Romans 16:3

Priscilla and Aquila were Paul’s good friends. After leaving Rome around AD 49, they became his co-workers for an extended time in Corinth and Ephesus (see Acts 18–19). They had apparently returned to Rome by the time Paul wrote Romans (about AD 57).

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).