It is higlily probable, although not certain, that the SUas or Silvanus who was St. Paul's associate is the Silvanus referred to in 1 P 5'- as the bearer § of St. Peter's Epistle from Rome II to the Christians of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. The separation of Silas from St. Paul would naturally lead to the resumption of the former's intimate relations wth St. Peter, between whom and Silas, as both Jewish Christians of liberal views on the whole, there would be full sympathy ; and the description of St. Peter's Silvanus as 'a faithful brother' to the Christians in the above- named provinces, fits in -with the experience of St. Paul's colleague, who, long before, had visited a portion, at least, of the churches now addressed by St. Peter, and would be probably knowm by repute to all. More than ten years had passed since Silvanus had parted from St. Paul. The apostle's last visit to Jerusalem, his charitable errand, his
• It is possible, however, that Silas (as well as Timotheus) may have come to Athens, and returned to Macedonia for some special purpose. 1 Th 31*^ is not decisive on the point. Silaa and Timotheus are probably the brethren referred tx> in 2 Co 111' as having brought from Macedonia what supplied St. Paul's needs.
t The same designation is given to Silaa In the uTo,uvr,iut, or Memorial of Peter and Paul (a compilation, ascribed to the 9th cent., but embodying more ancient material ; seeLipsius, Apok, Apost. ii. 9, 10). The testimony, however, of both docunientJ is discredited by their representation of Silvanus as bishop of Thes-salonica, apparently owing to 1 Th li, 2 Th li.
I This coolness is perhaps suggested by the summary manner in which St. Paul's visit to Jerusalem is" referred to in Ac 18" (see Farrar's Life of St. Paul, ii. p. 6) ; and it manifests itself, on that apostle's side, in the somewhat disparaging tone ol Gal 2«. written from Ephesus during St. Paul's Third Journey.
§ Pos-sil)ly. but not necessarily, the amanuensis also of St, Peter (see vol. iiL p. 790, and Ewald, liJ vii. 404).
II The Babylon of 1 P 5>3 is usually inteii>reted u me'inlng Rome (see voL L ZUt, iii 769X
SILK
SILOAM
51f
conciliatory attitude on that occasion, and his subsequent sullirings for the truth, had doubt- less improved the reLations between him and Jewish believers (Ac 21. 24"). The majority of St. Paul's extant letters, moreover, had prob- ably by this time come into circulation, and pro- duced a favourable impression on Hebrew Chris- tians. In 1 Peter extensive use is made of Pauline ideas and phr.nseology, especially those of the Epistles to the PLomans and Epliesians (see vol. iii. 7S8). Accordingly, since at the time when 1 Peter was written St. Paul either was a prisoner at Kome, or had recently sull'ered martyrdom, the mission of Silvanus, as representative of both apostles, may have been part of an Apostolical eirenicon, expressly designed to undo, in Galatia and in Asia Minor as a whole, the efVect of earlier rivalry and friction between the Pauline and the Jewish parties in primitive Christendom. (See vol. iii. p. 791).
The names of both Silas and Silvanns are included, as different individuals, in the list of the 'Seventy' compiled by pseudo- Dorotlieos. The position of Silas as a Jr/oi'Mf"" of the church at Jerusalem renders it fairly probable that in this instance the catalogue is correct. For the con-
i'ecture that Silas is the author of Hebrews (Bohme, ilynster) there appears to be no foundation. The adoption of the name Silvanus by Constantine, the founder of the pseudo-Pauline Paulician heresy in the 7th cent., indicates a conviction that SUas remained faithful essentially to Pauline views.
LtTBRATiTRB. — Acta Sanet. 13th July (xxx. 452); Oellarius, d£ Sila ; Lipsivig, Apok. Ay<je9ch, i. p. 203, ii. 9ff., iii. 27rtf. ; Ewalil, III vii. 36111., 4C4; Wcizsacker, Ap<ist. Aije (Index); McOiilert, Apoit. Age, pp. 230-242, 42U. H. COWAN.
BILK.— See Dress in vol. i. p. 624*.
8ILLA (K^p ; B TaaWd, A raoXXoJ ; Sela).—.Joash was murdered 'at (AV 'in') the house of Millo, on the way that goeth down to Silla' (2 K 12»'). Millo was possibly either the acropolis of Mount Zion or one of its towers, and Silla was, appar- ently, in the valley below. There is no clue to its position. It has been suggested, from the reading of the LXX, that the Hebrew name may, origin- ally, have commenced with gni ' ravine,' as in the case of Ge-hinnom. For other conjectures see Benzinger in Kurzer Hdcum. ad loc.
C. W. Wilson.
SILOAM. — A place mentioned, apparently, four times in Scripture: (1) Is8" the waters of Shiloah ' (n^wn 'shooting forth' or 'sent forth' ; B -tiXwd/i, A 2iXud/i ; Luc, Aq., Svmm., Theod. -i\ud ; Vulg. Siloe). (2) Neh 3" ' the pool of Siloah ' (RV Bbelah, n^^'n ; BA KoXv/xfiriOpa tuv kuSIuv : • piscina Siloe). (3) Jn 9' ' the pool of Siloam ' («. toC ZiXud^i; natatoria Siloe). (4) Lk 13* 'the tower in Siloam ' (6 Trvpiyot 4v rif SAudyu ; turris in Siloe). The Rabbis and early Jewish travellers use the word with the article (mS-p.i Iuish-Slul6ak) as in the Bible. Josephus gives the name as 2i\wd, StXioSt, and SiXwd/j ; the Greek Fathers have SiXwd^ ; and the Latin Fathers, following the Vulgate, have Siloe and Syloe ; Arabic '.4 m Siltnin.