Biblical Profile: Priscilla and Aquila

Priscilla and Aquila

Priscilla and Aquila were a Christian couple with whom Paul lived and worked during his early days in Corinth. They were later active in Christian ministry and instrumental in bringing Apollos to a true understanding of Christ. They made a habit of opening their home in hospitality to other Christians.

Paul first met Priscilla and Aquila in Corinth, where they had recently arrived as a result of Claudius Caesar’s deportation of all Jews from Rome (AD 49). Paul became acquainted with them and, because they were tentmakers (or possibly leatherworkers) like he was, Paul lived and worked with them during his first year and a half in Corinth (AD 50–52; 18:1-3).

When Paul left Corinth, he took Priscilla and Aquila with him and left them in Ephesus (18:18-19) while he returned to Jerusalem and Antioch. Later, when Apollos came through Ephesus, enthusiastically preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, Priscilla and Aquila took him aside and explained to him more fully the truth of Christ. As a result of their training, Apollos went on to become a powerful evangelist and Christian apologist (18:24-28).

Later, Paul speaks of their home as a meeting place for Christians in Ephesus, and he sends their greeting with his own to the church in Corinth (1 Cor 16:19; cp. 2 Tim 4:19). Still later, it seems they returned to Rome (presumably after the relaxation of Claudius’s edict), for they are the first of many to whom Paul sends his greetings when he writes to the church in Rome (Rom 16:3-5). Here, too, their home became a meeting place. It is clear that Paul felt a close bond of friendship with them and that he regarded their work for Christ highly—he speaks of them as “my coworkers in the ministry of Christ,” and he refers to a time when they even risked their lives for him.

Priscilla and Aquila are examples of early Christians who, in the course of their daily work, were bold in bearing witness to Christ and active in ministering to his people—in this case, as a married couple dedicated to the service of Christ. The fact that Priscilla’s name often occurs first (which was unusual for the time) might say something about the strong role she played in the couple’s witness and ministry.

Passages for Further Study

Acts 18:1-3, 18-19, 24-28; Rom 16:3-5; 1 Cor 16:19; 2 Tim 4:19