Epaphroditus
Excerpt
A Macedonian Christian from Philippi. There are no grounds for identifying him with Epaphras of Col. 1:7; 4:12, or Phm. 23. His name means ‘comely’ or ‘charming’. Paul calls him your messenger (hymōn apostolon, Phil. 2:25), where the word used is one more frequently translated elsewhere as ‘apostle’. This does not mean that Epaphroditus held any office in the Philippian church; he was simply a messenger (cf. 2 Cor. 8:23) who brought the gift from the church to Paul in prison at Rome. He became seriously ill, possibly as a result of over-exerting himself in journeying from Philippi to Rome, or in serving Paul at Rome. The AV says ‘he regarded not his life’ (see Phil. 2:30), but RSV more correctly ‘risking his life’. The word used is paraboleusamenos, ‘having gambled with his life’, from paraboleuesthai ‘to throw down a stake, to make a venture’. More
Swann, D. O. “Epaphroditus.” Ed. D. R. W. Wood et al. New Bible dictionary 1996 : 326. Print.
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