Romans 16:10

This Aristobulus was probably the same person as the brother of Herod Agrippa I. Aristobulus belonged to the Roman ruling class and lived in Rome for many years before his death around AD 48 or 49 (see Josephus, Antiquities 18.8.4; War 2.11.6). The phrase the household of Aristobulus most likely refers to his family members and their servants who lived in Rome.

Although Paul had not yet visited the Christian community in Rome, he built a relationship with these believers by greeting many of them by name. The names show that the Roman church was very diverse. Jews and Gentiles, enslaved people and free people, men and women all formed a new community in the church (see Galatians 3:26–29).

Paul greeted twenty-seven Christians in Rome, ten of whom were women. This shows that women played important roles in the early church.

Paul had not yet visited Rome. This has led some people to wonder how he knew so many Christians there. One idea is that chapter 16 was part of a different letter that Paul sent to Ephesus. However, there is no strong manuscript evidence for a separate letter (see study note on 15:33). A more likely explanation is that Paul met these Christians while they were traveling outside Rome (see Romans Book Introduction, “Setting”).

This final section includes elements often found at the end of New Testament letters:

• a discussion of travel plans (15:14–29),

• requests for prayer (15:30–33),

• references to ministry partners (16:1–2, 21–23),

• greetings (16:3–16), and

• a short hymn of praise (16:25–27).

Only the warning about false teachers is a non-standard feature in this conclusion (16:17–19).