Gai’us. Gai’us or Cai’us (lord). --
1. A Macedonian, who accompanied Paul in his travels, and whose life was in danger, from the mob at Ephesus. Act 19:29. (A.D. 54).
2. Of Derbe. He went with Paul, from Corinth, in his last journey to Jerusalem. Act 20:4. (A.D. 54).
3. Of Corinth, whom Paul baptized and who was his host, in his second journey in that city. 1Co 1:14; Rom 16:23. (These are supposed by some to be only one person).
4. John’s third Epistle is addressed to a Christian of this name. We may possibly identify him with Gaius, 2.
Paul’s host at Corinth when Paul wrote (Rom 16:23), "mine host and of the whole church." Baptized by that apostle (1Co 1:14). The third epistle of John is addressed to "the well beloved" Gaius or Caius; probably the same, for he evidently had the means to do kindness "to the brethren and to strangers." He was converted through John (3Jn 1:4-5). A Gaius of Macedonia is mentioned in Act 19:29, and a Gaius of Derbe (Act 20:4); probably distinct men.
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Gaius (gâ’yus). 1. A Macedonian, Act 19:29, Paul’s host at Corinth when the Epistle to the Romans was written, Rom 16:23, and baptized with his household by Paul. 1Co 1:14. He accompanied Paul to Ephesus, and was seized by the mob. Act 19:29. The association of his name with that of Aristarchus seems to identify him with the Gaius of Derbe. Act 20:4. Opinions differ on this point 2, To one of this name is addressed the third Epistle of John. 3Jn 1:1.
[Ga’ius]
1. Christian of Macedonia, and companion of Paul. He with Aristarchus was seized and carried into the theatre during the uproar at Ephesus. Act 19:29.
2. Convert of Derbe in Lycaonia, and companion of Paul. Act 20:4.
3. Christian at Corinth whom Paul baptised and who was his ’host’ and of the whole church. Rom 16:23; 1Co 1:14.
4. Convert of John, whose walk in the truth and in love was commended by the apostle, and to whom he addressed his third Epistle. 3Jn 1:1.
GAIUS.—This name is mentioned in five places of NT. One Gaius was St. Paul’s host at Corinth, converted and baptized by him (Rom 16:23, 1Co 1:14). He was perhaps the same as ‘Gaius of Derbe’ who accompanied the Apostle from Greece to Asia (Act 20:4); if so, he would be a native of Derbe, but a dweller at Corinth. The Gaius of Macedonia, St. Paul’s ‘companion in travel’ who was seized in the riot at Ephesus (Act 19:29), and the Gaius addressed by St. John (3Jn 1:1), were probably different men.
A. J. Maclean.
(1) The Gaius to whom 3 Jn is addressed. He is spoken of as “the beloved” (3Jn 1:1, 3Jn 1:2, 3Jn 1:5, 3Jn 1:11), “walking in the truth” (3Jn 1:3, 3Jn 1:4), and doing “a faithful work” “toward them that are brethren and strangers withal” (3Jn 1:5, 3Jn 1:6). He has been identified by some with the Gaius mentioned in the Apostolical Constitutions (VII, 46), as having been appointed bishop of Pergamum by John.
(2) Gaius of Macedonia, a “companion in travel” of Paul (Act 19:29). He was one of those who were seized by Demetrius and the other silversmiths in the riot at Ephesus, during Paul’s third missionary journey.
(3) Gaius of Derbe, who was among those who accompanied Paul from Greece “as far as Asia,” during his third missionary journey (Act 20:4). In the corresponding list given in the “Contendings of Paul” (compare Budge, Contendings of the Twelve Apostles, II, 592), the name of this Gaius is given as “Gallius.”
(4) Gaius, the host of Paul when he wrote the Epistle to the Roman, and who joined in sending his salutations (Rom 16:23). As Paul wrote this epistle from Corinth, it is probable that this Gaius is identical with (5).
(5) Gaius, whom Paul baptized at Corinth (1Co 1:14).
(ÃÜúïò = Caius, a Latin name, very common as a Roman praenomen)
1. In 1Co_1:14, a member of the Church of Corinth, baptized by St. Paul, who points out that in his case, as in the case of Crispus and in that of ‘the household of Stephanas,’ he thus deviated from his usual practice. Crispus was ‘the ruler of the synagogue’ (Act_18:8), and Gaius was presumably also a convert of some importance.
2. In Rom_16:23, a member of the Church of Corinth, whom St. Paul in the postscript to Romans calls his ‘host’ and the host of ‘the whole church,’ and whoso salutations are sent to the readers of the letter. He was evidently a man of position and means (the greeting from him immediately precedes that from Erastus, ‘the treasurer of the city’), whether his hospitality took the form of keeping open house for Christians and Christian visitors like the Apostle at Corinth or of allowing the Christians to meet for common worship and edification under his roof.
Everything points to the identification of 1 and 2. The same Gaius who was converted and baptized on St. Paul’s first visit to Corinth entertained him on his second visit. Now it is perhaps easier to believe that this Corinthian would have friends, whom he would wish to salute, at Ephesus rather than at Rome, and these salutations in Rom_16:23 are thought by some scholars to point to an Ephesian destination of the passage. But as Lightfoot remarks, in the Apostolic Church personal acquaintance was not necessary to create Christian sympathy (Biblical Essays, 1893, p. 305).
3. In Act_19:29, a companion of St. Paul, who with Aristarchus was seized at Ephesus. They are described as ‘men of Macedonia’ (Ìáêåäüíáò), there being very little support for another reading, ‘a man of Macedonia,’ referring to Aristarchus only.
4. In Act_20:4, a companion of St. Paul, who accompanied him from Greece to Asia Minor. He is described as ‘of Derbe’ (Äåñâáῖïò), possibly intentionally to distinguish him from 3.
Attempts have been made to identify 3 and 4. It is natural to do so, as the passages stand so close together. Emendations of the text have been suggested by which ‘of Derbe’ is taken with ‘Timothy,’ but these are purely conjectural, and Timothy was apparently a Lystran (Act_16:1-2). See W. M. Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen, 1895, p. 280.
5. In 3Jn_1:1, the person to whom 3 John is addressed. He is described as ‘the beloved’ (ὁ ἀãáðçôüò), and is commended for his hospitality (v. 5). Nothing is known of this Gaius, and there is no reason to suppose him to have been any one of those of the same name associated with St. Paul.
T. B. Allworthy.
(Acts 19)
- The name appears five times, referring to three or four different men:
(1) Gaius (Acts 19), linked with Aristarchus as a fellow Macedonian;
(2) Gaius from Derbe, one of Paul’s companions taking gifts to Jerusalem a few months later. On that occasion, Aristarchus is not linked with this Gaius, but with Secundus as the "two Thessalonians" (Acts 20:4).
If, as in some ancient texts, Doberus in Macedonia should be read for Derbe (in Asia Minor), then they may be the same man;
(3) Gaius, whom Paul remembers baptising in Corinth four or five years earlier as he writes his First Letter to the Corinthians (1:14);
(4) Gaius, Paul’s host in Corinth, included in the greetings from Corinth to the church in Rome (Romans 16:23).
Gaius (3) and (4) are probably the same man;
(5) Gaius who receives the Third Letter from John. A rich man who lived in the Ephesus area towards the end of the century (3 John 1)
There are several people named Gaius in the New Testament, all except one of them connected with Paul. Paul baptized a man named Gaius in Corinth (1Co 1:14), and this was probably the person Paul stayed with on a later visit to Corinth (Rom 16:23). Another person named Gaius was from Macedonia (Act 19:29) and another from Derbe (Act 20:4). According to a variation in some texts of Act 20:4, this latter Gaius may have been from Thessalonica, in which case he was possibly the same person referred to in Act 19:29.
Later in the first century, the apostle John wrote a letter to a friend named Gaius. He was a person noted for his strong faith, exemplary life, generous hospitality and sincere love (3Jn 1:1-6).