Bible Dictionary
Clement
Clement was a fellow worker with Paul at Philippi, whose name is associated with those written in the book of life (Philippians 4:3). His identification with Clement of Rome cannot be established with certainty.
Definition
Clement was a Christian fellow worker with Paul at Philippi. Paul commended him together with other laborers whose names were in the book of life.
Biblical Usage
Clement is mentioned in connection with Paul’s ministry at Philippi and with those who labored in the gospel.
Historical Background
Ancient writers commonly identified him with Clement of Rome, but the supplied material states that this identification cannot be proved or disproved. The commonness of the name and the differences of time and place make certainty impossible.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Mild, a Christian of Philippi, Paul’s “fellow-labourer,” whose name he mentions as “in the book of life” (Phil. 4:3). It was an opinion of ancient writers that he was the Clement of Rome whose name is well known in church history, and that he was the author of an Epistle to the Corinthians, the only known manuscript of which is appended to the Alexandrian Codex, now in the British Museum. It is of some historical interest, and has given rise to much discussion among critics. It makes distinct reference to Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(mild, merciful), (Philippians 4:3) a fellow laborer of St. Paul when he was at Philippi. (A.D. 57.) It was generally believed in the ancient Church that this Clement was identical with the bishop of Rome who afterwards became so celebrated.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>klem'-ent (Klemes, "mild"): A fellow-worker with Paul at Philippi, mentioned with especial commendation in Php 4:3. The name being common, no inference can be drawn from this statement as to any identity with the author of the Epistle to the Corinthians published under this name, who was also the third bishop of Rome. The truth of this supposition ("it cannot be called a tradition," Donaldson, The Apostolical Fathers, 120), although found in Origen, Eusebius, Epiphanius and Jerome, can neither be proved nor disproved. Even Roman Catholic authorities dispute it (article "Clement," Catholic Cyclopaedia, IV, 13). The remoteness between the two in time and place is against it; "a wholly uncritical view" (Cruttwell, Literary History of Early Christianity, 31).</p><p>H. E. Jacobs</p>