Aquila Ἀκύλας
Jewish Christian tentmaker, co-worker with Paul
Who is Aquila in the Bible?
Aquila was a Jewish Christian tentmaker from Pontus who became a key coworker with the apostle Paul in the early church. First mentioned in Acts 18:2, he had fled Rome with his wife Priscilla after Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from the city around 52 AD. Paul stayed and worked with Aquila and Priscilla during his ministry in Corinth, and the couple later accompanied him to Ephesus, where they helped instruct the eloquent preacher Apollos in the fuller truths of Christian faith (Acts 18:26). Paul held them in high regard, sending greetings to them in Romans 16:3 and commending their faithfulness. Aquila and Priscilla's partnership with Paul demonstrates the importance of tentmaking artisans and lay leaders in establishing and strengthening the early Christian community across the Mediterranean world.
Biography
Aquila was a Jewish Christian from Pontus who, along with his wife Priscilla, played a significant role in the early church. He is first mentioned in the book of Acts as a tentmaker who had recently come to Corinth from Italy due to the emperor Claudius' decree expelling all Jews from Rome. Paul, also a tentmaker, stayed and worked with Aquila and Priscilla during his time in Corinth.
When Paul left Corinth, Aquila and Priscilla accompanied him to Ephesus. There, they met Apollos, an eloquent Jewish Christian from Alexandria who knew only the baptism of John. Aquila and Priscilla took Apollos aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately, enabling him to continue his effective ministry.
In Paul's letter to the Romans, he sends greetings to Aquila and Priscilla, commending them as his co-workers in Christ Jesus who risked their lives for him. Paul also mentions that the church met in their house, indicating their significant role in hosting and supporting the local Christian community.
Aquila and Priscilla are mentioned again in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, where he sends greetings from them and the church that meets at their house. Finally, in Paul's second letter to Timothy, he asks Timothy to greet Aquila and Priscilla, demonstrating their ongoing involvement in the ministry and their close relationship with Paul and his associates.
Family
In Scripture
4 biblical books ; 4 with study contentActs 3 verses
- Acts 18:2
"There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to visit them,"
Study Acts → - Acts 18:18
"Paul remained in Corinth for quite some time before saying goodbye to the brothers. He had his head shaved in Cenchrea to keep a vow he had made, and then he sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila."
Study Acts → - Acts 18:26
"And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately."
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Romans 1 verse
- Romans 16:3
"Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,"
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1 Corinthians 1 verse
- 1 Corinthians 16:19
"The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house."
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2 Timothy 1 verse
- 2 Timothy 4:19
"Greet Prisca and Aquila, as well as the household of Onesiphorus."
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Names & Aliases
| Form | Language | Script | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Named | Greek | Ἀκύλας | Akýlas | Akulas, an Israelite |
Aquila
:Acts.18.2">Ac 18:2). Aquila was a native of Pontus, doubtless one of the colony of Jews mentioned in Ac 2:9; 1Pe 1:1. They were refugees from the cruel and unjust edict of Claudius which expelled all Jews from Rome in 52 AD. The decree, it is said by Suetonius, was issued on account of tumults raised by the Jews, and he especially mentions one Chrestus (Suetonius Claud. 25). Since the word Christus could easily be confounded by him to refer to some individual whose name was Chrestus and who was an agitator, resulting in these disorders, it has been concluded that the fanatical Jews were then persecuting their Christian brethren and disturbances resulted. The cause of the trouble did not concern Claudius, and so without making inquiry, all Jews were expelled. The conjecture that Aquila was a freedman and that his master had been Aquila Pontius, the Roman senator, and that from him he received his name is without foundation.
He doubtless had a Hebrew name, but it is not known. It was a common custom for Jews outside of Palestine to take Roman names, and it is just that this man does, and it is by that name we know him. Driven from Rome, Aquila sought refuge in Corinth, where Paul, on his second missionary journey, meets him because they have the same trade: that of making tents of Cilician cloth (Ac 18:3). The account given of him does not justify the conclusion that he and his wife were already Christians when Paul met them. Had that been the case Lu would almost certainly have said so, especially if it was true that Paul sought them out on that account. Judging from their well-known activity in Christian work they would have gathered a little band of inquirers or possibly converts, even though they had been there for but a short time. It is more in harmony with the account to conclude that Paul met them as fellow-tradespeople, and that he took the opportunity of preaching Christ to them as they toiled.
There can be no doubt that Paul would use these days to lead them into the kingdom and instruct them therein, so that afterward they would be capable of being teachers themselves (Ac 18:26). Not only did they become Christians, but they also became fast and devoted friends of Paul, and he fully reciprocated their affection for him (Ro 16:3,4). They accompanied him when he left Corinth to go to Ephesus and remained there while he went on his journey into Syria. When he ,wrote the first letter to the church at Corinth they were still at Ephesus, and their house there was used as a Christian assembly-place (1Co 16:19). The decree of Claudius excluded the Jews from Rome only temporarily, and so afterward Paul is found there, and his need of friends and their affection for him doubtless led them also to go to that city (Ro 16:3). At the time of the writing of Paul's second letter to Tim they have again removed to Ephesus, possibly sent there by Paul to give aid to, and further the work in that city (2Ti 4:19). While nothing more is known of them there can be no doubt that they remained the devoted friends of Paul to the end.
The fact that Priscilla's name is mentioned several times before that of her husband has called forth a number of conjectures. The best explanation seems to be that she was the stronger character. Jacob W. Kapp
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