Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Colossians 4:13

"For I bear him witness, that he hath much labor for you, and for them in Laodicea, and for them in Hierapolis." — Colossians 4:13 (ASV)

Paul confirms Epaphras’s anxiety for the Colossians and assures them that “he is working hard for [them] and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis.” The expression used here suggests heavy toil to the extent of pain. Epaphras undoubtedly had experienced much emotional distress in reference to the people at Colosse.

Laodicea and Hierapolis were cities near Colosse. The former, which lay ten miles downstream to the west of Colosse, was situated on a plateau to the south of the River Lycus. On the other side of the river, six miles north of Laodicea, was Hierapolis. Laodicea was a city of great wealth and boasted a medical school. The church there received the sternest denunciation of all the seven churches of Asia in the book of Revelation (Revelation 3:14–22). The name Hierapolis (the name literally means “holy city”) suggests the city owed its initial importance to religion. In 133 B. C., this entire district became the Roman province of Asia.