Gallio

The proconsul of Achaia from 51 AD. He is mentioned 3x in the Book of Acts in connection with Paul's stay in Corinth, when the Jews made a united attack on him and brought him to court, charging him with "persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law" (18:12-13). Gallio rejected their case, upon which the Jews turned on Sosthenes the synagogue ruler.

Gallio is especially important for NT studies because his appointment as proconsul in 51 AD provides a fixed point from which we could work out when Paul came to Corinth, and from that derive the approximate dates of other events related in the NT.

Resources:

☰ Bruce W. Winter, "Gallio's ruling on the legal status of early Christianity," Tyndale Bulletin 50.2 (1999): 213-224.