(E·rasʹtus) [Beloved; Lovely].

1. A Christian who ministered to Paul on his third missionary tour and whom Paul sent from Asia to Macedonia along with Timothy. (Ac 19:22) Likely he is the Erastus who remained in Corinth at the time Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy.​—2Ti 4:20.

2. The city steward of Corinth whose greetings Paul includes in his letter to the Romans. (Ro 16:23) During excavations in Corinth in 1929 Professor T. L. Shear discovered a pavement with an inscription, in Latin, that reads: “Erastus, procurator [and] aedile, laid this pavement at his own expense.” Although it is not known whether this is the Erastus mentioned by Paul, the pavement is believed to have existed in the first century C.E. It has been suggested that the city steward was also Paul’s traveling companion (see No. 1, above). However, since it would have been difficult for Erastus to accompany Paul and at the same time care for his duties as city steward, those who favor this identification generally conclude that Erastus held this official position at an earlier time and therefore Paul refers to him by this title.