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SILAS
Respected leader in the Jerusalem church, also called Silvanus (2 Cor 1:19; 1 Thes 1:1; 2 Thes 1:1; 1 Pt 5:12). “Silas” is most likely the Aramaic form of the Hebrew name “Saul,” which when given a Latin form became Silouanos (Silvanus). Silas thus carried two names—a Latin and a shorter, Semitic name. The name was known in the Hellenistic era and appears in various inscriptions. Luke used the name Silas when he narrated the history of the Jerusalem church in Acts. Paul and Peter used the Roman name in their epistles.
Silas is introduced in Acts 15:22 as a distinguished delegate who conveyed to Antioch the decree of the Jerusalem Council. Several manuscripts (of lesser quality than the best-attested ones) include 15:34; this added verse indicates that Silas remained in Antioch because shortly thereafter he joined Paul on his second missionary tour (Acts 15:40). His service as a prophet may be evident in Acts 16:6, when the Spirit redirected the company through Asia. Silas’s name appears eight times within the second tour (Acts 16:19, 25, 29; 17:4, 10, 14-15; 18:5), as he accompanied Paul through the hardships suffered at Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea. When Paul was safely ushered out of Macedonia by the Berean Christians (17:14), Silas remained behind with Timothy to oversee the work already begun in the region. Later in Corinth (18:5), Silas and Timothy rejoined Paul. Their report prompted Paul to correspond with the church at Thessalonica. This explains Silas’s name in the prescript of both 1 and 2 Thessalonians.
It seems clear that Silas was well known to the Corinthians. Not only does he stay in the city with Paul for a year and a half (Acts 18:11), but it may be conjectured that he stayed behind in Corinth after the dispute before Gallio. Paul, on his final tour, wrote to Corinth from Ephesus and mentioned Silas again (2 Cor 1:19), reminding the Corinthians of the earlier ministry among them.
The subsequent history of Silas is obscure. Some believe Silas was a respected Christian scribe. Silas’s involvement in 1 and 2 Thessalonians is often mentioned, pointing to Paul’s sustained use of the first person plural. Some scholars find resemblances among 1 and 2 Thessalonians, the decree of Acts 15, and 1 Peter, where Silas is mentioned as a scribe (1 Pt 5:12). This latter association with Peter is intriguing and has led to the speculation that Silas ultimately joined Peter and ministered in north Asia.