Lecture

As Paul traveled around on his missionary journeys, he relied on the hospitality of others. He also leaned heavily on the friends he made along the way, and two of Paul's friends, hosts, and co-laborers, were Priscilla and Lydia.

Acts 18 tells us of Paul's journey to Corinth. In AD 51, the apostle Paul arrived in Corinth and began working as a tent maker or leather worker and preaching in the city's synagogue. While there, he met a Jewish couple, Prisca, or the diminutive form is Priscilla, and her husband Aquila, and they would prove to be steadfast friends, traveling companions, ministry coworkers, but their story begins not in Corinth, rather in Rome. They were victims of the Emperor Claudius's edict in AD 49 that expelled Jews who followed Chrestus, which is likely a misspelling of the name Christ. Aquila and Priscilla travel to Corinth and they open a leatherworks business there.

Prisca, a Latin name, and Aquila are mentioned by name six times in the New Testament, always together as a couple. We find them mentioned in Acts 18:2–3 and verses 18 and 19 and also 26. We find them mentioned in Romans 16, in 1 Corinthians 16, and also, in 2 Timothy 4. Prisca's name appears first four of the six times, and that likely indicates her higher social status.

They were leaders in the early Christian movement and highly regarded in Corinth, in Ephesus, and in Rome, these cities in which they served. When Paul meets them in Corinth, they're already followers of Jesus, and then they travel with Paul to Ephesus, and they remain in that city to support the young church. Paul identifies them both as his coworkers. This designation is limited to those who serve in leadership. For example, at the end of 1 Corinthians, Paul asks that this church submit to the coworkers of Paul. Prisca is mentioned first when speaking about the instruction of the gifted preacher Apollos in Acts 18:26. He's one of Paul's coworkers as well, and Prisca and Aquila teach him deeper theology, particularly about baptism.

So here we have an example of a Christian woman teaching a Christian man on the subject of theology. This should be kept in mind when exegeting 1 Timothy 2:11–15, which limits, in some way, women from teaching.

Women should learn quietly and submissively. I do not let women teach men or have authority over them. Let them listen quietly. For God made Adam first, and afterward he made Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived by Satan. The woman was deceived, and sin was the result. But women will be saved through childbearing, assuming they continue to live in faith, love, holiness, and modesty. (NLT)

Prisca taught male believers in Ephesus. Thus, Paul's restriction in 1 Timothy is likely related to the newly converted gentile women's lack of knowledge or incorrect knowledge that they were promulgating. Paul commands Timothy to teach these women. Some translations say, “Let a woman learn,” but that's a soft translation of what Paul says, and perhaps Paul and Timothy are thinking about that excellent example of the learned Priscilla and her teaching of Apollos.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul mentions Prisca and Aquila again. Claudius's edict has been rescinded by the new emperor, Nero, and they return to Rome. Paul praises their willingness to risk their necks to help him and twice notes the churches that meet in their homes. “Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in the ministry of Christ Jesus. In fact, they once risked their lives for me. I am thankful to them, and so are all the Gentile churches. Also give my greetings to the church that meets in their home” (Romans 16:3–5 NLT). He mentions this in Romans, but also in 1 Corinthians, and then you can also take a look at 2 Timothy 4. That extends a greeting to them.

This couple was relatively wealthy because they had a home large enough to host a small gathering of believers, and they rescued Paul probably by using their social standing to protect him. He expands on this to say that not only he, but all the churches of the Gentiles thanked them. Well, perhaps Prisca and Aquila used their wealth and status to help the congregants, or their hospitality embraced people of all social levels, or their excellent teaching brought the gospel to life.

Acts also tells the story of Lydia, a woman from Asia Minor, or modern-day Turkey, who lived in Philippi. As Luke tells the story in Acts 16, Paul arrives at Philippi and on the Sabbath walks outside the city walls to the river, where he expects to find a Jewish place of prayer. A group of women have gathered, and he preaches the gospel to them. Luke calls their meeting place a proseuche, not synagogue, which is his usual term. Now, the use of this special term coupled with the mention that only women were part of the group, often leads to the conclusion that not enough Jewish men lived in Philippi to make a synagogue, but we don't need to make that argument from silence. Luke will use a particular, even a unique term, specific to a location. For example, the city council leaders in Thessalonica are called politarchs, a term not used for other city councils but confirmed by local ancient inscriptions. And so, perhaps a similar situation occurred in Philippi where this community referred to itself or was referred to as a proseuche, a house of prayer.

We don't need necessarily to connect this comment about women with the term, although given the possibilities of women gathering for religious rites, it's not impossible that certain women from the synagogue, including interested Gentiles, met on the Sabbath without men. Nothing in Judaism precludes that possibility. We should also note that proseuche is used elsewhere to describe the Jewish community, so Luke is not creating a new term. He's merely using a familiar one in a singular way in Acts.

Well, Paul preaches the gospel, and one of their numbers, a God-fearer named Lydia, is convinced of the message and she and her household were baptized. She successfully implored Paul and Silas to stay at her home. Luke calls her a “God-fearer,” which is a semi-technical designation of a Gentile who followed many Jewish laws but was not a proselyte. He also speaks of her as dealing in purple cloth. Does that mean she's wealthy? Well, most commentators believe this to be the case, as purple dye was a very expensive commodity. Perhaps Lydia employed people to do the dying and the selling. She does have a household, and that could include slaves and freed men and freed women.

A curious detail is that no husband is mentioned, so most conclude she's a widow, as almost every woman married at least once at this time. Luke presents her as the master in the home, for she leads her household in baptism, much as the jailer does a little bit further in our story here. Moreover, she invites Paul and Silas into her home, again presenting a picture of one who was in charge of the household. Her position was common for widows, especially if her guardian or her father lived in Thyateira, the town in Asia Minor where she moved from when she settled in Philippi, and it's possible that her father has died.

Lydia might be a well-born and prosperous commercial trader. Given that she had a home large enough to accommodate Paul and his group, as well as the finances to care for their needs, suggests that she was wealthy. By giving Paul and Silas a place to stay, she revealed her generosity and thus was honored by the group. Lydia's status as Paul's benefactor would make a leadership role in the church likely. Lydia probably led the group which continued to meet in her home after Paul and Silas left the city, and presumably Lydia followed the pattern we find throughout the New Testament, namely that the owner of the house in which the church met was also a church leader.

It is curious that we don't find Lydia mentioned in Paul's letter to the Philippians. This letter, however, was written years after his initial visit, and so it's most likely that Lydia has died. Nevertheless, women are still leaders in the congregation. Paul mentions two of his coworkers by name, Euodia and Syntyche. They may be part of the group of overseers or bishops that Paul mentions at the beginning of this letter. For Paul only lists these leadership groups here in a letter salutation, and rarely does Paul name specific coworkers in the body of his letters. Typically, the list of names come in his concluding remarks. Euodia and Syntyche continue the ministry of Lydia and Prisca, teaching and leading men and women disciples in the house churches and proclaiming the gospel to all.

In the next and final session, we will tie together everything we've studied. We'll learn three guidelines for interpreting the Bible and use that knowledge to understand an important but contested passage.