Ἀμπλίας
Ampliatus
Definition
Ἀμπλίας (Amplias) is a proper name referring to a specific individual in the early Christian church. In the New Testament, it is the name of a male believer whom the Apostle Paul greets warmly in his letter to the Romans, calling him 'my beloved in the Lord' (Romans 16:8). The name itself is a Latin cognomen, Ampliatus, meaning 'enlarged' or 'honored.' As a proper noun, it has no other semantic senses or meanings in biblical usage beyond identifying this particular person.
Biblical Usage
This word is used only once in the New Testament, in Romans 16:8. It functions strictly as a personal name within a list of greetings from Paul to members of the church in Rome. Its usage is confined to this epistolary context of personal acknowledgment and Christian fellowship.
Etymology
Ἀμπλίας is a direct transliteration into Greek of the Latin name 'Amplias' or 'Ampliatus.' The Latin root 'amplus' means 'large,' 'spacious,' 'ample,' or 'honorable.' Therefore, the name carries the sense of being 'enlarged' or 'honored.' It was a common slave name in the Roman world, often given by an owner.
Semantic Range
While a proper name, Amplias represents the personal, relational nature of the early church. Paul's specific greeting highlights that the gospel creates a beloved family in Christ that crosses social boundaries. His identification as possibly part of the 'imperial household' (Romans 16:10-11 context) suggests the gospel's penetration into all levels of society, including Caesar's own servants, fulfilling the mission to be witnesses 'to the ends of the earth' (Acts 1:8).
In the 1st-century Roman world, 'Amplias' was a typical slave name. Its presence in Romans 16 strongly suggests this individual was either a freedman or a slave within the extensive imperial household. This places him within a significant social network in Rome. Paul's warm, familial greeting to such a person underscores the radical social leveling within the Christian community, where spiritual brotherhood in Christ transcended rigid class distinctions.
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Dodson Greek-English Lexicon, a concise public-domain resource suitable for introductory word study. Brief glosses are supplemented by STEPBible TBESG data (CC BY 4.0). For advanced research, standard scholarly references include BDAG (Danker, 3rd ed.) and LSJ.
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