Bible Commentaries

3. Priscilla and Aquila] Better, Prisca and Aquila; so 2 Timothy 4:19.—See Acts 18:2; Acts 18:18; Acts 18:26, for the whole known history of these two eminent Christians, (except the references to them here, and in 1 Corinthians 16:19, and 2 Timothy 4). Aquila (whose name in its Greek form is Akulas) was born in Pontus—as was another well-known Aquila, a translator of the O. T. into Greek. He and his wife, Prisca or Priscilla, first met St Paul at Corinth; then, 18 months later, went with him to Ephesus, where they both took part in the instruction of Apollos: here we find them again at Rome; and in St Paul’s last days they are probably again at Ephesus. (2 Timothy 4.) Their after-history is quite unknown. Whether or no they were converts of St Paul is uncertain. (See Introduction, i. § 17, 23; ii. § 2.)—“Priscilla is an example of what a married woman may do, for the general service of the Church, in conjunction with home-duties, just as Phœbe is the type of the unmarried servant of the Church, or deaconess.” (Dr Howson, in Smith’s Dict. Bibl.)—The variation in the form of Prisca’s name has many parallels in Roman nomenclature.

Prisca and Aquila

Priscilla is the diminutive of Prisca. See Acts 18:2, Acts 18:18, Acts 18:26; 1 Corinthians 16:19; 2 Timothy 4:19. It is argued by some that Aquila and Priscilla must have been at Ephesus at this time, since they were there when Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 16:19, and again when he wrote 2 Timothy 4:19. "It is strange to find them settled at Rome with a church in their house between these two dates" (Farrar). But, as Bishop Lightfoot remarks ("Commentary on Philippians," p. 176), "As Rome was their headquarters, and they had been driven thence by an imperial edict (Acts 18:2), it is natural enough that they should have returned thither as soon as it was convenient and safe to do so. The year which elapses between the two notices, allows ample time for them to transfer themselves from Ephesus to Rome, and for the apostle to hear of their return to their old abode." Notice that the name of Priscilla precedes that of her husband. So Acts 18:2. Probably she was the more prominent of the two in christian activity.

Fellow-workers

In christian labor, as they had been in tent-making.

In verses Romans 16:3-16 Paul sends his greetings to various brethren and sisters in Rome. Prisca and Aquila (Πρισκαν κα Ακυλαν). This order always (Acts 18:18; Acts 18:26; 2 Timothy 4:19, and here) save in Acts 18:2; 1 Corinthians 16:19, showing that Prisca was the more prominent. Priscilla is a diminutive of Prisca, a name for women in the Acilian gens. She may have been a noble Roman lady, but her husband was a Jew of Pontus and a tent-maker by trade. They were driven from Rome by Claudius, came to Corinth, then to Ephesus, then back to Rome, and again to Ephesus. They were good travelling Christians. My fellow-workers (τους συνεργους μου). Both in tent-making and in Christian service in Corinth and Ephesus.

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Romans 16:3 f. Greeting to Prisca and Aquila. ἀσπάσασθε: only here does Paul commission the whole Church to greet individual members of it (Weiss). For the persons here named see Acts 18:2. Paul met them first in Corinth, and according to Meyer converted them there. Here as in Acts 18:18; Acts 18:26 and 2 Timothy 4:19 the wife is put first, probably as the more distinguished in Christian character and service; in 1 Corinthians 16:19, where they send greetings, the husband naturally gets his precedence. τοὺς συνεργούς μου ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ: on first acquaintance they had been fellow-workers, not in Christ Jesus, but in tent-making: they were ὁμότεχνοι, Acts 18:3. οἵτινες: quippe qui. τὸν ἑαυτῶν τράχηλον: the singular (as Gifford points out) shows that the expression is figurative. To save Paul’s life Prisca and Aquila incurred some great danger themselves; what, we cannot tell. They were in his company both in Corinth and Ephesus, at times when he was in extreme peril (Acts 18:12; Acts 19:30 f.), and the recipients of the letter would understand the allusion. The technical sense of ὑποθεῖναι, to give as a pledge, cannot be pressed here, as though Prisca and Aquila had given their personal security (though it involved the hazard of their lives) for Paul’s good behaviour. οἷς οὐκ ἐγὼ μόνος εὐχαριστῶ κ.τ.λ. The language implies that the incident referred to had occurred long enough ago for all the Gentile Churches to be aware of it, but yet so recently that both they and the Apostle himself retained a lively feeling of gratitude to his brave friends. καὶ τὴν κατʼ οἷκον αὐτων ἐκκλησίαν: these words do not mean “their Christian household,” nor do they imply that the whole Christian community (in Rome or in Ephesus) met in the house of Prisca and Aquila. They signify the body of believers meeting for worship there, a body which would only be part of the local Christian community. Cf. 1 Corinthians 16:19, Colossians 4:15, Philemon 1:2, Acts 12:12. “There is no clear example of a separate building set apart for Christian worship within the limits of the Roman Empire before the third century, though apartments in private houses might be specially devoted to this purpose” (Lightfoot on Colossians 4:15). ἀσπάσασθε Ἐπαίνετον τὸν ἀγαπητόν μου: after Priscilla and Aquila, not a single person is known of all those to whom Paul sends greetings in Romans 16:3-16. ἀπαρχὴ τῆς Ἀσίας: Epænetus was the first convert in Asia (the Roman province of that name). Cf. 1 Corinthians 16:15. There is no difficulty in supposing that the first Christian of Asia was at this time—temporarily or permanently—in Rome: but the discovery of an Ephesian Epænetus on a Roman inscription (quoted by Sanday and Headlam) is very interesting.

Romans 16:3-4. Πρίσκα (2 Timothy 4:19) is not different from Πρίσκιλλα; comp. on Acts 18:2.

Her husband[38] Aquila was a native of Pontus (Acts 18:1), and Reiche incorrectly conjectures that he was called Pontius Aquila, which name Luke erroneously referred to his native country;[39] for, looking to the close connection in which Aquila stood with Paul, and Paul again with Luke, a correct acquaintance with the matter must be presumed in the latter. This married couple, expelled from Rome as Jews under Claudius, had been converted at Corinth by Paul (see on Acts 18:1), had then migrated to Ephesus (Acts 18:18; Acts 18:26; 1 Corinthians 16:19), are now again in Rome, but, according to 2 Timothy 4:19, were at a later period once more in Ephesus.

ἘΝ ΧΡΙΣΤῷ ἸΗΣΟῦ] Distinctive character of ΣΥΝΕΡΓΟΎς; for labour for the gospel lives and moves in Christ as its very element. Comp. Romans 16:9; Romans 16:12.

Romans 16:4. The marks of parenthesis are to be omitted, because the construction is not interrupted.

ΟἽΤΙΝΕς Κ.Τ.Λ.] Note the peculiar grounds assigned (quippe qui) for this and several following greetings.

ὑπέρ] not instead of, but for, in order to the saving of my life.

τὸν ἑαυτ. τράχηλ. ὑπέθηκαν] have submitted their own neck, namely, under the executioner’s axe. In the absence of historical information we can just as little decide with certainty on the question whether the expression is to be taken literally, that is, of a moment when they were to be actually executed but in some way or other were still saved, or (so the expositors) figuratively, of the incurring of an extreme danger to life—as on the question where the incident referred to took place? whether at Ephesus, Acts 19? or 2 Corinthians 1:8? or at Corinth, Acts 18:6 ff.? or elsewhere? or, generally, in the midst of labour and tribulation shared with Paul? Wetstein, Heumann, and Semler think of bail (ὑπέθηκαν would then be: they gave pledge; see Lobeck, ad Phryn. p. 468). Possibly; but the nearest conception which offers itself as the words stand is that of τραχηλοκοπεῖν (Plut. Mor. p. 398 D), whether it be thought of as a reality or as a figure. The latter, however, is, as being said of both, the most probable. The readers knew what was meant.

τῶν ἐθνῶν] On account of this sacrifice for me, the apostle of the Gentiles. The notice contemplates the inclusion of the Roman church, which in fact was also a Gentile church.

[38] That Paul names the wife first, is not to be regarded as accidental. Probably the preponderant Christian activity and estimation were on her side. Hence here, where both are saluted (comp. 2 Timothy 4:19), the precedence of the wife,—a distinction for which in 1 Corinthians 16:19, where both salute, no occasion was given. On the precedence given to the wife in Acts 18:18, see in loc.

[39] Aquila also, the translator of the Bible, was, as is well known, from Pontus (Sinope).

Romans 16:3-16. The apostle’s salutations.

Romans 16:3-5. Greet — Or, salute, as ασπασασθε is generally rendered; Priscilla and Aquila — That is, declare to them my Christian love, and desires of their welfare. The apostle first became acquainted with this excellent couple at Corinth, to which city they had come from Rome in consequence of a decree of the Emperor Claudius commanding all Jews to depart thence. When Paul left Corinth the first time, they accompanied him to Ephesus, Acts 18:2; Acts 18:18-19 : and when he departed from that city to go to Jerusalem, they did not go with him, but remained at Ephesus till he returned, as appears from their sending their salutations to the Corinthians in the apostle’s first epistle to them, chap. Romans 16:19, written from Ephesus while he abode there, after his return from Jerusalem, mentioned Acts 19:1. But on the death of Claudius they appear, from this verse, to have gone back to Rome to follow their occupation, being there when this salutation was sent to them. My fellow-helpers — Namely, in propagating the gospel, being always ready to exert themselves to the utmost to aid its progress, as far as they had opportunity. They had been very active in spreading the gospel both at Corinth and Ephesus; and doubtless they were so now at Rome also. Who have for my life laid down their own necks — Hazarded their own lives to save mine; perhaps in the violent opposition which the Jews made to him, as mentioned Acts 18:6-7; or in the uproar at Corinth, recorded Acts 18:12; or in that at Ephesus, Acts 19:23. The expression, which is proverbial, and denotes their undergoing the greatest perils, is used in allusion to the custom of placing on blocks the necks of criminals, whose heads are to be cut off. Unto whom not only I, but all the churches of the Gentiles — Even that at Rome; give thanks — Because the preservation of his life redounded to the benefit of them all. Likewise greet — Salute; the church that is in their house — The Christian congregation, that was wont to assemble there for divine worship. Aquila, it seems, performed the same part at Rome which Gains did at Corinth, Romans 16:23; he opened his house to receive the gospel, and those that were desirous to attend the ministry of it, and to join in the worship of the true God. As yet, however, it seems the Christians at Rome had neither bishops nor deacons. So far were they from any shadow of papal power. Nay, there does not appear to have been then in the whole city any more than one of these domestic churches, otherwise there can be no doubt but Paul would have saluted them also. Salute my well-beloved Epenetus — Although the apostle had never been at Rome, yet he had many acquaintances there. It is justly observed by Theophylact, that it was a very great praise to any one to have been the beloved of Paul, because his love was not the effect of a blind partiality, but of a well-founded judgment concerning the person’s true character. Who is the first-fruits of Achaia — The Alexandrine and Clermont MSS., with the Arabic, Ethiopic, and Vulgate versions, and many Greek and Latin commentators, have της Ασιας, of Asia, in this place; which some suppose to be the true reading, because, 1 Corinthians 16:15, the apostle calls the house of Stephanas, the first-fruits of Achaia. But if Epenetus was one of that house, or was converted at the same time with Stephanas, he also was a part of the first-fruits of Achaia, for there is no manner of necessity to understand by that expression the very first Christian convert.

Romans 16:3. Greet Priscilla and Aquila— This excellent couple appear by this passage to have returned to Rome on the ceasing of that edict against the Jews, which had driven them thence in the reign of Claudius; Acts 18:2. Priscilla seems to have been a woman of great note, and probably of distinguished genius and influence; which appears, not only from the manner in which she is here named, but also from the edification which the eloquent Apollos received from her instructions, in concurrence with those of her husband. See Doddridge, and Calmet.

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Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus:

Salute Priscilla — She is first mentioned, haply as more forward than her husband in the best things. So was Manoah’s wife and Nazianzen’s mother.

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