Demas
De'mas (Δημᾶς, probably a contraction from Δημήτριος, or perhaps from Δήμαρχος), a companion of the apostle Paul (called by him his fellow- laborer, σύνεργος, in Phm 1:24; see also Col 4:14) during his first imprisonment at Rome. B.C. 57. At a later period (2Ti 4:10), we find him mentioned as having deserted the apostle through love of this present world, and gone to Thessalonica. B.C. 64. This departure has been magnified by tradition into an apostasy from Christianity (so Epiphanius, Haeres. 51:6), which is by no means implied in the passage (Buddei Eccl. Apost. p. 311 sq.).
