Erastus

Erastus appears three times in the New Testament in what may represent two or three distinct individuals. Acts 19:22 mentions an Erastus whom Paul sent ahead from Ephesus to Macedonia along with Timothy. Romans 16:23 greets an Erastus who is identified as the city treasurer (Greek oikonomos) of Corinth—a significant civic office that places this Erastus among the more socially prominent members of the Corinthian church. 2 Timothy 4:20 notes that Erastus stayed behind at Corinth.

The Corinthian Erastus has attracted considerable archaeological interest. A first-century Latin inscription discovered in Corinth reads: Erastus, in return for his aedileship, laid this pavement at his own expense—an inscription that some scholars identify with the biblical figure, though the civic titles aedile and oikonomos (treasurer) may not be identical. If the identification is correct, Erastus represents one of the most socially elevated Christians mentioned by name in Paul's letters, an example of the gospel reaching the upper strata of Roman colonial society.