Who is Aquila in the Bible and What Can We Learn from Paul's Friend?

The New Testament only mentions a handful of couples: we see Mary and Joseph, Zechariah and Elizabeth. We don’t meet Peter’s wife, but we know he was married because we learn that Jesus healed his mother-in-law (Matthew 8:14-15, Mark 1:29-31, Luke 4:38-41). Then in the Book of Acts, we meet husband Aquila and his wife Priscilla.

This couple stands out for several reasons. Aquila and Priscilla are always mentioned together—whether traveling on mission trips with Paul, working their business, or ministering to fellow believers. Based on how Paul described them in his writings, they were the kind of couple we would want to know if we lived at that time. They seemed to love fellow believers dearly, going to great lengths to show hospitality and share truth with unbelievers.

So what do we know about Aquila and his wife Priscilla really? What can we learn from their example?

When Did Aquila and His Wife Priscilla Meet Paul?

We learn about Aquila and Priscilla meeting Paul in the book of Acts:

“There he met 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 see them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.” (Acts 18:1-4)

Aquila was a native of Pontus (modern-day Turkey), but he and Priscilla were Jewish citizens living in Rome until Claudius’ order in AD 49. Apparently, they didn’t want to risk staying anywhere else in Italy, so they settled in Corinth—a center of commerce, a good place for tentmakers to set up business.

Gordon Franz notes in his article “Aquila and Priscilla: A Godly Marriage for Ministry” that there are several theories about when Aquila and Priscilla became followers of Jesus.

1. Aquila could have been in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost in AD 30. Acts 2:9 says there were residents of Pontus in the crowd who heard Peter preaching about Jesus.
2. The couple could have come to Pentecost with another group: some of the “visitors from Rome” mentioned in Acts 2:9 who had come to the city on a pilgrimage.
3. The couple might have been in Pontus in AD 40-42 when Peter made his missionary travels through that region (1 Peter is written to believers he knew in Pontus and other areas). Early church historians like Jerome also suggested that Peter traveled to Rome during the second year of Claudius’ reign (around AD 42), which would imply he visited Rome as part of the same trip.

Whatever way they heard the gospel, the record makes it clear that Aquila and Priscilla were already believers when they met Paul in Corinth.

How Did Aquila Support Paul’s Career and His Ministry?

As the Acts 18 passage demonstrates, Paul, Aquila, and Priscilla were all involved in the tentmaking trade. Franz notes that since they came from different towns, they probably learned to make tents with different local materials.

“Some have suggested, because Paul was from Tarsus in Cilicia, his father had taught him the trade of weaving tent cloth from goat’s hair (cilicium),” he explains. Since Aquila and Priscilla practiced their trade in Rome before leaving for Corinth, they probably learned their trade from tentmaking associations that used linen to make “awnings used to cover theaters, the Roman Forum, the Sacred Way, and Nero’s amphitheaters. It was also used for awnings in houses and sails for ships.”

So Paul, Aquila, and Priscilla had much knowledge to share about their trade and much to teach each other. Their efforts provided for their daily needs and may have been a way for them to connect with people and tell them about Jesus (we will later see their desire to spread the gospel as accurately as possible). It’s also possible that the tents became a fundraising effort, financially providing for Paul’s missionary journeys after he left Corinth.

When Did Aquila and Priscilla Travel with Paul?

Silas and Timothy also joined Paul in Corinth in preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, but certain Jews did not receive their messages. Many rejected his teaching and tried to bring him before the local Roman proconsul for trial. It didn’t work because Proconsul Gallio had no interest in their dispute with Paul.

Years later, Paul remembered his troubles in the city and commended Aquila and Priscilla because they “risked their necks” for his life (Romans 16:3-4). Matthew Henry writes in his Commentary that when the Jews tried to prosecute Paul, Aquila and Priscilla “ventured much, for Paul: They have for my life laid down their own necks. They exposed themselves to secure Paul and hazarded their own lives for the preservation of his, considering how much better they might be spared than he. Paul was in a great deal of danger at Corinth while he sojourned with them, but they sheltered him . . . ”

After 18 months in Corinth, Paul left for Syria, accompanied by Aquila and Priscilla. He then left the couple in Ephesus. It’s not clear whether it was the original plan to leave the couple in Ephesus while he went to Syria. It is clera that Aquila and Priscilla used the opportunity to spread the gospel in this new city.

While Aquila and Priscilla were in Ephesus, a Jew named Apollo, a native of Alexandria, came and taught about Jesus. He is described in Acts 24-25 as 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 only the baptism of John.” Aquila and Priscilla heard him preach in the synagogue, but they saw he had something missing: he knew John’s message, not what came after. To help him discover the full gospel message, “they invited him to their home and explained the way of God more adequately” (Acts 18:26).

What Can Aquila Teach Us about Serving God with Our Career?

I believe that Aquila and Priscilla can teach us that serving God can be an integral part of our career as long as we do so with integrity. They could run their tent-making business with honesty and respect for their client while being a witness to the gospel.

We can also learn to surround ourselves at work with people who help us to grow in our walk with the Lord. Acts 18:3 says, “Paul went to see [Aquila and Priscilla], and because he was a tent maker like they were, he stayed and worked with them.” Imagine their conversations as they constructed tents and discussed Jesus. To hear about Paul’s conversion while they were working may have been quite distracting! Though we don’t have their conversations recorded in the Bible, they shared a career and a love for Christ, to be sure.

We can emulate these three as we go about our work. We can do our work as working for the Lord, letting our work be our witness to our respect for God, and seeking ways to introduce our coworkers to the Lord.

We can also consider adding hospitality to our work and service to the Lord. Priscilla invited Apollos into her home, and many commentaries speak of her hospitality. Can we do more of that ourselves? We can open our homes to invite people, show them their care, and talk to them about the Lord over time. If we can, we can remove any fear of being rejected for our message. We never need to defend the Lord; we just need to be willing to share Him with others.

What Can Aquila and Priscilla Teach Us Couples Serving God Together?

While the Bible doesn’t give us a detailed record of Aquila and Priscilla, it shows them as exceptional examples of people who loved the Lord, worked, traveled, and invited people into their homes to make Him known. These values would have shown not only in their work but also in their marriage.

We can emulate them by being couples committed to growing in their individual and collective relationship with the Lord, which leads to better love for each other and their neighbors. The world needs more people who are willing to be modern-day Aquilas and Priscillas!

Photo Credit:©GettyImages/Valeria Titarenco

Mary Oelerich-Meyer is a Chicago-area freelance writer and copy editor who prayed for years for a way to write about and for the Lord. She spent 20 years writing for area healthcare organizations, interviewing doctors and clinical professionals and writing more than 1,500 articles in addition to marketing collateral materials. Important work, but not what she felt called to do. She is grateful for any opportunity to share the Lord in her writing and editing, believing that life is too short to write about anything else. Previously she served as Marketing Communications Director for a large healthcare system. She holds a B.A. in International Business and Marketing from Cornell College (the original Cornell!) When not researching or writing, she loves to spend time with her writer daughter, granddaughter, rescue doggie and husband (not always in that order).  

This article is part of our People from the Bible Series featuring the most well-known historical names and figures from Scripture. We have compiled these articles to help you study those whom God chose to set before us as examples in His Word. May their lives and walks with God strengthen your faith and encourage your soul.

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