Romans

Chapter 16
{Honor Code Sequel - The 'Hall of Fame' Per the Apostle Paul
  Recognition of Honorable Spiritually Mature Believers in Rome}
{Verses 1-16: Apostolic Salutations}
{Verses 1-2: Certification of Phoebe - Carrier of Epistle to Rome and Magnificence of a Single Woman with Doctrine in her Soul}
1-2~~Now {de - connective use - continuation of Honor Code
  Principal - examples of those who lived by the Honor code follow
  in greetings}
I {Paul} recommend/present {sunistao} to you
our sister Phoebe {Phoibe},
who is/'keeps on being' a helper/minister/agent {diakonos}
  {women have ministries. RBT says Christianity was one of the first
  to give women the opportunity to serve openly - but he adds
  women are not to be in authority over men, so they should only be
  teachers of other women and children}
of the church in/'which is at' Cenchrea
  {the eastern harbor of Corinth}, 2~~
for the purpose that
  {hina - final purpose clause - purpose, aim, or goal}
you may receive/welcome her {prosdechomai} in the Lord
in a manner worthy of the saints/'ones set-apart to God' {hagios}
  {treat her like a queen - royal family honor code}
and that you 'stand by to help' {paristemi} her
'in any matter/business in which
she might have need' of you {an pragma},
for she has also been 'of great assistance'/a patroness' {prostates}, to many, including myself.

{Note: Sunistao - a recommendation of one mature believer by another - this recommendation means that Paul entrusted carrying this epistle from Paul to the Romans. In this day, a person would give a 'letter of recommendation' to say 'this traveler is ok per me - please treat them as you would treat me'. From Acts 20:3, we know Paul wrote Romans in Corinth. Cenchrea is the eastern port suburb about 8 miles out of Corinth. As a 'patroness', we find that Phoebe was a wealthy woman who supported the work of others - artists, painters, missionaries, etc.}

{Note: Phoebe means beautiful. So, she is a beautiful woman traveling on her own. Many would want to help her in less than an honorabe way! So, Paul reminds the Romans to use impersonal love and help Phoebe. Keep things on the up and up!}

{Note: 'An' is an untranslatable participle. It indicates uncertainty. Paul does not know the business of Phoebe nor is he going to ask her - doctrine of privacy of the priesthood. But, pragma is used for a lawsuit or a business matter. So, Phoebe is going to Rome on an unknown business matter. If she asks for help, then help her.}

{Verses 3-5: Magnificence of a Married Couple with Doctrine In Their Souls - Now in Rome}
3-5~~'Pay my respect to'/Greet {aspazomai}
Prisca {some have transliterated this 'Priscilla' but the name is Prisca}
and Aquila {name means the 'eagle'},
my 'fellow workers' in Christ Jesus, 4~~
who 'risked their own necks' {hupotithemi}
for my life/soul {psuche}.
To whom, not only I {give thanks},
but also all the churches of the Gentiles
are grateful to them
  {this wonderful mature couple also helped many believers
  throughout the churches in Asia}. 5~~
Also {pay my respects/greet}
the church in their house.

'Pay my respect to'/Greet {aspazomai}
Epaenetus my 'dear friend'/'beloved friend' {agapetos},
who was the 'first convert'/firstfruits {aparche}
to Christ from Asia
  {Apparently he was one of Paul's great friends - there is a
  reference in non-biblical sources to 'Epaenetus the Ephesian' so
  his man from Asia might be the same man}.

{Note: RBT says Prisca is an Akillians (sp) - a great Roman Aristocratic family. She married a man of Jewish descent who took the name 'Aquila' which means Eagle. While living in Rome the emperor Claudius exiled all Jews from Rome so Aquila moved to Corinth. Prisca decided to go with her husband. In I Corinthians 16:19 we see Paul mentions a church being held in their house. They also are mentioned in Paul's dying words of II Timothy 4:19 as fellow tent makers as is Paul. And, they literally put their lives on the line for Paul and others many times. Per RBT, after Claudius died, Prisca and Aquila moved back to Rome and one of the three local churches now meets in their mansion. They are also mentioned as having a church in their home in Ephesus so they moved around. See also Acts 18:2. And, Acts 19:29 where this couple MAY have been the ones risking their lives for the sake of Paul.}

6~~'Pay my respects to'/Greet {aspazomai} Mary,
who worked very hard {kopiao}
for you/'for your benefit'
with reference to many things.

{Note: RBT says that Mary apparently was a mature believer who worked hard on behalf of the Church. We really do not know what she did, but whatever it was, she did it well.}

7~~'Pay my respects to'/Greet {aspazomai}
Andronicus and Junia,
my cousins/relatives/kinsmen {suggenes - maybe cousins}
and my fellow prisoners {sunaichmalotos}.
'who are {such a category of believers}'
outstanding/'of note'/prominent {episemos}
among the missionaries {apostolos} . . .
who also have been in Christ before me.

{Note: RBT says Andronicus was a missionary and went to Rome as a single man and met and married Junia in Rome. Junia is a Roman name from an aristocratic line. Andronicus must have been the Jewish relative from the tribe of Benjamin as was Paul. Paul was in prison on a number of occasions and now we know that on one occasion, his relatives were with him.}

{Note: RBT says that many of these references came from the ecclesiastical history of the venerable Bede (a great historian of the Church).}

{Note: Apostolos is the Greek word meaning 'the one sent under the authority of another'. So it can refer to the Apostles - of which Paul was one. It can also mean missionaries who were sent out by Churches. RBT says this reference means they were outstanding missionaries and well known to other missionaries.}

{Note: Paul was a genius but was not the first in his own family to become born again - Royal Family of God - via Faith in Jesus Christ.}

{Verses 8-9: Three Great Believers (and Martyrs for Christ per RBT)}
8~~'Pay my respects to'/Greet {aspazomai}
Ampliatus {Amplias},
my 'beloved'/'dear friend' {agapetos}
in the Lord.

{Note: Ampliatus was a common name. The name was found twice in inscriptions in the cemetery of Domitia - the niece of the great Emperor Domitian who ruled Rome from 81-96AD.}

9~~'Pay my respects to'/Greet {aspazomai}
Urbanus our { hemon} fellow worker {sunergos} in Christ
  {Ourbanos means 'of the city' and was used for 'polite'}
and Stachus {Stachus - name means 'an ear of corn'}
my 'beloved'/'dear friend' {agapetos}.

{Note: The fact that Paul is paying his respects to these believers means that they also are mature believers and honorable people. Urbanus was a name of a person in the Roman royal household who was a slave and was freed and working in the imperial household. Urbanus means 'of the city' or 'polite' which implies that he might have had great manners and was a waiter type. The 'hemon' meaning 'our' indicates that Urbanus was not a personal friend of Paul's. Paul knew him by reputation only.}

{Note: Again from extra-biblical sources, RBT says Stachus became the Bishop of Byzantium (Constantinople). At the time he was a medical doctor and personally known by Paul. He eventually became a great bible teacher.}

{Note: From extra-biblical sources, RBT says Ampliatus, Urbanus and Stachus all died as martyrs for the Church. They made doctrine the issue of their lives and died for their faith - nothing stopped them - they lived and died for Christ.}

{Faithful Mature Believer - Passed Testing for Advancement in the Body of Christ}
10~~'Pay my respects to'/Greet {aspazomai}
Apelles {Apelles - a Jew},
who is 'tested and approved'/'tried and true'/esteemed {dokimos}
in Christ.

'Pay my respects to'/Greet {aspazomai}
those {the household slaves/servants}
of/'belong to' {ek} Aristobulus
  {RBT says Aristobulus was deceased at the time of this writing}.

{Note: In classical literature the phase is often quoted, 'Let the Jew, Apelles, believe, I do not.' According to tradition he was later the Bishop at Smyrna (see Rev 2:8-11 for the evaluation report on the Church at Smyrna) and was apparently a successful bible teacher.}

{Note: RBT says Aristobulus was a very famous name in history - the son of a Maccabeen king - John Urconus (sp) who became king in BC 105. He also was a famous king in Israel. His slaves apparently are mature believers and doing very well after the death of Aristobulus. Pompeii the Great captured Aristobulus and took him to Rome in captivity. It was Julius Caesar who helped him escape from Pompeii in 56AD.}

{The Imperial Slaves}
11~~'Pay my respects to'/Greet {aspazomai}
Herodion, my 'fellow countryman/kinsman' {suggenes}
  {probably a fellow Jew}.

'Pay my respects to'/Greet {aspazomai}
those {the household slaves/servants}
of/'belong to' {ek} Narcissus
who are in the Lord.

{Note: RBT says Herodion was a slave in the family of Herod and took the name Herodion to honor his former master when he was freed.}

{Note: Narcissus was one of three people who ran the administration of Rome under the Emperor Claudius. He was an evil man. So the principal here is in the best of circumstances or the worst of circumstances, people can become mature believers if they wish. So, Paul greets the mature believers who were slaves under this wicked man.}

{Spiritually Mature Ladies}
12~~'Pay my respects to'/Greet {aspazomai}
Tryphaena {Truphaina - name means dainty}
and Tryphosa {Truphosa - name means delicate}
  {RBT says from the names with the same root, these are apparently
  twin sisters},
who . . . {are} laborers/'work to the point of exhaustion' {kopiao}
  {kopiao is the word used to express working to the point of physical
  and mental exhaustion}
in the Lord.

'Pay my respects to'/Greet {aspazomai}
 Persis . . . 'worthy of love' {agapetos}
  {an unknown spiritually mature woman who was a personal dear
  friend of the great Apostle Paul}
who {is of such a special category that} {hostis}
has labored/'work hard to the point of exhaustion' {kopiao}
in the Lord 'with reference to many things' {polus - plural}
  {suggests a women of many varied and great talents -
  'polus' indicates that Persis was the 'best for last' concept -
  she is the top of the top in this passage}.

{Note: Again, Truphaina (dainty) and Tryphosa (delicate) are names that were found in the Roman imperial cemetery. Their names emphasize the concept of femininity in the soul - found in truly great spiritually mature women. Paul is saluting the great believers in Rome so these sisters must have been really great women.}

{A Spiritually Mature Family - Son and Mother}
13~~'Pay my respects to'/Greet {aspazomai}
Rufus {Rhouphos},
the elected one {eklektos}
in the Lord {Royal Family of God},
also {greet} his mother
'who was also a mother to me'
  {idiom: literally 'and mine' but the idiomatic use means she was
  'like a mother to Paul'}.

{Note: See Rufus also at Mark 15:21. He is a second-generation believer - the son of Simon of Cyrene who carried our Lord's cross. This passage was written by Paul circa 58 AD and was about 5 years before the reference in Mark 15:21 was written. Simon and the brother Alexander were probably dead when Paul wrote this. So Paul is greeting the living - Rufus and his mother.}

{Distinguished Men in a Local Church in Rome}
14~~'Pay my respects to'/Greet {aspazomai} Asugchritos
  {Asugkritos - name means incomparable as a judge},
Phlegon {Phlegon - name means burning - maybe represents his zeal}
  {from extra-biblical information RBT says he became a pastor
  in the Greek city of Marathon (26 miles from Athens)},
Hermes {name of a Greek god/ same as Roman god Mercury
  great public speaker - herald of the gods - probably a hustling
  type of businessman in Rome and became a pastor in Dalmacia},
Patrobas {Patrobas - a wealthy freedman later martyred by Galba
  in his short 7 month reign as Emperor of Rome},
Hermas {Hermas - nickname for Hermogenes - II Timothy 1:15 -
  where he was in reversionism - he may have later recovered},
and the brethren associated with them.
  { adelphos - Royal Family of Christ}

{RBT says here Paul Greets A Second Local Church in Rome}
15~~'Pay my respects to'/Greet {aspazomai}
Philologus {Philologos - name means 'lover of doctrine/the word'}
also Julia {Ioulia},
Nereus {Nereus} and his sister . . . even Olympas {Olumpas}
  {probably very young people in this Church
  RBT says Nereus and Olympas were brother and sister};
and all the saints/'set apart to God ones' {hagios}
associated with them.

{Note: Philologus was the name of a freedman archeology found to be mentioned in the household of 'Livia Augusta' - the daughter of Drusus Claudius - a famous household in Rome. She became the wife
to Augustus and her son became an Emperor of Rome. Philologus
would be an old man at the time Paul wrote this.}

{Note: Both the Aunt and sister of Julius Caesar and the daughter and granddaughter of Augustus. So this was a very famous name in the Roman Imperial household. RBT says this Julia is the wife of Philologus - who was probably named after one of the Julia's whom she served and then was freed.}

{Note: Nereus was famous as a Christian martyr in the reign of Nerva (circa 96-98AD). He lived to be quite old but would have been young at the time Paul wrote this epistle.}

{Honor Code Relationship Between the Local Churches}
16~~'Pay my respects to'/Greet {aspazomai}
'each other'/'one another of the same kind' {allelon}
with a holy kiss {en hagios philema}
  {a ritualistic greeting - same as a hand shake today}.
All the churches of Christ greet you.

Continued

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