The Apostolic Age · AD 4–70 · External witness
Alexander the Coppersmith
fl. c. 65 (death unrecorded) · Opponent of Paul · Ephesus(?)
External witness
Who Alexander the Coppersmith was
“Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works: of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words.” Whether informer at Paul’s arrest, hostile witness at the first defense, or guild enemy of the Ephesian years (an Alexander surfaces in the theater riot; another, delivered “unto Satan,” in 1 Timothy — one man, two, or three), the last letters mark him by trade and by harm. The early church remembered its opponents with unsettling specificity: not a demon, a coppersmith.
Also listed in non-christian witnesses.
Common questions
When was Alexander active?
Alexander the Coppersmith is dated fl. c. 65 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Alexander in the Apostolic Age (AD 4–70). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Alexander?
Alexander the Coppersmith is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Paul and Paul of Tarsus. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Alexander from?
The archive associates Alexander the Coppersmith with Ephesus(?).
Who were Alexander’s contemporaries?
The archive links Alexander the Coppersmith to 2 other figures, including Paul of Tarsus and Timothy of Lystra. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Scripture record
Primary-source mentions (2)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
2 Timothy 4:14
c. AD 55Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works.Paul · read ↗
1 Timothy 1:20 (traditionally the same Alexander)
c. AD 64Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.Paul of Tarsus · read ↗
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 30 · Crucifixion, Resurrection and Pentecost, AD 30–33
- AD 44 · Persecution under Herod Agrippa I, AD 44
- AD 49 · The Council of Jerusalem, AD 49
- AD 57 · Paul writes Romans, AD 57
- AD 62 · James the Just stoned, AD 62
- AD 64 · The Great Fire and Nero’s persecution, AD 64
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Alexander.