Priscilla (First Century)
Prisca, often referred to by her diminutive name Priscilla, is mentioned in four books in the New Testament (Rom. 16:3; Acts 18:2, 18, 26; 1 Cor. 16:19; 2 Tim. 4:19). Priscilla was a well-educated woman who had been a member of a synagogue in Rome and was skilled in the interpretation of the Law.[1] She was a leader in the early Christian movement and was instrumental in having Paul’s letters copied and dispersed.[2] Priscilla is a woman Paul celebrates as his co-worker (Rom. 16:3), a distinction she shares with men such as Timothy, Titus, Epaphroditus, and Philemon.[3] In the words of Paul,
Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia” (Rom. 16:3-5).
Scholars have suggested the placement of Priscilla’s name first signifies she is either well known, better known, or of higher status to him or the recipients of the letter.[4] Priscilla helped start three house churches from scratch in three cities (Rome, Corinth, and Ephesus) at a time when a person could be flogged, stoned, expelled or imprisoned for doing so.”[5] Elsewhere in the Bible, Paul referrers to Priscilla as someone who had earned his respect as a house church leader (1 Cor. 16:19) and a teacher of men in her correction of Apollos (Acts 18:26).[6]
Some scholars have suggested that Priscilla is the author or one of the authors of Hebrews, while others think Apollos may have written it.[7] Pricilla’s authorship is a plausible consideration as evidence supports her having the education and likely ability. It is Priscilla and her husband Aquila who discipled Apollos; after they heard him speaking boldly in the synagogue, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately (Acts 18:26).
Priscilla was a disciple who boldly witnessed to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and devoted her life to the Christian Church. She is one of our mothers of the church and our faith, as is another co-labourer of Paul: Phoebe. She is our disciple for next week.
[1] Torjesen, Karen Jo. 1995. When Women Were Priests. New York, NY: HarperOne, 20.
[2] Muir, Elizabeth Gillan. 2019. A Women’s History of the Christian Church: Two Thousand Years of Female Leadership. Toronto; Buffalo; London: University of Toronto Press, 7.
[3] Haddad, Mimi. 2009. “Women Leaders in the Early Church.” February 16, 2009. https://sojo.net/articles/women-leaders-early-church.
[4] Muir, A Women’s History of the Christian Church, 6.
[5] Pederson, Rena. 2006. The Lost Apostle. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, Kindle Locations 512-513, and Muir, A Women’s History of the Christian Church, 7.
[6] Haddad, “Women Leaders in the Early Church.”
[7] Kroeger, Catherine Clark, and Mary J. Evans, eds. 2002. The IVP Women’s Bible Commentary. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 762, and Muir, A Women’s History of the Christian Church, 7.