City Official and Co-Worker of Paul
Erastus of Corinth
A city official in Corinth who worked alongside Paul and is named in three different New Testament letters — and who may be attested in an actual first-century inscription found in the ruins of Corinth.
Life and work
Erastus appears as one of Paul's traveling helpers, sent ahead into Macedonia with Timothy while Paul stayed in Asia (Acts 19:22). Paul later mentions him again as having stayed behind in Corinth (2 Timothy 4:20). In Romans, written from Corinth, Paul passes along greetings from "Erastus, the city treasurer" — or, depending on translation, the "director of public works" — suggesting he held a real civic office there (Romans 16:23).
That detail has made Erastus one of the few New Testament figures with a possible archaeological footprint: a Latin pavement inscription excavated near the theater in Corinth reads "ERASTVS PRO AEDILITATE S P STRAVIT" — "Erastus, in return for his aedileship, laid this pavement at his own expense." Many scholars have proposed this is the same man, which would make him a rare case of a named New Testament figure with a matching civic monument. The identification is widely discussed but not certain — the inscription's dating is debated, and "Erastus" was not an uncommon name in Roman Corinth, so it may simply be a different person who happened to share it.
- Occupation
- Director of public works (or city treasurer) of Corinth
- Places
- Corinth
Extra-biblical evidence
Erastus Inscription, Corinth Latin pavement inscription excavated near the Corinth theater, 1st century AD
Reads "ERASTVS PRO AEDILITATE S P STRAVIT" (Erastus, in return for his aedileship, laid this pavement at his own expense). Sometimes proposed as referring to the same Erastus named in Romans 16:23, though the identification is debated among archaeologists and historians.
Weight: Debated — a real, datable inscription, but its connection to the biblical Erastus is an unproven (though popular) identification, not a settled fact.
Scripture references
- Romans 16:23 — Named as the city's treasurer/director of public works, sending greetings
- Acts 19:22 — Sent by Paul into Macedonia with Timothy
- 2 Timothy 4:20 — Noted as having stayed in Corinth
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