Artemas

Biblical Record

Artemas (Greek: Ἀρτεμᾶς, Artemas) is mentioned only in Titus 3:12. Near the close of the letter, Paul writes to Titus: "When I shall send Artemas unto thee, or Tychicus, be diligent to come unto me to Nicopolis: for I have determined there to winter."

At the time, Titus was overseeing the churches on the island of Crete (Titus 1:5). The passage is generally understood to mean that Paul intended to send either Artemas or Tychicus to take over Titus's work so that Titus could join him. Scripture records nothing about Artemas's origins, conversion, or later activities, nor does it say which of the two men actually went to Crete.

Significance Within Scripture

Because Paul names Artemas alongside Tychicus as a possible successor to Titus in his ministry, Artemas can be regarded as a coworker whom Paul trusted enough to place in charge of churches. Although only a single line about him survives, he is read, together with the many coworkers who appear throughout the Pauline Epistles, as an example of how Paul's mission was carried out through the cooperation of many people.

Interpretations and Issues

• Who went to Crete: 2 Timothy 4:12 records that Paul sent Tychicus to Ephesus. On this basis, some interpreters surmise that it was Artemas who went to Crete. However, because the chronological order and circumstances of the two letters cannot be established with certainty, this remains conjecture.
• The name: Some scholars connect the name Artemas with the Greek goddess Artemis or regard it as a shortened form of a name such as Artemidorus. On this basis, some suggest that he may have been of Gentile background, though the text itself does not say so.
• Later tradition: Eastern church tradition counts Artemas among the seventy disciples of Luke 10 and holds that he later became bishop of Lystra. The Eastern Orthodox Church commemorates him as a saint. This tradition arose later, is not found in the biblical text, and is generally regarded as lacking confirmed historical basis.
• Authorship of the Pastoral Epistles: The traditional view holds that Titus, along with 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy, was written by Paul himself. Some critical scholars, by contrast, regard these letters as written in Paul's name after his death. From the latter standpoint, the mention of Artemas carries a different weight as a historical record. Many Korean evangelical denominations generally hold to Pauline authorship.

In the Korean Church

Because Artemas appears only once in Scripture, he is rarely treated on his own in sermons or Sunday school. He is usually mentioned only briefly in expository preaching through Titus or when Paul's coworkers are introduced as a group. His name is rendered "Adema" in both the New Korean Revised Version and the New Korean Standard Version.