Stachys is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Stachys was a Christian in Rome whom Paul greeted at the close of his letter to the Romans. He is named only once in Scripture, in Romans 16:9, where Paul writes, “Salute Urbane, our helper in Christ, and Stachys my beloved.” The greeting places him among the members of the church in Rome to whom Paul sent personal salutations, a list that includes men and women of varying prominence and service.
Paul calls him “my beloved,” a phrase expressing genuine affection and a close personal bond. The same verse links Stachys with Urbane, who is described as “our helper in Christ.” Paul does not specify what Stachys did, where he came from, or how he came to faith. He simply names him as someone dear to him. That Paul, writing from a distance and likely never having visited Rome when he wrote, could call Stachys “beloved” suggests a relationship formed through shared labor, correspondence, or mutual acquaintances in the early Christian network.
The setting is the Roman church near the end of Paul’s ministry, a congregation he addresses with warmth and detailed knowledge of its members. Stachys appears in a list of greetings rather than in a narrative, so no action or speech of his is recorded. What Scripture says of him is brief but personal: he was a believer in Rome, known to Paul, and loved by him.
The Name
Stachys is a Greek name (Στάχυς), and its meaning is reasonably well established: it is the ordinary Greek word for an ear of grain or a spike of corn, the head of a stalk of wheat or barley. The word appears in Greek literature for the ear of grain that grows at the top of the stalk. As a personal name it was not uncommon in the ancient world. The meaning is not a spiritual title Paul assigns him but simply the name he bore, and it carries no special significance in the text beyond identifying him.
A Closing Thought
Most of us will never be remembered in a list of notable names. Stachys appears once, in a greeting, with no deeds recorded and no words preserved. Yet Paul called him beloved. That is enough. Faithfulness is not measured by how much of our story survives in writing, but by the love we share with the saints and the quiet devotion of a life hidden in Christ. A single word of affection from a fellow believer can carry more weight than a monument.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: New
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- Romans 16:9 — Salute Urbane, our helper in Christ, and Stachys my beloved.