Encyclopedia entry
Pontus
A province of Asia Minor, stretching along the southern coast of the Euxine Sea, corresponding nearly to the modern province of Trebizond. In the time of the apostles it was a Roman province. Strangers from this province were at Jerusalem at Pentecost (Acts 2:9), and to “strangers scattered throughout Pontus,” among others, Peter addresses his first epistle (1 Pet. 1:1). It was evidently the resort of many Jews of the Dispersion. Aquila was a native of Pontus (Acts 18:2).
Also from Smith's (1884) +−
a large district in the north of Asia Minor, extending along the coast of the Pontus Euxinus Sea (Pontus), from which circumstance the name was derived. It corresponds nearly to the modern Trebizond. It is three times mentioned in the New Testament— (Acts 2:9; 18:2; 1 Peter 1:1) All these passages agree in showing that there were many Jewish residents in the district. As to the annals of Pontus, the one brilliant passage of its history is the life of the great Mithridates. Under Nero the whole region was made of Roman province, bearing the name of Pontus. It was conquered by the Turks in A.D. 1461, and is still under their dominion.
In the Bible
3
Verses where Pontus is named. Berean Standard Bible (public domain).
- 1 Peter 1:1
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the elect who are exiles of the Dispersion throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, chosen
- Acts 2:9
Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
- Acts 18:2
There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to visit them,
Entries that reference Pontus
4
Sources · Hitchcock's Bible Names (1869) · Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884)
Public-domain text. Modernized only where archaic spelling impedes reading; original facts preserved. Verify against an authoritative modern reference before quoting.