Romans 16

The closing portion of Paul's book-length essay, known to us as Chapter 16, consists of the salutations (greetings) that he sends to people he knows in Rome and from people the church at Rome know but who are with Paul. On the face of it, there is not much to get from it for our edification. A closer look, however, reveals a number of different significant matters.

In verse 1 Paul commends Phoebe to them, calling her both a sister (meaning a fellow believer) and a deacon of the church at Cenchreae. This is important. If she is a deacon, then the early church had women who were deacons. Some English translations fudge by translating the word diákonos in this verse as "servant," while translating the same term when referring to men as "deacon." Not so the NRSV. The word in Greek is "masculine" (as opposed to "feminine" or "neuter"), so that it is exactly the same word as that applied to men. It is not known to what extent the term "deacon" was considered a church office status at the time Paul wrote in the first century of the common era. What we can deduce for certain was that the term, whatever it specifically entailed, was applied equally to men and to women. The exclusion of women from holding church office positions came later, perhaps much later, but it has no basis in scripture.

Phoebe was also the person who apparently took Paul's text to Rome. There was no postal service at the time except for the Roman highest officials and officers. This was the normal way of getting letters to the intended recipients. It was an important task and it was entrusted to a woman. Paul asks the church at Rome to help her in any way she needs.

There follows a long list of individuals at the church in Rome whom Paul greets. All the names appear to be Greek and none Jewish. It should be noted that many Jewish people who had never lived in Palestine adopted Greek names, so one cannot be certain. The greetings are divided almost equally between women and men.

Next is a warning to avoid those who cause dissensions and offenses. He implies that dissension is a sign of disobedience to the teaching of the way of Christ. As a matter of fact Paul says that such people are only serving their own base appetites, but they fool people by smooth talk and flattery. Paul immediately afterward blesses the believers in Rome.

Paul also sends greetings from eight men who are with him to the church at Rome. All but one have Greek names, and one, Tertius, puts in the he is the writer of the letter. It was the custom, when sending a letter, to hire a scribe, also known as amanuensis, to do the actual penning of the text. They would have parchment or papyrus, ink, and pens, articles too expensive for most people to keep around their dwelling. Besides, the scribes were experts at clear penmanship. On arrival, one person who read well would read the text aloud to the congregation of believers. This process was known in the Greek of the time as anaginóskein (to know again). Normally one heard the missive. The public in general did not become literate until the advent of the printing press at the beginning of the Modern Age, making texts numerous and much cheaper to obtain. The oral nature of the "reading" explains the repetition of important points, typical back then, but frowned upon now in good writing.

Paul's essay/letter ends, as usual with a doxology (an expression of praise to God). Paul praises God because the great mystery, kept secret for the ages, was now made known through the writings of the prophets to all, including the Gentiles, in order to bring all to the obedience that comes from trusting God. "To the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever, amen!" (16:27 NRSV)