Lives of Scripture

Silas was a leading member and prophet in the Jerusalem church, chosen along with Judas Barsabbas to carry the Jerusalem council's decision about Gentile believers to the church in Antioch, where he "encouraged and strengthened the brethren with a lengthy message" (Acts 15:22, 32). When Paul and Barnabas split over John Mark, Paul chose Silas as his new companion for the second missionary journey (15:40). In Philippi, after Paul cast a demon of divination out of a slave girl, her furious owners had Paul and Silas dragged before the magistrates, severely beaten with rods, and thrown into the inner prison with their feet in stocks (16:16-24). At midnight, rather than despairing, Paul and Silas were "praying and singing hymns of praise to God" while the other prisoners listened, when a sudden earthquake shook the prison, opening every door and loosening every chain (16:25-26). Silas continued alongside Paul through Thessalonica, Berea, and eventually Corinth, where he rejoined Paul after a separate journey (17:1-15; 18:5). His steady, trusted partnership is reflected in the New Testament letters themselves: he is listed as a co-sender of both letters to the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:1), and Peter mentions writing "through Silvanus," likely the same man, as a faithful brother who helped deliver his first letter (1 Peter 5:12).