Christian Meaning of Names | Priscilla

Priscilla

Filed Under Biblical Names, Girl Names | 5 Comments

Name pronunciation: prih-SIL-ah
Origin of name: Latin
Meaning of name: Ancient

The Story Behind This Biblical Christian Name

The Bible mentions one Priscilla, in the New Testament. Priscilla was a Christian woman living in the time after Jesus left his disciples in charge of spreading the gospel.

Priscilla and her husband lived in Italy, leaving when Roman Emperor Claudius commanded that all Jews must leave Rome. They moved to Corinth, where the apostle and early church leader Paul met them. The early church leaders traveled a lot to carry the news of Jesus’ life story and God’s redemptive plan for mankind, and many of them were financially supported by donations or help from other church members. Paul was on one of these journeys, coming from Athens, when he met Priscilla and her husband, Aquila.

They were tent makers by trade, and so was the apostle Paul. Priscilla and Aquila opened their home to Paul, and he stayed with them, likely the whole year-and-a-half that he was in Corinth that time. Not only did he stay with them, but they all three worked together at tent-making.

Then, when Paul left Corinth and sailed for Syria, Priscilla and her husband went with him! When he was ready to leave Ephesus, they decided to stay and asked Paul to stay with them. He was determined to continue his journey, but hoped to return to see this wonderfully hospitable couple again. Paul did return again, and wrote the book of 1 Corinthians from there.

It would seem from the biblical account that they were good hosts, good business partners and a blessing to this man of God. Paul spoke highly of them, calling them both “fellow worker in Christ Jesus” and saying that they even “risked their own necks” for his life.

Priscilla and her husband hosted a church in their house. And when an eager Christian Jew named Apollos came into town and needed someone to teach him “the way of God more accurately”, they invited him to their home and explained things. This man Apollos became very influential, mentioned by Paul later (1 Corinthians 1:11-13 and chapters 3-4). So Priscilla was even a good Bible teacher.

The life of this woman of God is briefly mentioned and yet what is said reflects a life well lived in the service of God, working with her husband, teaching the Bible to others, hosting a house church and inviting missionaries to stay in her home, and boldly living her faith in spite of the persecution faced by all in the early Christian church.

Scriptures for the Bible Stories of the Girl Name Priscilla

Variations of the Baby Name Priscilla

Girl names: Prisca, Silla, Prissy
Boy names: Priscus

We hope this name meaning information is useful to you. If you like this resource, tell your friends about the Christian Meaning of Names website, or link to us at www.ChristianMeaningOfNames.com!

Comments

5 Responses to “Priscilla”

  1. Maria Flores on June 8th, 2009 8:29 am

    It’s me again.I thought I would tell you about the boys name Adin,that is the way Aden is spelled in the Bible.

  2. bookworm on June 8th, 2009 3:31 pm

    Thanks, Maria! Good tip. I looked it up, and it means “soft, delicate” in Hebrew.

    Of course, they would pronounce it more like “Ah-DEEN”, not like “AY-din”, the way we might say that spelling.

  3. Sebastiane on June 27th, 2009 11:17 am

    I love your blog!

  4. MARTHA on September 11th, 2009 7:28 am

    YOU ARE DOING A GREAT JOB

  5. bookworm on September 11th, 2009 7:46 am

    Thank you so much, Sebastiane and Martha! Encouraging comments are like oxygen to the blog-writing soul!

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