P. A. Gordon Clark. SORROW.— See Repentance, Grief.
SOSIPATER {XuialnaTpoi, a Greek name). — Sosipater is one of three men, Lucius and Jason being the others, who send salutations in Ro 16-' and are described by St. Paul as ' my kinsmen ' (oi <rir)'7ei'ers /iov), i.e. fellow- Jews (cf. Andronicus and Junia(s), v.', Herudion, v."). It is possible that Jason {q.v.) is identical with Jason of Ac 17"', who was the Apostle's host at Thessalonica. Sosipater may be the same as Sopater (q.v.) — another form of the name — of Ac 20^, who is said to have been a Beroean. If these identifications are correct, we shall suppose that these men were visiting St. Paul at Corinth at the time of writing or had become missionary companions of the Apostle. We know that Sojiater did accompany St. Paul afterwards on at least part of his return journey to Palestine. It is perhaps in favour of this theory that the salutations of Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater are sent with those of Timothy and not with those of the Corinthian Christians, Gains, Erastus, Quartus
• Tke Teacliing of the Ticelve Apostles, London, 1885, ch. ii.
t See, e.g., G. T. Bettanv, Priiaitive Religions, London, 1891, pp. 20, 36, 90, 113 ; BItE ii. 362''.
t Samuel Dill, [ioinan Society in the Last Centurj/ 0/ tke Western Empire^, London, 1905, p. 5.
§ EKE i. 800.
(v.^), the personal greeting of the amanuensis being interposed (v.--'). If we think the identihca- tion unlikely, we shall suppose Sosipater and the others to have been members of the church at Corinth. It is perhaps easier to believe that their salutations were meant for fellow-Christians at Ephesus than at Rome, but we must remember that in the Apostolic Church sj'mpathy and even ali'ection were possible between converts who were not personally acquainted. It is interesting but of little importance for our present purpose to know that the name Sosipater is found among the list of Thessalonian politarchs {CIG ii. 1967).
T. B. Allworthy. SOSTHENES.— The name occurs twice in the NT. In Ac 18" a Sostlienes is 'the ruler of tlie synagogue' in Corinth. Although in the Diaspora tills title gained a more extended sense than in Palestine as an honorai-y title, there seems to have been only one ruler of the synagogue in Corinth. In that case Sosthenes must have been recently appointed when Crispus became a Christian ; and probably he took a prominent part in the proceed- ings when ' the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul, and brought him before the judge- ment-seat ' (Ac 18'^). The charge having been dis- missed, Sosthenes was laid hold of and beaten before the judgment seat, but Gallio {q.v.) 'cared for none of these things' (v."). RV, dropping ol "EW-qnes, favours the idea that it was the Jews who beat Sosthenes, venting on their own leader their rage over their disappointment. Another view has been that Gallio allowed the Jews to console themselves by beating Sosthenes, who was a Chris- tian. Both these views are, however, rejected as historically inconceivable. Probably the reading oi "EXXTji-es has dropped out through a misa])pre- hension of the scene due to the fact that a Sosthenes is mentioned with St. Paul in I Co 1*. It cannot be decided whether these two men are the same person. The name was common ; and nothing is said in the NT which identifies them. What happened when Gallio dismissed the charge against St. Paul was that ' the Greeks, who always hated the Jews, took advantage of the marked snub which the governor had inflicted on them, to seize and beat Sosthenes, who had been appointed to replace Crispus as Archisynagogos,' — a ' piece of " Lynch law," which probably seemed to him [Gallio] to be a rough sort of justice' (Ramsay, St, Paul the Traveller and the Human Citizen, p. 259). If Ac 18" and 1 Co V refer to the same person, Sosthenes must have been converted subsequently and become a Christian leader. There is nothing impossible in this. If one ruler of the synagogue was converted, why not another? It is conceivable that his sufferings in a religious riot may have turned his mind again to St. Paul's teaching. As a former ruler of the synagogue, his presence with St. Paul in Ephesus is explicable on two grounds ; (n) his presence in Corinth as a Christian might irritate the Jews and make Christian work harder ; (6) his social position and ability would probably mark him out as a suitable fellow-worker with St. Paul, who would delight to make an ally of a persecutor. It is certainly in favour of this iiientifi- cation that St. Paul mentions Sosthenes not as an amanuensis but as a Christian of standing, whose name is well known in Corinth and will carry authority with the Church. It has been suggested also that his subsequent conversion would account for St. Luke's exceptionally preserving the name of St. Paul's assailant. Whilst these considera- tions favour the identification, it cannot be proved. But it would be an interesting coincidence that both Crispus and Sosthenes should be mentioned in 1 Co 1, if both were converted rulers of the synagogue.
SOUL
SPAIN
5-^1
Eusebius {IIE i. 12) states that Sostlicneg was one of the Seventy; Imt ]in>l)alily this is a worthless tradition. Triitlition is re^poiisihle also for the statement that ho became bishop of Colophon.