Pudens
“Modest or bashful”
Summary
Pudens was a Roman Christian who remained loyal to Paul during his final imprisonment in Rome, sending greetings to Timothy alongside Eubulus, Linus, and Claudia.
☩Biblical Reference
Pudens (Greek Poudes, meaning 'bashful' or 'modest') is mentioned only once in Scripture, in Paul's final letter written from Rome around AD 64. Paul writes, 'Eubulus greeteth thee, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia' (2 Timothy 4:21). He was thus one of the Christians in Rome who remained loyal to Paul during his second and last imprisonment there, when most members of the church had forsaken him. The pressure under which these defectors acted must have been great, as the apostle's final trial before the supreme court of the empire followed quickly after the Neronic persecution. Those like Pudens who risked their earthly welfare and their lives proved their deep adherence to Paul.
☩Possible Connection to Claudia
There is an interesting conjecture that Pudens and Claudia, mentioned together in the same verse, were husband and wife. The Roman poet Martial, who lived in Rome during approximately the same period, mentions in his epigrams two contemporaries named Pudens and Claudia as husband and wife. He describes Pudens as an Umbrian soldier who was first a centurion aspiring to become a primipilus, and later served on military duty in the remote north. His wife Claudia is described as of British birth, of remarkable beauty and wit, and mother of a flourishing family. That Timothy and Martial should each have three friends bearing the same names at the same time and place is at least a singular coincidence.
☩Archaeological Evidence
A Latin inscription found in 1723 at Chichester connects a person named Pudens with Britain and with the Claudian name. The inscription commemorates the erection of a temple by a guild of carpenters, with the sanction of King Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus, a native British king appointed by Rome who reigned from approximately AD 52 to 76. If this king had a daughter, she would inherit the name Claudia and might have been educated at Rome as a hostage. Modern research among Roman burial sites has also uncovered an inscription where the name Pudens occurs as that of a servant of Tiberius or Claudius.
☩Later Traditions
According to legend, Pudens was the host of Peter and friend of Paul, martyred under Nero. Some traditions distinguish between two persons named Pudens—one a Roman senator martyred under Nero, and another his grandson living around AD 150 who was father to Novatus, Timothy, Praxedis, and Pudentiana. The house of this later Pudens is said to have served as an assembly place for Roman Christians and eventually gave place to a church, now the Church of Santa Pudenziana near the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. Modern tourists are still shown a building in Rome called the house of Pudens, though its authenticity remains uncertain.
Related Verses1 mention
2 Timothy· 1 verse
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Pudens," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. VIII (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Pudens," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. IV (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Pudens," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).