Commentari biblici

I commend (συνίστημι)

See on Romans 3:5.

Phoebe

The bearer of the epistle. The word means bright. In classical Greek an epithet of Artemis (Diana) the sister of Phoebus Apollo.

Servant (διάκονον)

The word may be either masculine or feminine. Commonly explained as deaconess. The term διακόνισσα deaconess is found only in ecclesiastical Greek. The "Apostolical Constitutions" distinguish deaconesses from widows and virgins, prescribe their duties, and a form for their ordination. Pliny the younger, about a.d. 104, appears to refer to them in his letter to Trajan, in which he speaks of the torture of two maids who were called minestrae (female ministers). The office seems to have been confined mainly to widows, though virgins were not absolutely excluded. Their duties were to take care of the sick and poor, to minister to martyrs and confessors in prison, to instruct catechumens, to assist at the baptism of women, and to exercise a general supervision over the female church-members. Tryphaena, Tryphosa, and Persis (Romans 16:12) may have belonged to this class. See on 1 Timothy 5:3-16. Conybeare ("Life and Epistles of St. Paul") assumes that Phoebe was a widow, on the ground that she could not, according to Greek manners, have been mentioned as acting in the independent manner described, either if her husband had been living or she had been unmarried. Renan says: "Phoebe carried under the folds of her robe the whole future of Christian theology."

Cenchrea

More correctly, Cenchreae. Compare Acts 18:18 Corinth, from which the epistle was sent, was situated on an isthmus, and had three ports, Cenchreae on the east side, and Lechaeum on the west of the isthmus, with Schoenus, a smaller port, also on the eastern side, at the narrowest point of the isthmus. Cenchreae was nine miles from Corinth. It was a thriving town, commanding a large trade with Alexandria, Antioch, Ephesus, Thessalonica, and the other cities of the Aegean. It contained temples of Venus, Aesculapius, and Isis. The church there was perhaps a branch of that at Corinth.

Assist (παραστῆτι)

See on Acts 1:3. It is used as a legal term, of presenting culprits or witnesses in a court of justice. Compare prove, Acts 24:13. From this, and from the term προστάτις succorer, it has been inferred that Phoebe was going to Rome on private legal business (see Conybeare and Howson). This is a mere fancy.

Succorer (προστάτις)

Only here in the New Testament. The word means patroness. It may refer to her official duties. The word is an honorable one, and accords with her official position.

Prisca and Aquila

Priscilla is the diminutive of Prisca. See Acts 18:2, Acts 18:18, Acts 18:26; 1 Corinthians 16:19; 2 Timothy 4:19. It is argued by some that Aquila and Priscilla must have been at Ephesus at this time, since they were there when Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 16:19, and again when he wrote 2 Timothy 4:19. "It is strange to find them settled at Rome with a church in their house between these two dates" (Farrar). But, as Bishop Lightfoot remarks ("Commentary on Philippians," p. 176), "As Rome was their headquarters, and they had been driven thence by an imperial edict (Acts 18:2), it is natural enough that they should have returned thither as soon as it was convenient and safe to do so. The year which elapses between the two notices, allows ample time for them to transfer themselves from Ephesus to Rome, and for the apostle to hear of their return to their old abode." Notice that the name of Priscilla precedes that of her husband. So Acts 18:2. Probably she was the more prominent of the two in christian activity.

Fellow-workers

In christian labor, as they had been in tent-making.

Who (οἵτινες)

The double relative, with an explanatory force: seeing that they.

Laid down their own necks (τὸν ἑαυτῶν τράχηλον ὑπέθηκαν)

Laid down is, literally, placed under (the axe). Whether the expression is literal or figurative, or if literal, when the incident occurred, cannot be determined.

The church that is in their house (τῆν κατ' οἶκον αὐτῶν ἐκκλησίαν)

The phrase church that is in their (or his) house occurs 1 Corinthians 16:19, of Aquila and Priscilla; Colossians 4:15, of Nymphas; Plm 1:2, of Philemon. A similar gathering may be implied in Romans 16:14, Romans 16:15. Bishop Lightfoot says there is no clear example of a separate building set apart for christian worship within the limits of the Roman Empire before the third century. The Christian congregations were, therefore, dependent upon the hospitality of prominent church members who furnished their own houses for this purpose. Hence their places of assembly were not called temples until late; but houses of God; houses of the churches; houses of prayer.

Numerous guilds or clubs existed at Rome for furnishing proper burial rites to the poor. Extant inscriptions testify to the existence of nearly eighty of these, each consisting of the members of a different trade or profession, or united in the worship of some deity. The Christians availed themselves of this practice in order to evade Trajan's edict against clubs, which included their own ordinary assemblies, but which made a special exception in favor of associations consisting of poorer members of society, who met to contribute to funeral expenses. This led to the use of the catacombs, or of buildings erected over them for this purpose.

The expression here denotes, not the whole church, but that portion of it which met at Aquila's house.

Epaenetus

A Greek name, meaning praised. It is, however; impossible to infer the nationality from the name with any certainty, since it was common for the Jews to have a second name, which they adopted during their residence in heathen countries. Compare John Mark (Acts 12:12); Justus (Acts 1:23); Niger (Acts 13:1); Crispus (Acts 18:8).

The first fruits of Achaia

The best texts read of Asia. An early convert of the Roman province of Asia. See on Acts 2:9 This is adduced as an argument that this chapter was addressed to Ephesus.

Mary (Μαριάμ Mariam)

Westcott and Hort read Μαρίαν. A Jewish name, the same as Miriam, meaning obstinacy, rebelliousness.

Bestowed labor (ἐκοπίασεν)

See on Luke 5:5.

Andronicus and Junia

The latter name may be either masculine or feminine. If the latter, the person was probably the wife of Andronicus. If the former, the name is to be rendered Junias, as Rev. The following words point to this conclusion.

Kinsmen (συγγενεῖς)

The primary meaning is related by blood; but it is used in the wider sense of fellow-countrymen. So Romans 9:3.

Of note (ἐπίσημοι)

A good rendering etymologically, the word meaning, literally, bearing a mark (σῆμα, nota).

Fellow prisoners (συναιχμαλώτους)

See on captives, Luke 4:18.

Amplias

A contraction of Ampliatus, which is the reading of the best texts.