Introduction to Romans 16:1—27

Romans 15:1–33 had concluded with a blessing followed by the word Amen. None of the later readers of the letter would have noticed anything missing if Romans 15:1–33 had simply been followed by a few personal greetings (Romans 16:21–23) and a repeated blessing (Romans 16:24 and Romans 16:25–27, or both). It is therefore quite striking that an entire chapter (Romans 16:1–20) follows the Amen of Romans 15:33.

Prior to taking up the pen himself (Romans 16:21), Paul first dictates an exhortation regarding his sister Phoebe (Romans 16:1–2), a long list of exhortations to greet various people (Romans 16:3–16), as well as a warning against people who oppose received doctrine (Romans 16:17–20). Viewing most of this chapter as not originally belonging to the letter of Romans but rather as directed to another church lacks any foundation in light of the history of the text’s transmission. As such no further discussion in this regard is needed. There can be no doubt that all of Romans 16 belongs to the letter to the Romans.

The letter was written to a church with which Paul had not been familiar. It is therefore understandable that the names of contemporaries, whether in or outside Rome, do not appear elsewhere in the letter at all. Why then does a whole list of names appear in Romans 16:1–16, however?

The American New Testament scholar E. Randolph Richards provides the following interesting yet rather implausible hypothesis: Tertius, who wrote the letter (Romans 16:22), was known in Rome and supposedly took Paul’s broad exhortation to greet the church as an opportunity to greet many members by name.¹ However, in a certain sense the answer to our question concerning the multitude of names rather lies right at the start of the chapter, where Phoebe is mentioned. She originally came from the church at Cenchreae, which was close to Corinth, and travelling to Rome. She was quite possibly the one who took the letter with her to deliver it to the church at Rome.

Exegetes often regard the list of names of people to be greeted (Romans 16:3–16) as an expanded conclusion to the letter. There is, however, a remarkable distinction from the normal greetings at the end of this letter. Paul does not write I greet, but instead uses another, more unconventional formulation by which he exhorts his readers themselves to greet the persons named here. They must greet them. Why does Paul not greet them directly? Why does he bypass them and direct himself to others and tell them to greet these brothers and sisters?

This remarkable exhortation can only be understood once we realize that in the ancient world greeting someone meant maintaining contact with, or embracing them. Greeting is a symbol of communion (with brothers and sisters and not with enemies, Matthew 5:47). When you greet someone, you make contact (Acts 25:13, Matthew 10:12, Luke 1:40), perpetuate an existing bond (Mark 9:15, Acts 18:22, Acts 21:7, Acts 21:19), and ensure that an existing relationship remains in effect (Acts 20:1). Furthermore, it also constitutes a word of welcome, acceptance, and honour (Matthew 23:7, Mark 9:15, Mark 12:38, Mark 15:18, Hebrews 11:13). Just as Paul commends the visiting Phoebe, so he also commands his readers to maintain good contact with a whole host of people who have also come to stand in the service of the gospel in Rome. The readers have to greet, accept, and listen to them (compare 2 John 1:7–11). They are not allowed to break the bond with them.

The brief notes that Paul adds to some of the names make it unmistakably clear that all the persons are in one way or another involved with the work of the Lord in Rome. They would have been the people through whom the gospel was spread and accepted in that city. They are people known to Paul and, in some cases, he knows them very well. As long as the apostle himself cannot come to Rome because he has to travel to Jerusalem first (Romans 15:25–32), the readers must maintain the bond with all those previously arrived friends and acquaintances.

In Romans 16:1–16, Paul lists some twenty-five names and in total and refers (sometimes without naming them) to approximately forty people. This number is not so surprising when taking into account that many people at the time travelled to Rome and established themselves there. Only a small number, about six, of these people are either expressly identified or known to be Paul’s kinsmen. The majority are people who (as a result of Paul’s labours to the east of Rome) are of Gentile origin and who have come to faith in Israel’s God and his Anointed. Later on they had established themselves in Rome, but they were active Christians, some of whom apparently moved to the capital of the empire specifically in order to spread the gospel there (as had most definitely been the case with Aquila and Prisca, for example). In a series of brief notations, Paul indicates that he loves these people, that they have earned their spurs in the gospel, and that they were already active in Rome. A few people there also apparently had large houses and opened up their homes as meeting places for Christians. Although the long list leaves much uncertainty for later readers, it must have been quite clear for the readers in Rome at the time. For example, if Rufus (Romans 16:13) was the same person named in Mark 15:21 as the son of Simon of Cyrene, this would have been known in Rome (and perhaps that is the reason why Mark mentions him). The readers in Rome did not need any further introduction concerning the people they already knew. What was important to them was that these Christians from elsewhere would form and would continue to form a communion of saints with them.

Paul therefore concludes the list in Romans 16:16 by summarizing his mandate: Greet one another with a holy kiss. The readers and the persons Paul here names belong together. Collectively, they form a holy church in Rome, and they are greeted by all churches through which Paul now travels for the last time: All the churches of Christ greet you.

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The unity of the Christian church (Romans 16:1–16) is always and everywhere threatened. During his farewell in Ephesus, Paul warned the elders there about wolves that, following his departure, will come among them and will drive the flock apart (Acts 20:29–31). Similarly, the apostle concludes this letter to Rome with a timely warning about people who may come and cause divisions (Romans 16:17–20).

Paul could not have issued this warning because of existing divisions in the church at Rome. Nowhere in the letter are there any traces of such divisions, and if the church there was actually being disturbed by dissension, Paul certainly would not have waited until the very end of his letter to address the matter.

The formulations are indeed specific, but this can be attributed to Paul’s experiences of disruptive influences in the other areas in which he had established churches. This much is clear from letters he wrote to those churches, such as 2 Corinthians and Galatians. Having learned from his bad experiences, the apostle now warns the church at Rome in advance of what will happen. For Paul knew full well that God’s adversary, Satan, had been fiercely active in persecuting the work of Christ during that time. He therefore knows that he will also disturb the church in Rome. For this reason Paul concludes his warning against false teachers (Romans 16:17–19) with a word of encouragement in their struggle against Satan (Romans 16:20). Even Cranfield² and Légasse³ deem it an error to suppose that Romans 16:17—18 specifically refers to Judaizing factions within the church in Rome. The word koilia has nothing to do with circumcision, however, and Cranfield thinks that it is much more plausible that the people referenced here are those mentioned in Romans 14:1–23, who freely eat meat even when this can cause their brothers to stumble.

Concluding his letter with a few greetings (Romans 16:21–23) accorded with established custom at the time. Eight people are named who convey their regards to the Christians in Rome. Most of them would have been unknown to the readers, yet their greetings (including the brief description of their roles) allows the readers realize how involved Christians elsewhere truly are with this new Christian community in Rome. The expressly mentioned greetings of people closely connected to Paul confirm the bond that all Christian churches feel with the church at Rome (Romans 16:16b).

As a rule, such concluding greetings are followed by a handwritten blessing (that sometimes includes a few personal remarks). What then is the subscription (subscriptio) of the letter to the Romans? The manuscripts contain a number of variant readings:

1. A short blessing (The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen), which is identified as Romans 16:24 in published Greek texts and in translations which include this, such as the KJV.

2. A longer doxology, which is identified as Romans 16:25–27 in published texts and translations. In most manuscripts this doxology immediately follows Romans 14:23 as if it were Romans 14:24-26. A combination of both, identified as Romans 14:24-27.

If the letter concludes with Romans 14:24, this means that Paul has signed it with his own handwritten repetition of the blessing already expressed in Romans 16:20b, with the only difference being the addition of the word all (with you all). This would mean that Paul has here placed extra emphasis on the preceding blessing by repeating and strengthening it. He therefore did not have anything further to add. The grace of the Lord is sufficient for all.

If the letter concluded with both Romans 14:24 and Romans 16:25–27, then it becomes possible that Paul first dictated Romans 14:24 as a confirmation of Romans 16:20b, before he, by his own hand, added a profound summary of the letter and of the gospel as a whole, followed by a doxology.

If the letter is concluded without Romans 14:24, but with Romans 16:25–27, then this means that Paul did not repeat the blessing of Romans 16:20b but, immediately after the noting the greetings sent by brother Quartus, wrote the summary of the gospel and the doxology in his own hand.

Since most manuscripts do not place the contents of Romans 16:25–27 at the conclusion of Romans 16:1–27 at all, but rather at the end of Romans 14:1–23, we also discuss the place and meaning that these words would likely have in that location in the exegesis of that chapter.

However, what if they do belong at the end of Romans 16:1–27? In a certain sense, their place in this particular location is much easier to understand, because they summarize Paul’s message and as such seem to belong to the conclusion of the letter as a meaningful subscription in Paul’s own handwriting^4,5