The Economy of Ephesus in Contrast to the Economy of God in 1 Timothy and Ephesians

Ancient historians portray Ephesus as a financial capital of the ancient world. Religious, social, and community life revolved around the goddess Artemis, the trade in the emporium, and international travel linked to Roman roads and the traffic through the harbor.

From literary, epigraphic, and numismatic sources including a text not widely known, Ephesiaca by Xenophon of Ephesus, we can construct a fresh Sitz im Leben of the economy of Ephesus.

This provides a backdrop for revisiting themes in biblical texts such as 1 Timothy and Ephesians. In 1 Timothy and Ephesians we find at least three references to a different economy, the economy of God. How might we compare it to the local economy? How may it differ? A fresh look at the ancient economy of Ephesus in contrast to the economy of God may surface new insights for biblical readers.

In this paper, we explore this fresh research in three sections: (1) A sketch of characteristics of the ancient economy of Ephesus based on ancient sources including Ephesiaca by Xenophon of Ephesus, (2) an exposition the three passages in 1 Timothy and Ephesians that refer to a different economy, the economy of God, and (3) a summary of possible conclusions.