SOPATER, SOSIPATER . These are two forms of the same name; St. Luke, as usual, adopts the more colloquial. 1 . In Acts 20:4 we read that Sopater, son of Pyrrhus (RV [Note: Revised Version.] ), of BerÅ“a, accompanied St. Paul on his journey towards Jerusalem as far as Asia (if these last words are part of the true text), i.e. Troas [see Secundus]. The mention of the father’s name, unusual in NT, is thought by Blass to denote that Sopater was of noble birth; by Alford, to be intended to distinguish him from 2 . A ‘kinsman,’ i.e. fellow-countryman [see Jason], of St. Paul, who sends greetings in Romans 16:21 . It seems unlikely, but not impossible, that these are the same person.
A. J. Maclean.