Woman living at the time of the New Testament
Priscilla, also known as Prisca, was a Jewish Christian and the wife of Aquila, who worked with Paul in his ministry and hosted a church in their home.
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Also known as Prisca
Priscilla, also referred to as Prisca, was a prominent Jewish Christian woman in the early church. She is consistently mentioned alongside her husband, Aquila, suggesting that they worked together as a team in ministry. Priscilla and Aquila were originally from Rome but had been forced to leave due to the emperor Claudius' edict expelling the Jews (Act.18.2). They settled in Corinth, where they met the apostle Paul and worked with him as tentmakers (Act.18.3). When Paul left Corinth, Priscilla and Aquila accompanied him to Ephesus (Act.18.18). In Ephesus, they encountered Apollos, a learned Jewish Christian, and instructed him more accurately in the way of God (Act.18.26). This event highlights Priscilla's knowledge of the Scriptures and her active role in teaching and discipleship. Priscilla and Aquila also hosted a church in their home, both in Ephesus (1Co.16.19) and later in Rome (Rom.16.3-5). Paul's warm greetings to the couple in his letters testify to their close friendship and partnership in the gospel ministry (Rom.16.3-4; 2Ti.4.19). Priscilla's example demonstrates the significant contributions of women in the early spread of Christianity and their active roles in the life of the church.
Part of: Paul's Circle
Paul stayed with Aquila and Priscilla in Corinth because they shared his trade of tentmaking, and he worked with them. This couple then traveled with him to Ephesus.
Sources: Scripture
Aquila and Priscilla had recently come from Italy because Claudius ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Suetonius mentions an expulsion over disturbances instigated by "Chrestus", which historians usually link to this event and to early Christian-Jewish tension in Rome.
Sources: Scripture · Suetonius, Life of Claudius 25
When Apollos preached in Ephesus knowing only the baptism of John, Priscilla and Aquila took him aside and explained the way of God more accurately. Priscilla is named first in several places, which many take as a sign of her prominence.
Sources: Scripture
Paul sends greetings to a church in their house in Rome, and from Ephesus a church meets at their house. They risked their necks for Paul.
Sources: Scripture
Hebrews is anonymous. Luther suggested Apollos, noting the Alexandrian style and scriptural skill. Others propose Barnabas (early North African tradition, Tertullian), Priscilla, or Paul. Origen concluded only God knows who wrote it.
Sources: Tertullian, On Modesty 20 · Origen, in Eusebius, Church History 6.25 · Martin Luther
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The wife of Aquila (Acts 18:2), who is never mentioned without her. Her name sometimes takes the precedence of his (Rom. 16:3; 2 Tim. 4:19). She took part with Aquila (q.v.) in insturcting Apollos (Acts 18:26).
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
6 verses in 4 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s G4252
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,
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.
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.
Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,
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.
Greet Prisca and Aquila, as well as the household of Onesiphorus.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.