.6.5). After the martyrdom of Stephen, a great persecution arose against the church, and the believers were scattered. Philip went to Samaria and preached the gospel, performing miracles and casting out unclean spirits (Act.8.4-8). Many Samaritans believed and were baptized, including Simon the sorcerer (Act.8.9-13).
Philip was then directed by an angel to go south on the road from Jerusalem to Gaza, where he encountered an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians (Act.8.26-28). The eunuch was reading from the book of Isaiah, and Philip explained to him the good news about Jesus (Act.8.29-35). The eunuch believed and was baptized by Philip (Act.8.36-38). After this, Philip was miraculously transported by the Spirit to Azotus, and he continued preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea (Act.8.39-40).
Later, Philip is mentioned as one of the "seven" and referred to as "Philip the evangelist" (Act.21.8). He had four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophecy (Act.21.9). Paul and his companions stayed with Philip in Caesarea during Paul's final journey to Jerusalem (Act.21.8-16).
Part of: The Jerusalem Church
The Seven were chosen to serve tables for the Greek-speaking widows, and all have Greek names. Philip later evangelized Samaria, and Acts 21:8 calls him one of the Seven.
Sources: Scripture
Philip preached in Samaria and Simon the sorcerer believed. Peter and John came down to lay hands on the converts, and Simon offered money for the same power and was rebuked.
Sources: Scripture
At Caesarea Paul stayed with Philip the evangelist, who had four unmarried daughters who prophesied. The prophet Agabus arrived there and bound his own feet and hands with Paul's belt.
Sources: Scripture
Some early writers merged the apostle Philip and the evangelist Philip, placing the daughters in Hierapolis. Acts clearly separates the Twelve from the Seven.
Sources: Eusebius, Church History 3.31 and 3.39 (citing Polycrates and Papias)
More background: search Wikipedia ↗
16 verses in 1 book · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s G5376
This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, as well as Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.
Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ to them.
The crowds paid cloase attention to Philipʼs message and to the signs they saw him perform.
But when they believed Philip as he preached the gospel of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
Even Simon himself believed and was baptized. He followed Philip closely and was astounded by the great signs and miracles he observed.
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go south to the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”
The Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to that chariot and stay by it.”
So Philip ran up and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
“How can I,” he said, “unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
“Tell me,” said the eunuch, “who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?”
Then Philip began with this very Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
Not in this translation.
And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.
When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing.
But Philip appeared at Azotus and traveled through that region, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
Leaving the next day, we went on to Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.