New month, new project

I have JUST finished my submission draft of THE WOMAN FROM LYDIA, the first in THE EMISSARIES series. (Today is my deadline. Nothing like writing-until-the-last-minute!) It’s a “based-on-biblical story” novel about what could have happened to Lydia after the Apostle Paul established the Philippian church.

I won’t spoil the story for you, but in every historical novel I’ve done recently, I include a Q&A section to answer readers’ questions and let them know how much of the story is fiction and how much is fact. I hope it’s helpful to them, and I know it helps me because I have to justify the fictional decisions I made. So, just to give you a taste, here are a few of the Q&A questions from the Author’s Note:

Q. Why would you think the “Lydia” mentioned in Acts 16 is actually named Euodia? 

A. Scripture tells us that Paul (Paul is English, Saul/Sha’ul is Hebrew, and the Gentiles of his day would have known him as Paulos) met Lydia in Philippi, but her hometown was Thyatira, a city located in the Roman province of Lydia. When this “seller of purple” moved to Philippi, it follows that the Philippians might have called her “the Lydian woman” and then shortened it to “Lydia.” As a general rule in ancient days, most people were born, lived, and died in the same town, so this woman would have been considered an outsider. Remember–Paul didn’t write Acts, where she was called “Lydia.” Luke did, and he might have heard this woman referred to as Lydia, so Lydia she became.

Still unconvinced? Scripture tells us that Lydia was the first convert in Philippi (and in Europe!) , and Paul established the Philippian ecclesia in her home. This woman was baptized and became an active member of the fledgling community of believers. Paul and his companions lived with her in her home for some time. 

So . . . since she was a pillar of the Philippian church, why doesn’t Paul mention her in his letter to the Philippians? He mentions Euodia, Syntyche, and Clement, who might have been the Philippian jailer mentioned in Acts 16:31. 

I suppose it’s possible Lydia died between Paul’s visit to Philippi and his letter to the Philippian church, but I suspect Lydia was alive and well . . . and named Euodia. As to her squabble with Syntyche (Phil. 4:2), well, when we reach heaven, we can ask what they were fussing about. 

Had Lydia/Euodia been attending a synagogue before she met Paul? Yes. Jews used the phrase “God-fearer” (your translation may use another term) to describe Gentiles who believed in HaShem (“The Name” of God, which was too holy to speak). Even during a time when most people worshipped false gods and idols, the Holy Spirit drew Gentiles and put them in situations where they could hear about Jehovah and the coming Messiah. Acts 16:14 tells us “the Lord opened her [Lydia’s] heart to respond to what Paul was saying.” The phrase “God-fearer” is used of other Gentiles in Acts 13:16, 26; 17:17; and 18:7.

The slave girl with the spirit of divination is not named in Scripture, nor does the Bible tells us what happened to her after her deliverance. I am certain, however, that believers in the Philippi ecclesia must have tried to reach her with the Gospel . . . which led me to write this story. 

Paul traveled to Philippi on his second missionary journey, described in Acts 16-20, which took place around A.D. 50. This story is set in A.D. 51, when Paul was working in Corinth. He spent over eighteen months in that city, where he met Priscilla and Aquila. 

And that community, Lord willing, is where the next novel in this series will take place. 

Q. Euodia visited a fuller’s guild. What’s a fuller? 

A. The fullers were professional launderers. Since few families had indoor plumbing (it was rare even in the first century, though the wealthy did have heated bathroom floors), most people had no way to wash their clothing or take a bath. Hence the need for public bathhouses, public toilets (and home chamber pots), and fullers. Fullers used urine to bleach clothing, and while society tended to look down on them, these launderers were among the highest-paid people in any city. Everyone who wanted clean clothing had to visit the ancient version of a laundry. Fullers also offered pleating for the stolas of married women, the “felting” of garments to make them waterproof, and dyeing of fabrics and shoes. 

Incidentally, fullers are mentioned in the Bible. We find a reference to their work in Mark 9:2-3, but most modern translations don’t use the phrase. What the verse literally says is this: “And after six days doth Jesus take Peter, and James, and John, and bringeth them up to a high mount by themselves, alone, and he was transfigured before them, and his garments became glittering, white exceedingly, as snow, so as a fuller upon the earth is not able to whiten [them]” (Young’s Literal Translation). Mal. 3:2 speaks of “fuller’s soap,” and 2 Kings 18:17, Isaiah 7:3, and Isa. 36:2 refer to a “fullers’ field,” where laundry was cleaned and dried in the sun. 

Q. The scriptures say the slave girl had a “spirit of divination.” Could the unclean spirit within her really tell the future? Do demons have that ability? 

A. In short, no. Consider Isaiah 8:19-20: 

“When they say to you: ‘Consult the mediums and necromancers who chirp and mutter,’ shouldn’t a people seek their God? Should a people consult the dead on behalf of the living? To Torah and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no light.”

 Unclean spirits have no light. They are not omniscient. They are not omnipresent. Neither are they omnipotent because they are not God. They cannot see the future, so they can only guess or make ambiguous statements in an attempt to confuse or flatter those who seek them. Modern day astrologers do the same thing. 

Hope you enjoyed these! Have a LOVELY month of August!

~~Angie

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Angela Hunt

Christy-Award winner Angela Hunt writes for readers who expect the unexpected in novels. With over five million copies of her books sold worldwide, she is the best-selling author of more than 165 works ranging from picture books (The Tale of Three Trees) to non-fiction books, to novels.

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