Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

LUCIUS

(Gk. Loúkios)

A common name in the Roman world, the Latin equivalent for the Greek name Loukás/ós, shortened from Loukános.

1. Lucius of Cyrene, one of four prophets and teachers in Antioch who are led by the Spirit to commission Barnabas and Saul (= Paul) for mission work (Acts 13:1). Cyrene, capital of the Roman province of the same name in North Africa, had a large Jewish population, and it is likely that Lucius was a Hellenistic Jew, perhaps even one of the men of Cyprus and Cyrene who traveled from Jerusalem to Antioch and evangelized there (Acts 11:20).

2. A relative of Paul. Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater are identified as Paul’s relatives who send greetings to the Romans (Rom. 16:21). Since it is likely that Paul wrote to Rome from Corinth, it is probable that these men lived in Corinth. This Lucius is also a Jewish Christian, but it is very unlikely that he is the same person as Lucius of Cyrene.

The identification of either of the above persons with Luke the Evangelist is tenuous at best. When Paul refers to Luke the Evangelist, he calls him Loukás, not Lóukios. It is also likely that Luke was a Gentile, not a Jew.

David L. Turner

3. A Roman consul, Lucius Caecilius Metullus, who in 142 b.c.e. addressed letters to a number of countries reaffirming a Roman protective alliance with the Jews of Judea (1 Macc. 15:15-24). The letters are in response to the Jewish embassy under Numenius that went to Rome in that year (1 Macc. 14:16-24).

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

LUCIUS

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)