Mnason Μνάσων
A Cypriot disciple who hosted Paul in Jerusalem.
Who is Mnason in the Bible?
Mnason was an early Cypriot disciple who provided hospitality to the apostle Paul and his traveling companions when they arrived in Jerusalem (Acts 21:16). As a long-time follower of Christ, possibly converted during the earliest days of the church, Mnason was well-respected within the Christian community and his home served as a safe haven for believers. His significance lies not only in his faithful discipleship but also in his practical demonstration of Christian hospitality, opening his home to support Paul during a crucial moment in the apostle's ministry as he brought news of God's work among the Gentiles to the Jerusalem church.
Biography
Mnason is mentioned in Act.21.16 as a disciple from Cyprus who hosted the apostle Paul and his companions during their visit to Jerusalem. He is described as an "early disciple," indicating that he had been a follower of Christ for a long time, possibly even from the early days of the church.
As Paul and his group traveled to Jerusalem, they were accompanied by some disciples from Caesarea who brought them to Mnason's house. This suggests that Mnason was well-known and respected within the Christian community and that his home was a safe and welcoming place for fellow believers.
Mnason's Cypriot background is significant, as Cyprus was one of the first places where the gospel was preached to non-Jewish people (Act.11.19-20). His presence in Jerusalem and his willingness to host Paul and his companions demonstrate the unity and hospitality that characterized the early church, despite the cultural and geographical diversity of its members.
Although no further details are provided about Mnason's life or ministry, his brief mention in Acts 21 highlights the importance of hospitality, fellowship, and support within the early Christian community. His actions exemplify the love and care that believers showed for one another as they worked to spread the gospel message throughout the world.
In Scripture
1 biblical book ; 1 with study contentActs 1 verse
- Acts 21:16
"Some of the disciples from Caesarea accompanied us, and they took us to stay at the home of Mnason the Cypriot, an early disciple."
Study Acts →
Names & Aliases
| Form | Language | Script |
|---|---|---|
| Named | Greek | Μνάσων |
Encyclopedia Article
ISBE 1915 (Public Domain) Mnason
(3) "an early disciple," an early convert to Christianity, and
(4) the one with whom Paul's company was to lodge.
The "Western" text of this passage is very interesting. Blass, following Codex Bezae (D), the Syriac, reads, for "bringing," etc., "And they brought us to those with whom one should lodge, and when we had come into a certain village we stayed with Mnason a Cyprian, an early disciple, and having departed thence we came to Jerusalem and the brethren," etc. Meyer-Wendt, Page and Rendell render the accepted text, "bringing us to the house of Mnason," etc. However, giving the imperfect transitive of anebainomen, "we were going up" to Jerusalem (21:15), we might understand that the company lodged with Mnason on the 1st night of their journey to Jerusalem, and not at the city itself. "Ac 21:15, they set about the journey; 21:16, they lodged with Mnason on the introduction of the Cesarean disciples; 21:17, they came to Jerus" (Expositor's Greek Testament, in the place cited.).
S. F. Hunter
mo'-ab, mo'-ab-its (Moab, mo'abh, Moabite Stone, M-'-B; Greek (Septuagint) Moab, he Moabeitis, Moabitis; Moabite, mo'abhi; Moabites, bene mo'abh):
1The Land
Moab was the district East of the Dead