The Jewish couple who became Paul's co-workers, first in the trade as tent-makers, and later in the ministry of the gospel.
Priscilla and Aquila were originally from Pontus but moved to Rome. When emperor Claudius's edict of 49 AD evicted all Jews from Rome, the couple settled in Corinth. It was there that Paul first met them and "because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them" (Acts 18:3). The silence about their conversion to the Christian faith implies they were already Christians when Paul met them.
Priscilla and Aquila left Corinth with Paul, but settled in Ephesus while Paul continued his journey to Antioch (Acts 18:19). During their early days there they met Apollos, "a Jew and native of Alexandria . . . a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately" (Acts 18:24-26).
When Paul wrote to the church in Corinth concerning the divisions he had been told, he sent the church Aquila and Priscilla's greetings (1 Cor 16:19), suggesting not only that they were already playing an active and leading part in the life of the church in Ephesus, but that they had previously also been active when they were in Corinth so that they would now be known enough for their greetings to be appreciated.
They must have left Ephesus soon after Paul did and returned to Rome, perhaps taking advantage of the relaxation of the edict against Jews after Claudius' death. Paul wrote his letter to the Romans soon after he left Ephesus, hoping to visit the church once he had delivered the collection to the church in Jerusalem. Priscilla and Aquila are among the persons to whom Paul sends his greetings (Rom 16:3). They are mentioned again in 2 Tim 4:19, written by Paul to Timothy when he was a prisoner in Rome and near the end of his life and Timothy in Ephesus. Some commentator has taken this to suggest that Rom 16 was a separate letter of Paul's that came, mysteriously, to be attached to Romans. The alternative is more prosaic: Priscilla and Aquila quite simply had a yen to visit those who are important to them to encourage them in their faith! We do not know if they travelled with Timothy and thus fulfilled Paul's urgent yearning to see his young friend once again before the end, for this is the last time we hear of this godly couple who remains a model of faith and faithfulness that all of us can emulate.
©ALBERITH