Meaning of the Name Priscilla
Priscilla is the diminutive form of the Latin name Prisca. Its root is usually connected with the semantic field of 'ancient,' 'old,' or 'venerable.' For that reason, the name is often explained as 'little Prisca' or as carrying the sense of someone venerable or longstanding.
Origin
The name Priscilla is of Latin origin.
Who is Priscilla in the Bible?
Priscilla, together with her husband Aquila, is one of Paul's close coworkers and hosts a church in their home. Her role in helping instruct Apollos more accurately in Ephesus makes her a notable teaching figure in the New Testament; in some letters her name appears in the variant form Prisca.
The story of Priscilla in the Bible
We meet Priscilla in Corinth, where she and her husband Aquila had arrived from Italy after Claudius ordered the Jews to leave Rome. When Paul came to the city he stayed with the couple, and since they shared the same trade of tentmaking, they worked side by side. When Paul left Corinth, Priscilla and Aquila sailed with him and settled in Ephesus. There they heard Apollos, an eloquent Alexandrian with a deep command of the Scriptures who knew only the baptism of John; they took him aside and explained the way of God to him more accurately, a scene that makes Priscilla one of the New Testament's notable teaching figures. The couple also opened their home: in the letter to the Corinthians they send greetings together with the church that met in their house. Writing to the Romans, Paul calls them his co-workers in Christ Jesus who risked their necks for his life; in some letters her name appears as Prisca. Almost always mentioned alongside her husband, Priscilla was a pillar of the early church's network of house churches.
Is Priscilla mentioned in the Quran?
The name Priscilla does not appear in the Quran; in the Bible she is remembered in the New Testament, together with her husband Aquila, as Paul's co-worker and a teacher of Apollos.
Verses where Priscilla appears
- Acts 18:2 —
He found a certain Jew named Aquila, a man of Pontus by race, who had recently come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome. He came to them,
- Acts 18:26 —
He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside, and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
- 1 Corinthians 16:19 —
The assemblies of Asia greet you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you much in the Lord, together with the assembly that is in their house.