Carpus is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Carpus was a Christian living in Troas, a city on the western coast of Asia Minor, with whom the apostle Paul had left some of his personal belongings. He appears only once in Scripture, in Paul’s second letter to Timothy, and only in connection with a request Paul made near the end of his life. Paul wrote to Timothy, “The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments” (2 Timothy 4:13). From this single verse we learn that Carpus had evidently received Paul into his care or company at some point during Paul’s travels through Troas, and that Paul trusted him enough to leave valuable items in his keeping.
The setting of the verse is Paul’s final imprisonment, likely in Rome, where he was awaiting execution. Writing to Timothy, his younger coworker in the faith, Paul asked him to come and to bring several things he had left behind—a cloak, books, and especially parchments. The fact that Paul named Carpus specifically indicates that Carpus was the person responsible for these items, and that Paul expected both Timothy and Carpus to be known to one another, or at least that Timothy would be able to retrieve what Paul had left.
Scripture says nothing else about Carpus—nothing of his conversion, his family, his labor in the church, or his later life. He is remembered for one act of faithful keeping: he held what belonged to Paul until Paul needed it again. That is the whole of his biblical record.
The Name
The name Carpus is Greek, and its meaning is well established. It comes from the Greek word *karpos*, which means “fruit.” The same word appears frequently in the New Testament in contexts of spiritual fruitfulness, such as the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) and the fruit borne by those who abide in Christ (John 15:5). The name was not uncommon in the ancient world. Because the meaning is clear from the Greek itself, we can say with confidence that Carpus means “fruit” or “fruitful.”
A Closing Thought
Carpus never preached a sermon recorded in Scripture, never planted a church we can name, and never wrote a word we can read. Yet he kept a cloak, some books, and some parchments for a prisoner who needed them. Faithfulness in small, unseen things is not small in God’s eyes. Much of the Christian life is exactly this—holding what has been entrusted to us, ready to hand it back when it is needed. Carpus reminds us that quiet reliability is its own kind of fruit.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: New
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- 2 Timothy 4:13 — The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments.