Ἀρτεμάς refers to a person named Artemas. The name appears once, in Paul’s closing instructions in Titus 3:12.
Root and Related Words
Ἀρτεμάς (Artemas) is related, in Strong’s presentation, to Ἄρτεμις (Artemis), “Artemis” (Strong’s G735), and to δῶρον (doron), “gift” (Strong’s G1435).
Occurrences
“When I send Artemas to you, or Tychicus, be diligent to come to me to Nicopolis, for I have determined to winter there.” (Titus 3:12)
Here Artemas is introduced as one of two possible emissaries (“Artemas… or Tychicus”) whom Paul may send to Titus. The construction places Artemas within Paul’s practical arrangements: if Artemas is dispatched to Titus, his arrival would evidently free Titus to carry out the next instruction, “be diligent to come to me to Nicopolis.” The name functions as a concrete marker of planned movement and delegation, tying Titus’s travel plans to Paul’s decision “to winter” in Nicopolis. Artemas, then, is not presented with a speech or action of his own in the verse; his significance in the line comes from being named as an option in Paul’s staffing and scheduling.
The wording also frames Artemas as someone Paul can “send,” which situates him among trusted co-workers able to represent Paul’s intentions and to take on responsibilities that affect other leaders’ availability. Within the sentence, Artemas’s name bears the weight of contingency: Paul’s plan for Titus includes a substitution—someone will be sent (possibly Artemas), and on that basis Titus is urged to come promptly. In this way the single mention of Artemas contributes to the verse’s sense of coordinated planning across locations (“to you… to me… to Nicopolis”) and seasons (“winter there”).
Sense and Usage
As used in Titus 3:12, Ἀρτεμάς serves simply as a personal name, identifying a particular individual in a network of communication and travel. Even without further description, the name helps the reader follow the relational map in the passage: Paul is the one directing the plan (“When I send… I have determined”), Titus is the one addressed (“to you… come to me”), and Artemas is one of the designated agents whose arrival would affect how the plan unfolds.
The verse uses the name in a matter-of-fact administrative register. Artemas is not introduced with lineage, geographic origin, or office; instead, he is embedded in an instruction that turns on logistics and timing. That setting highlights how proper names in the epistles often operate: they anchor directives in real coordination—who goes where, who stays, and when decisions are to be carried out. Artemas’s placement next to another named coworker (“or Tychicus”) also shows that the name functions in contrast and interchangeability within a single task: either individual could be sent, implying a role defined by service and availability rather than by a unique, narrated episode.
Because the reference occurs within an imperative addressed to Titus (“be diligent to come”), Artemas’s mention indirectly supports the urgency of the command. The plan assumes that Titus’s presence with Paul in Nicopolis is important enough to require replacing him in his current sphere of work; Artemas is named as a potential replacement, thereby reinforcing the seriousness of Paul’s intention to gather collaborators at his wintering location.
Imagery
The lone mention of Artemas evokes the ordinary imagery of travel and dispatch: a sender, a messenger, destinations, and a seasonal pause (“winter there”). In Titus 3:12, the name becomes part of a scene of movement toward Nicopolis and the quiet practicality of organizing personnel around a fixed plan.
Sources:
Lexical data from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and the Translators Brief Lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (STEPBible, CC BY). Occurrence data from the Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (STEPBible, CC BY). Scripture quotations from the World English Bible (public domain).
