Zenas

Info

• #coworker
• Home:: Unknown
• Other Locales:: Crete (passing through)
• References:: Titus 3#3:13

Notes

• Called "the lawyer" (ton nomikon) - either an expert in Jewish Torah or Roman law
• Traveling companion of Apollos

Summary

Zenas is mentioned once in Titus 3#3:13, where Paul writes to Titus: "Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey, seeing that they lack nothing."

The designation "the lawyer" (ho nomikos) is ambiguous, it could mean an expert in the Jewish Torah (as in the Gospels, e.g. Luke 7#7:30, Luke 14#14:3) or a practitioner of Roman civil law (iuris peritus). If the former, Zenas was a Jewish legal scholar who became a Christian; if the latter, he was a trained Roman lawyer, a professional whose skills would help the equipping servant movement navigate legal, property, and civic matters. Given the Hellenistic context of Titus and Crete, the Roman-law interpretation may be more likely.

Paul pairs Zenas with Apollos, the brilliant Alexandrian teacher, for a joint journey, suggesting collaboration in itinerant ministry. Paul's instruction to "see that they lack nothing" (hina mēden autois leipē) implies practical provision: travel funds, food, and lodging. This reflects the early church's system of equipping servant support in which local churches supplied the needs of traveling workers.

Zenas is the only person in the New Testament called a "lawyer" in a professional sense, making him unique in the Pauline network.

References

• kentPastoralEpistlesStudies2001 - Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles covering Titus 3:13 where Paul asks Titus to provision Zenas and Apollos for their journey.
• What does Titus 3:13 mean? - BibleRef.com
• Zenas - Wikipedia