ONESIPHORUS. — A figure in the Church of Ephesus, mentioned in 2 Tim. 1:16 ff. and 4:19 (the household of O.). From the context it appears that he was already dead when the letter was written (ca. 67 A.D.). In this case, the words of 2 Tim. 1:18 (that he may find mercy from the Lord (Kúrios = Christ) on that day) would be an example of a suffrage prayer, by which divine mercy is implored for the deceased on the Day of Judgment. While Paul was imprisoned for the second time in Rome — note (ibid. 1:17) the difficulty of reaching him — O. was not ashamed of his chains and wished to render him service, as he had done before (ἐνέψευσεν [ibid. 1:16], which the Vulgate renders as refrigeravit, may indicate either the comfort of sympathy and solidarity or material assistance).
At Ephesus, O. worked for the benefit of the community, perhaps as a deacon: the *mihi* of several Vulgate manuscripts is countered by the majority of witnesses to the original text. The fact that Timothy knew O.’s work better than Paul (βέλτιον ποτρεβέ, though not a true comparative) suggests that this occurred after the Apostle’s departure, when Timothy was in charge of that community (1 Tim. 1:3).
The *Acta Theclae* (mid-2nd century?) make of a householder in Iconium who is said to have hosted Paul during his first missionary journey (M. R. James, *The Apocryphal New Testament*, Oxford 1924, reprint 1950, pp. 272 ff.). The Greek *menologia* describe him as one of the Seventy-two Disciples and commemorate him on various dates as bishop, now of Colophon, now of Caesarea, now of Corone in Messina. The Roman Martyrology (Sept. 6) records his martyrdom in the Hellespont, at Patras, of which he is said to have been bishop.