PERSON · DISCIPLE
Priscilla
Priscilla is one of the few women in the New Testament explicitly identified as a teacher and co-worker in the early church, and her name appears before that of her husband Aquila in four of the six New Testament references to the pair (Acts 18:18, 26; Romans 16:3; 2 Timothy 4:19), a notable textual pattern observed by scholars.
Acts 18:2–3
The Story
She arrives in the New Testament without fanfare — a woman named Priscilla, mentioned in the same breath as her husband Aquila, the two of them woven so tightly together in the fabric of early church life that separating them feels almost wrong. And yet it is Priscilla whose name, in most of the passages that record the pair, comes first. That is where the story begins to open up.
When the apostle Paul first encountered the couple, it was in Corinth. The emperor Claudius had issued a decree expelling Jews from Rome, and Priscilla and Aquila had made their way to Corinth as a result.
2And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them. 3And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.
Acts 18:2–3·KJV
Paul found in them not merely a household willing to show hospitality, but fellow craftspeople — tentmakers, as he was — and he stayed and worked with them. The bond formed in that shared labour would prove durable. These were not casual acquaintances of Paul; they were partners in the most literal sense, working side by side before the gospel had even been formally announced in that city.
When Paul eventually left Corinth and sailed for Syria, Priscilla and Aquila went with him. They traveled as far as Ephesus, where Paul paused briefly, reasoned in the synagogue, and then moved on — but the couple remained.
18And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow. 19And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews.
Acts 18:18–19·KJV
That willingness to plant themselves in Ephesus while Paul continued his journey tells us something the text confirms in other ways: Priscilla and Aquila were not merely followers in someone else's wake. They were workers in their own right, holding ground in a city that would become one of the most significant centres of the early church.
Life & Legacy
Death
ScriptureScripture does not record the circumstances or location of Priscilla's death.
Scripture does not record
Legacy
ScripturePriscilla is named alongside her husband Aquila as a co-worker of Paul, and Paul describes the pair as ones who 'risked their own necks' for his life and to whom 'all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks' (Romans 16:3–4). A church congregation met in their home (Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:19).
Romans 16:3–5; 1 Corinthians 16:19
Character
ScripturePriscilla is portrayed as a capable teacher of Scripture: together with Aquila she 'explained to him [Apollos] the way of God more accurately' after hearing him speak in the synagogue at Ephesus (Acts 18:26). She is consistently named as a fellow worker in ministry alongside her husband.
Acts 18:26; Romans 16:3
Significance
ScholarshipPriscilla is one of the few women in the New Testament explicitly identified as a teacher and co-worker in the early church, and her name appears before that of her husband Aquila in four of the six New Testament references to the pair (Acts 18:18, 26; Romans 16:3; 2 Timothy 4:19), a notable textual pattern observed by scholars.
Richard Bauckham, 'Gospel Women' (2002), ch. 5; Acts 18:18, 26; Romans 16:3; 2 Timothy 4:19
DeathScripture
Scripture does not record the circumstances or location of Priscilla's death.
Scripture does not record
LegacyScripture
Priscilla is named alongside her husband Aquila as a co-worker of Paul, and Paul describes the pair as ones who 'risked their own necks' for his life and to whom 'all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks' (Romans 16:3–4). A church congregation met in their home (Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:19).
Romans 16:3–5; 1 Corinthians 16:19
CharacterScripture
Priscilla is portrayed as a capable teacher of Scripture: together with Aquila she 'explained to him [Apollos] the way of God more accurately' after hearing him speak in the synagogue at Ephesus (Acts 18:26). She is consistently named as a fellow worker in ministry alongside her husband.
Acts 18:26; Romans 16:3
SignificanceScholarship
Priscilla is one of the few women in the New Testament explicitly identified as a teacher and co-worker in the early church, and her name appears before that of her husband Aquila in four of the six New Testament references to the pair (Acts 18:18, 26; Romans 16:3; 2 Timothy 4:19), a notable textual pattern observed by scholars.
Richard Bauckham, 'Gospel Women' (2002), ch. 5; Acts 18:18, 26; Romans 16:3; 2 Timothy 4:19
Artist's impression