Acts 18:1

"After these things he departed from Athens, and came to Corinth"Came to Corinth" "The journey may have been either by land along the Isthmus of Corinth, or by sea from Piraesus to Cenchrea.' (Reese p. 638) Corinth was located some 50 miles south of Athens, if by land. two day's journey, or by sea,. one day's sail. This city was positioned for greatness. Located on "the land-bridge connecting the Peloponnese with Northern Greece, occupied. most favorable position for commercial enterprise, at the junction of sea-routes to the west and east and of land-routes to the north and south. It had two ports Lechaeum, on the Gulf of Corinth (leading to the Ionian Sea and western Mediterranean), and Cenchrea, on the Saronic Gulf (leading to the Aegean Sea and eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea)" (Bruce p. 366). "It commanded the trade routes in all directions. Before the Corinthian canal was cut, there was. slipway along which cargoes and even small vessels could be hauled, thus saving 200 miles of perilous navigation round the southern tip of the peninsula. F.W. Farrar imagined its markets stocked with cosmopolitan goods 'Arabian balsam, Egyptian papyrus, Phoenician dates, Libyan ivory, Babylonian carpets, Cilician goat's-hair, Lycaonian wool, Phrygian slaves'" (Stott pp. 293-294). "It was therefore. city of great commercial advantages, and these had drawn into it. large Jewish population" (McGarvey p. 132).

Thus the letter than Paul writes to the Church in this city, completely "fits". You would expect Paul to deal with moral issues (1 Corinthians 6:9); lawsuits (this was. huge commercial center, 1 Corinthians 6:1); various abuses (for these people had been accustomed to excess, 1 Corinthians 11:18 ff); the marriage relationship (which probably wasn't too highly regarded in such. city, 1 Corinthians 7:1 ff); and church discipline (1 Corinthians 5:1 ff). Yet various strengths of the world can also be turned into advantages for the kingdom of God. Stott notes, "If trade could radiate from Corinth in all directions, so could the gospel" (p. 294). Paul probably comes to Corinth around the year 52 A.D. At this time the city was. little over 100 years old (it had been rebuilt by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C.).