{
  "id": "dict_000447",
  "term": "Attalia",
  "slug": "attalia",
  "letter": "A",
  "entry_type": "biblical_place",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "Attalia was an ancient port city in Pamphylia, on the southern coast of Asia Minor, mentioned in Acts as the place from which Paul and Barnabas sailed back to Syrian Antioch after the first missionary journey.",
  "simple_one_line": "A port city in Pamphylia mentioned in Acts 14:25.",
  "tooltip_text": "Attalia was a coastal city in Pamphylia, the departure point for Paul and Barnabas as they returned to Antioch of Syria.",
  "aliases": [],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "Acts",
    "Antioch of Syria",
    "Barnabas",
    "Paul",
    "Pamphylia",
    "Perga",
    "First Missionary Journey"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "Acts 14",
    "missionary journeys",
    "Asia Minor",
    "ports and harbors in the New Testament"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "Attalia was a coastal city in Pamphylia, on the southern shore of Asia Minor. In Acts 14:25, Paul and Barnabas passed through Attalia and sailed from there to Syrian Antioch at the end of their first missionary journey.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "Attalia is a New Testament place-name, not a theological concept.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "A port city in Pamphylia",
    "Mentioned in Acts 14:25",
    "Linked to the return of Paul and Barnabas from the first missionary journey",
    "Its significance is historical and geographical"
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "Attalia was an ancient port city in Pamphylia, on the southern coast of Asia Minor. In Acts 14:25, Paul and Barnabas came there from Perga and sailed to Antioch in Syria at the close of the first missionary journey. The entry is a biblical place-name rather than a doctrinal term.",
  "description_academic_full": "Attalia was a port city in the Roman province of Pamphylia, on the southern coast of Asia Minor. The New Testament mentions it in Acts 14:25, where Paul and Barnabas, after preaching in the surrounding region, came to Attalia and sailed from there to Syrian Antioch. Its biblical importance is geographical and historical: it helps locate the travel route of the apostolic mission and shows one stage in the outward movement of the gospel among the Gentiles. Attalia itself does not function as a theological theme in Scripture, but as a place that anchors the narrative of Acts in real time and space.",
  "background_biblical_context": "Acts places Attalia at the end of Paul and Barnabas’s first missionary journey. The verse records their movement through the region and their departure by ship to Antioch, where they reported what God had done. The city therefore serves as part of the narrative setting for mission and return, not as a separate biblical subject of teaching.",
  "background_historical_context": "Attalia was an important harbor on the coast of Pamphylia. As a seaport, it would have provided a practical departure point for travel by sea from southern Asia Minor to Syria. The mention of the city fits the historical and commercial geography of the eastern Mediterranean in the first century.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "Attalia lies outside the Jewish homeland, but it appears in the context of the early Christian mission to the Gentile world. Its inclusion in Acts reflects the spread of the gospel beyond Judea and Galilee into broader Greco-Roman territory.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "Acts 14:25"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [],
  "original_language_note": "Greek: Ἀττάλεια (Attáleia).",
  "theological_significance": "Attalia has no independent doctrinal meaning, but it contributes to the historical reliability and missionary geography of Acts. It shows the concrete setting in which the apostles carried the gospel into Gentile regions.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "As a place-name, Attalia illustrates the way biblical revelation is rooted in real history and geography. Scripture is not presented as abstract religious reflection only; it narrates God’s work in identifiable locations and events.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Do not treat Attalia as a symbolic or allegorical term. Its significance is tied to the Acts narrative and to the historical route of Paul and Barnabas.",
  "major_views_note": "There are no major doctrinal views attached to Attalia itself. Discussion is generally limited to historical geography and textual identification.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "Attalia is not a doctrinal category, a spiritual practice, or a theological doctrine. It should be read as a historical place mentioned in the New Testament narrative.",
  "practical_significance": "Attalia helps Bible readers trace the movement of the first missionary journey and appreciate the real-world settings of apostolic ministry. It also reinforces the grounded, historical character of the book of Acts.",
  "meta_description": "Attalia was a port city in Pamphylia mentioned in Acts 14:25 as the departure point of Paul and Barnabas on their return to Antioch.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/attalia/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/attalia.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}