# Apollos ## Intro Apollos was a Jewish Christian teacher from Alexandria in Egypt, the great African port city, who became one of the most gifted preachers of the early church. Acts calls him eloquent and "mighty in the scriptures" ([Acts 18:24](/codex/acts-18-24/), KJV). When he arrived in Ephesus he already knew about Jesus and taught accurately, but he knew only the baptism of John, so Priscilla and Aquila took him aside and explained the way of God more fully. He then went to Corinth, where his preaching strengthened the church and refuted opponents publicly from the Scriptures. Paul treated him as a fellow worker: "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase" ([1 Corinthians 3:6](/codex/1-corinthians-3-6/), KJV). Martin Luther thought Apollos might have written the letter to the Hebrews. ![A Byzantine manuscript miniature of seven haloed saints of the Seventy standing on a gold background, among them Apollos](/codex/assets/apollos-menologion-basil-ii.jpg) *Sosthenes, Apollos, Cephas, Tychicus, Epaphroditus, Caesar and Onesiphorus, of the Seventy, from the Menologion of Basil II, c. AD 1000, Vatican Library. Public domain ([Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sosthenes,_Apollo,_Cephas,_Tychicus,_Epaphroditus,_C%C3%A6sar_and_Onesiphorus_of_70_disciples_%28Menologion_of_Basil_II%29.jpg)), resized.* ## In full Apollos appears in [Acts 18:24-19:1](/codex/acts-18-24-19-1/), [1 Corinthians 1:12](/codex/1-corinthians-1-12/); [3:4-6](/codex/1-corinthians-3-4-6/), [22](/codex/1-corinthians-3-22/); [4:6](/codex/1-corinthians-4-6/); [16:12](/codex/1-corinthians-16-12/), and [Titus 3:13](/codex/titus-3-13/). Luke introduces him as "a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures" ([Acts 18:24](/codex/acts-18-24/), KJV). He had been instructed in "the way of the Lord," was "fervent in the spirit," and "spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John" ([Acts 18:25](/codex/acts-18-25/), KJV). After Priscilla and Aquila "expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly" ([Acts 18:26](/codex/acts-18-26/), KJV), the Ephesian believers sent him to Achaia with a letter of recommendation. There "he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ" ([Acts 18:28](/codex/acts-18-28/), KJV). In Corinth his gifts produced, without his intending it, a party: some said "I of Apollos" ([1 Corinthians 1:12](/codex/1-corinthians-1-12/), KJV). Paul answers by placing himself and Apollos side by side as servants: "Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed?" ([1 Corinthians 3:5](/codex/1-corinthians-3-5/), KJV). Later Paul urged Apollos to return to Corinth, but Apollos was unwilling for the time being ([1 Corinthians 16:12](/codex/1-corinthians-16-12/)), a sign of mutual respect and of Apollos's own judgment. [Titus 3:13](/codex/titus-3-13/) asks Titus to speed Apollos and Zenas the lawyer on their journey. ## The text, term by term - **"Born at Alexandria" (*Alexandreus tō genei*).** Alexandrian by birth, a native of the city, not simply a resident. - **"Eloquent" (*logios*).** The word can mean eloquent or learned, and in Greek usage often both: a man trained in speech and letters. In Alexandria that suggests rhetorical education of a high order. - **"Mighty in the scriptures" (*dynatos ōn en tais graphais*).** Powerful in the Jewish Scriptures, which in Alexandria meant above all the Greek translation made there, the Septuagint. - **"Instructed" (*katēchēmenos*).** Catechized, taught by instruction. Codex Bezae, an important Western manuscript, adds that he had been instructed "in his homeland," which, if it preserves an early tradition, would mean the gospel had reached Alexandria by around AD 50. The addition is not in most manuscripts, and the main text leaves open where he learned. - **"Fervent in the spirit" (*zeōn tō pneumati*).** Literally "boiling in spirit." Interpreters debate whether this means his own zeal or the Holy Spirit; Paul uses the same phrase in [Romans 12:11](/codex/romans-12-11/). - **"Knowing only the baptism of John."** He knew Jesus' story and taught it accurately, but his understanding of baptism stopped at John. [Acts 19:1-7](/codex/acts-19-1-7/), which follows immediately, shows disciples in Ephesus in a similar position. Priscilla and Aquila corrected him privately, and Luke records no rebaptism for him. - **His name.** *Apollos* is a shortened form of a longer Greek name, and Codex Bezae calls him *Apollonius*. ## Jewish Alexandria Apollos came from the largest Jewish community outside the land of Israel: - **The city.** Founded by Alexander the Great in the 330s BC, capital of Ptolemaic Egypt, home of the great Library. See [Church at Alexandria](/codex/church-at-alexandria/). - **The Septuagint.** The Jewish Scriptures were translated into Greek there, beginning in the third century BC with the Torah. The Septuagint became the Bible of the Greek-speaking synagogue and of the early church. - **Philo.** [Philo of Alexandria](/codex/philo-of-alexandria/) (c. 20 BC-c. AD 50), Apollos's older contemporary, read the Scriptures through Greek philosophy and allegory. Many scholars have looked for Alexandrian habits of interpretation in Apollos's preaching; the texts do not say what his method was. - **Riots and imperial letters.** Philo's *Against Flaccus* and *Embassy to Gaius* record the violence against Alexandria's Jews in AD 38. A papyrus copy of the Emperor Claudius's *Letter to the Alexandrians* (AD 41, now in the British Library) survives, warning both Greeks and Jews in the city to keep the peace. This was the city of Apollos's youth. - **The end of the community.** The Jewish community of Alexandria was largely destroyed in the diaspora revolt of AD 115-117. Apollos is the clearest New Testament witness that Christianity had African-born preachers in its first generation. Whatever the origins of the Alexandrian church (see [Mark the Evangelist](/codex/john-mark/) and [Church at Alexandria](/codex/church-at-alexandria/)), an Alexandrian was already teaching Jesus accurately by around AD 50. ## Did Apollos write Hebrews? The letter to the Hebrews is anonymous. Martin Luther proposed Apollos as its author, and the suggestion has had defenders since, including Ceslas Spicq. The reasons offered: - Hebrews is written in the most polished Greek in the New Testament, fitting a man Luke calls *logios*. - It argues almost entirely from the Septuagint, in which Apollos was "mighty." - It belongs to the Pauline circle ([Hebrews 13:23](/codex/hebrews-13-23/) mentions Timothy) without being Paul's style. - Its typology and contrasts between shadow and reality suggest to some an Alexandrian education. Against it: no ancient writer attributes Hebrews to Apollos, and early proposals named Paul, Barnabas (Tertullian), Luke or Clement of Rome. [Origen](/codex/origen/) concluded that only God knows who wrote it. Apollos remains a plausible candidate, not an established author. ## Apollos and the Corinthian factions Paul's handling of the "I am of Apollos" party is a model of shared ministry: - He never criticizes Apollos; the fault lies with the Corinthians' boasting ([1 Corinthians 3:21](/codex/1-corinthians-3-21/)). - He names Apollos as an equal fellow worker in God's field ([1 Corinthians 3:6-9](/codex/1-corinthians-3-6-9/)). - He uses himself and Apollos as an example so that the church would learn not to be "puffed up for one against another" ([1 Corinthians 4:6](/codex/1-corinthians-4-6/), KJV). - He respects Apollos's decision not to return yet ([1 Corinthians 16:12](/codex/1-corinthians-16-12/)). ## See also - [Church at Alexandria](/codex/church-at-alexandria/), the church of his home city - [Philo of Alexandria](/codex/philo-of-alexandria/), his older Alexandrian contemporary - [Paul the Apostle](/codex/paul-the-apostle/), his fellow worker at Corinth - [Mark the Evangelist](/codex/john-mark/), traditional founder of the Alexandrian church - [Clement of Alexandria](/codex/clement-of-alexandria/), a later Alexandrian Christian teacher - [Origen](/codex/origen/), who judged that only God knows who wrote Hebrews - [Africans in Scripture Argument](/codex/africans-in-scripture-argument/), the cumulative case for African presence in Scripture - [Simeon Called Niger](/codex/simeon-called-niger/), another African teacher of the apostolic church - [Martin Luther](/codex/martin-luther/), who proposed Apollos as author of Hebrews - [Africa and Christianity](/codex/africa-and-christianity/)
## Common questions this page answers **Q: Who was Apollos in the Bible?** Apollos was a Jewish Christian teacher born in Alexandria, Egypt, described in [Acts 18:24-28](/codex/acts-18-24-28/) as eloquent and mighty in the Scriptures. He preached in Ephesus and Corinth, and Paul called him a fellow worker. **Q: Was Apollos African?** He was born in Alexandria, Egypt, so he was African by birth and a Jew of the Alexandrian diaspora. The New Testament says nothing about his appearance. **Q: What did Priscilla and Aquila teach Apollos?** Apollos taught accurately about Jesus but knew only the baptism of John. Priscilla and Aquila took him aside and "expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly" ([Acts 18:26](/codex/acts-18-26/)). **Q: Did Apollos write the book of Hebrews?** Possibly. Martin Luther proposed it, because Hebrews is written in polished Greek and argues from the Septuagint, which fits Apollos's description. No ancient source names him, and the author remains unknown. **Q: What does "I am of Apollos" mean in 1 Corinthians?** Some Corinthians formed factions around favourite teachers ([1 Corinthians 1:12](/codex/1-corinthians-1-12/)). Paul answered that he and Apollos were only servants, "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase" ([1 Corinthians 3:6](/codex/1-corinthians-3-6/)). **Q: Was there a Christian church in Alexandria in Apollos's time?** Acts does not say where Apollos learned about Jesus. One ancient manuscript, Codex Bezae, says he was taught in his homeland, which would place believers in Alexandria by about AD 50. The church's own tradition traces its founding to Mark.