📖 Biblical Definition
Aquila was a Jewish man from Pontus expelled from Rome under Emperor Claudius' edict (Acts 18:2). He and his wife Priscilla settled in Corinth, where Paul joined them because he shared their trade of tentmaking. They became Paul's close co-workers, traveling with him to Ephesus, where they instructed Apollos more accurately in the way of God (Acts 18:26). Paul calls them "my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life" (Romans 16:3-4). A church met in their home both in Ephesus (1 Corinthians 16:19) and later in Rome (Romans 16:5). Aquila and Priscilla model the biblical pattern of husband-and-wife partnership in gospel ministry — laboring together, hosting the church, teaching the ignorant, and risking their lives for the apostle.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
A Jewish tentmaker of Pontus; a co-worker of Paul; husband of Priscilla.
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AQ'UILA, n. [L. an eagle.] A Jewish man of Pontus, a tentmaker by trade, who with his wife Priscilla became a close companion and fellow laborer of the apostle Paul, hosting churches in their home.
📖 Key Scripture
• Acts 18:2-3 — "He found a Jew named Aquila... with his wife Priscilla... and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked."
• Acts 18:26 — "Priscilla and Aquila... took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately."
• Romans 16:3-4 — "Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Aquila is overshadowed by Priscilla in egalitarian arguments, and their partnership is used to overturn male headship.
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Egalitarian scholars seize on the fact that Priscilla is sometimes named before Aquila as evidence that she held authority over her husband or functioned as a female pastor. But the New Testament never assigns Priscilla an independent teaching office — she always ministers alongside her husband. Their correction of Apollos was a private instruction (Acts 18:26), not a public teaching role in the gathered assembly. They are a model of how husband and wife can serve Christ together powerfully without overturning the order of creation.
Usage
• "Aquila and Priscilla show that some of the most important ministry happens in the home — hosting believers, discipling the confused, and supporting missionaries."
• "They risked their necks for Paul — their hospitality was not comfortable hosting but costly, dangerous partnership in the gospel."