Artemas
Overview
- Testament: New
- Role: Companion of Paul; Paul planned to send him or Tychicus to Titus in Crete
- Family: No background details given
- Key Books: Titus
Biography
Artemas is mentioned only once in the New Testament, in Titus 3:12: “When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there.” This brief mention reveals that Artemas was trusted enough by Paul to serve as a replacement for Titus in Crete — a significant responsibility, since Titus had been placed there to “put in order what was left undone and appoint elders in every town” (Titus 1:5). Whoever Paul sent would need to be capable of continuing that ministry and overseeing a young network of congregations.
The name Artemas is a shortened form of Artemidoros, meaning “gift of Artemis.” The irony of a Christian missionary bearing a name derived from the pagan goddess of the hunt — the same Artemis whose temple at Ephesus sparked the riot in Acts 19 — is one of many examples of pagan names carried by early Christians as simply the names they were born with.
Artemas is paired as an alternative to Tychicus — one of Paul’s most trusted long-distance envoys. Being considered interchangeable with Tychicus for this assignment implies that Artemas was of similar caliber and trustworthiness. The fact that Paul had not yet decided which one to send (Artemas or Tychicus) may indicate that their assignments depended on other factors — which one was available, which journey was more pressing — rather than a difference in qualification.
No further information about Artemas is provided in the New Testament, and early church tradition is sparse on his later ministry. He remains one of Paul’s trusted but largely unknown co-workers, preserved by a single sentence.
Key Events
- Considered by Paul as a replacement for Titus in Crete (Titus 3:12)
- Named alongside Tychicus as a potential envoy to Crete
Relationships
- Paul - the apostle who planned to send him
- Titus - the man he would relieve in Crete
- Tychicus - the alternative envoy; Artemas’s peer in Paul’s mission network
Important Verses
- Titus 3:12
Cross-References
- Titus 3 - Only mention in Scripture
- Ephesians 6; Colossians 4 - Background on Tychicus, his named alternative
Notes
- Artemas’s mention alongside Tychicus is itself a form of commendation — to be considered equivalent in trustworthiness to one of Paul’s most praised co-workers is a significant indirect endorsement
- The single-verse mention of Artemas is a reminder that the apostolic mission depended on a large network of capable co-workers most of whom are known to us only by name
- Early church tradition (Apostolic Constitutions) names Artemas as bishop of Lystra, though this is unverifiable