Silas

Silas or Silvanus (Greek: Σίλας / Σιλουανός; fl. 1st century AD) was a leading member of the Early Christian community, who accompanied Paul the Apostle on parts of his first and second missionary journeys.

Name and etymologies

Silas is traditionally assumed to be the Silvanus mentioned in four epistles. Some translations, including the New International Version, call him Silas in the epistles. Paul, Silas and Timothy are listed as co-authors of the two letters to the Thessalonians. Second Corinthians mentions Silas as having preached with Paul and Timothy to the church in Corinth (2 Corinthians 1:19) and Peter's first epistle regards Silas as a 'faithful brother' (1 Peter 5:12).

There is some disagreement over the proper form of his name: he is consistently called "Silas" in Acts, but the Latin Silvanus, which means "of the forest," is always used by Paul and in the First Epistle of Peter; it may be that "Silvanus" is the Romanized version of the original "Silas," or that "Silas" is the Greek nickname for "Silvanus." Silas is thus often identified with Silvanus of the Seventy. Fitzmyer points out that Silas is the Greek version of the Aramaic "Seila," a version of the Hebrew "Saul," which is attested in Palmyrene inscriptions.

Paul Silas

Paul Theron Silas (born July 12, 1943) is a retired American professional basketball player and former NBA head coach. He attended Creighton University, where he set an NCAA record for the most rebounds in three seasons and averaged 20.6 rebounds per game in 1963. In the NBA, Silas collected more than 10,000 points and 10,000 rebounds during his distinguished 16 year career, played in two All-Star games, and won three championship rings (two with the Boston Celtics in 1974 and 1976, and one with the Seattle SuperSonics in 1979). He was named to the All-NBA Defensive First Team twice, and to the All-NBA Defensive Second Team three times.

He was head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers until March 21, 2005. Prior to his job with the Cavaliers, he was an assistant coach for the New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns, and Charlotte Hornets, and the head coach for the San Diego Clippers, and Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets.

He worked for ESPN, although in April 2007 he interviewed for the vacant head coaching position with the Charlotte Bobcats (later known as the Charlotte Hornets) which was eventually filled by Sam Vincent. Upon the firing of Sam Vincent in April 2008, he stated that coaching the Bobcats would be a "dream job." On December 22, 2010, Paul Silas was named interim head coach of the Bobcats, replacing the outgoing coach Larry Brown. On February 16, 2011, the Bobcats removed his interim status. On April 30, 2012, the Bobcats announced that Silas would not return to the Bobcats for the 2012–2013 season. Because of the record transfer that occurred in 2014, Paul Silas' tenure with the Bobcats is now recognized as his second tenure with the Charlotte Hornets, meaning that he had coached them for five seasons with a record of 204-220.