Silas

Overview

Silas, also called Silvanus in Paul's epistles, was one of the 'chief men among the brethren' in the Jerusalem church, sent along with Paul and Barnabas to deliver the council's decision to the Gentile believers in Antioch. Described as a prophet who exhorted and strengthened the believers, Silas remained in Antioch and, after Paul and Barnabas separated over a dispute regarding John Mark, became Paul's chosen companion for his second missionary journey. Together they traveled through Syria, Cilicia, and into Macedonia, where in Philippi they were seized, beaten, and imprisoned after Paul cast a spirit of divination out of a servant girl. Rather than despair, Silas and Paul prayed and sang hymns at midnight while the other prisoners listened, and God sent a great earthquake that shook open the prison doors, leading to the jailer's conversion and baptism that very night. Silas continued to labor alongside Paul through Thessalonica and Berea, and is later named as co-author of both epistles to the Thessalonians, showing his continuing, trusted role in Paul's ministry.