What was Lydia's occupation and what did it indicate about her social status?
Lydia was a seller of purple, an expensive cloth of the then-known world, from the city of Thyatira. Her trade indicated she belonged to the upper echelons of society, since handling purple required money. She was a businesswoman who worshipped God, yet she was still religious and lost.
Les teaches that Paul and Silas came down from northern Greece into Philippi. On the Sabbath they went out of the city by a riverside where prayer was wont to be made—a place of devotional—because evidently there was no synagogue in Philippi. A few ladies had gathered, likely Jewish people, for a Sabbath devotional. In Acts 16:14, Lydia is described as a seller of purple, from the city of Thyatira. Les points out that she was in the upper echelons of society, because you did not handle purple unless you had some money. Purple was one of the most expensive cloths of the then-known world, and she sold this expensive material. She was a business woman who worshipped God—religious, but lost. That is why she was meeting with these Jewish ladies for a synagogue-type devotional. Les then notes that the Holy Spirit brings the apostle Paul to that person.
And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
More Questions
What did Lydia's occupation as a seller of purple tell us about her?
Lydia was a seller of purple from Thyatira, and her trade suggests she was a well-to-do, distinguished businesswoman rather than an insignificant member of society.