provinces

Administrative areas set up within the Roman Empire. Under Augustus (27 BCE–14 CE) the empire was made up of twenty-eight provinces, some created by dividing larger provinces like Gaul, Spain, and Macedonia. The areas to which 1 Peter is addressed are the names of Roman provinces (1Pet 1:1). The book of Acts also makes frequent references to various provinces, though in some cases the author of Acts also uses ethnic designations for various areas. “Macedonia” and “Achaia” (Acts 19:21) are surely meant as provinces, but there is question whether the reference to “Galatia” in Acts 16:6 means the province of that name or the older, more limited area occupied by the Gauls, and hence ethnic Galatia.