Gaius
GAIUS (gā'yŭs, Gr. Gaios)
A Macedonian who traveled with Paul on his third missionary journey and was seized in the riot at Ephesus (
caius) (THIRD CENTURY. Roman presbyter and author of a Dialogue in which he maintained a debate with the Montanist Proclus* during the pontificate of Zephyrinus. Proclus defended the prophesying of his sect by referring to Philip's prophesying daughters (Acts 21:9), who were buried with Philip at Hierapolis. Gaius defended the authority of Rome by referring to the tombs of the apostles in the Vatican and on the Via Ostia. Gaius accepted thirteen epistles of Paul, but denied the Pauline authorship of Hebrews. It appears also that he rejected the fourth gospel and the Apocalypse as the work of Cerinthus. Two later Syriac writers, Dionysius Bar-Salibi (twelfth century) and Ebedjesus (fourteenth century), mention a treatise of Hippolytus in which he defends the apostolic authorship of these works against Gaius. Eusebius may not have been aware of Gaius's attitude toward these works, as he calls him a “churchman,” a title usually reserved for the orthodox.
GAIUS gā’ yəs (Γάϊος, G1127, Gr. form of Lat. Gaius, rejoiced, I am glad). A common name. 1. A Macedonian Christian; as Paul’s companions in travel, he and Aristarchus were seized by the mob during the Ephesian riot (
2. A Christian of Derbe, one of the group waiting for Paul at Troas (
3. A Christian in Corinth; one of two men whom Paul names as having been baptized by him, contrary to his usual practice (
4. The addressee of 3 John. John had a deep affection for him, commended him for his hospitality, and desired his continued support for missionaries being sent out by John. There is no evidence to identify him with any of the above.
Bibliography
E. J. Goodspeed, “Gaius Titius Justus,” JBL, 69 (1950), 382, 383.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)
(Gaios; Westcott and Hort, The New Testament in Greek, Gaios):
(2) Gaius of Macedonia, a "companion in travel" of Paul (
(3) Gaius of Derbe, who was among those who accompanied Paul from Greece "as far as Asia," during his third missionary journey (
(4) Gaius, the host of Paul when he wrote the Epistle to the Roman, and who joined in sending his salutations (
(5) Gaius, whom Paul baptized at Corinth (