“Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus” (2 Timothy 4:19)
Paul the Apostle mentioned Onesiphorus earlier in this letter when he said, “…he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me… You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus” (2 Timothy 1:16-18).
Unlike Alexander the coppersmith (who apparently went out of his way to harm Paul), Onesiphorus was someone who went out of his way to help him…
“‘Refreshed’ is anapsucho, ‘to cool again, to cool off.’ It is an admirable word to express the comforts which this saint brought to Paul who was enduring the discomforts of a Roman prison… By not being ashamed of Paul’s chain, the apostle means that Onesiphorus was not deterred from visiting Paul in prison by any danger which he might incur by reason of the fact that he was a friend of a prisoner who was a Christian, and who was on trial for his life.” (1)
Some commentators have suggested that this reference to “…the household of Onesiphorus” implies that he had passed away. However, this seems unlikely since Paul referred to his household in the present tense. A more likely possibility is that Onesiphorus had simply been away from home for an extended period. Thus, Paul sent greetings to his family members who were left behind.
But if Onesiphorus had passed away, there is a more ominous possibility to consider. You see, it was dangerous to be known as an associate of a political prisoner in those days. Onesiphorus clearly took a substantial risk in visiting Paul, and it’s possible that he paid for that loyalty with his life. There’s also a chance that he had been imprisoned as well, thus awaiting the same fate as the friend he came to visit.
These possibilities lead us to some thought-provoking observations from the following commentator…
“Again and again the Bible bangs us face to face with a question which is real for every one of us. Again and again it introduces and dismisses a man from the stage of history with a single sentence… Onesiphorus–we know nothing of him except that in his loyalty to Paul he risked–and perhaps lost–his life… Onesiphorus goes down to history as the friend who stuck closer than a brother. If we were to be described in one sentence, what would it be? Would it be the verdict on a traitor, or the verdict on a disciple who was true?” (2)
(1) Kenneth S. Wuest, Word Studies in the Greek New Testament [note on 2 Timothy 1:16-17] Copyright © 1942-55 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
(2) Barclay, William, “William Barclay’s Daily Study Bible“. “The Faithless Many And The Faithful One (2Ti_1:15-18)”.