"... That God’s name was invoked over God’s people, city, or house was common Old Testament idiom, contrasting with the Gentiles, who lacked this special designation (Isaiah 63:19); it applies to “Israel’s covenant status” in many early Jewish texts (e.g., Sirach 36:17; 2 Maccabees 8:15; Baruch 2:15; Psalms of Solomon 9) ... Paul and Silas expect that the family will convert with the head of the household, which was usually the case (compare Acts 10:2), although other members of the household were sometimes converted first (1 Cor 7:12–16; 1 Pet 3:1). The text is hardly an unconditional guarantee for the conversion of family members (compare Luke 12:51–53; 14:26; 18:29); rather, in context it implies the expectation (again based on the normal cultural pattern) that other members will be saved because they also will believe (Acts 16:31). Thus the missionaries proceed to speak to the members of the household (16:32), who also believe and receive baptism (16:33–34). Respectable patrons of families were to rule their families, and grave embarrassment followed if they failed to do so. The behavior of family members reflected on fathers politically. The paterfamilias in a Roman household had exorbitant legal power, but this was mitigated in practice. Still, people evaluated fathers by their children’s religious decisions ..."