성경 주석서

롬 16:1-27. 결론, 여러 문안과 지시, 그리고 마치는 기도를 포함함. 1. 내가 겐그레아 교회의 일꾼인 우리 자매 뵈뵈를 너희에게 추천하노니--또는 '여집사'이다. 겐그레아에 있는 교회--그 단어는 '겐그레아'로, 고린도의 동쪽 항구를 가리킨다(행 18:18). 가장 초기 교회들에 여성 성도들의 필요를 돌보는 여집사들이 있었다는 것은 의심할 만한 충분한 이유가 없다. 적어도 트라야누스 황제 시대, 곧 주후 110년 또는 111년에 플리니우스가 그 황제에게 보낸 유명한 편지에서 우리는 동방 교회들에 그들이 있었다는 사실을 알게 된다. 실제로 당시 남녀의 관계를 생각하면 이런 종류의 직분은 필요했던 것으로 보인다. 그러나 이 직분을 되살리려는 현대의 시도들은 사회 상태의 변화 때문이든, 그 직분의 남용 때문이든, 또는 둘 다 때문이든 대체로 호응을 거의 얻지 못했다.

I commend - 내가 추천한다. 그때도 지금처럼 낯선 사람들에게 소개장을 가져가는 일이 흔했다. 그 소개장은 그렇게 소개되는 사람을, 편지를 받는 이들의 호의적인 관심과 돌봄에 맡기는 것이었다. 고린도후서 3:1; 사도행전 18:27. 사도의 추천과 함께 이 서신은 그것을 지닌 사람을 로마의 그리스도인들에게 이렇게 소개하려는 목적을 가지고 있었다. 뵈뵈를 이런 방식으로 언급한 것은 그녀가 이 서신을 가지고 간 사람이었거나, 그것을 로마로 가지고 간 사람들과 동행했다는 점을 의심할 여지 없이 보여 준다. 그러므로 이 서신은 아마 고린도에서 기록되었을 것이다. 서론을 보라.

Our sister - 우리 자매. 그리스도인 교회의 한 지체를 뜻한다.

Which is a servant - 섬기는 자인. 헬라어로는 "여집사인"이라는 뜻이다. 신약에서 교회 안에 "여집사들"로 알려진 여성들의 직분이 있었다는 것은 분명하다. 신약 여러 곳에는 다른 여성들을 "가르치고", 교회의 그 부분을 전반적으로 돌보는 일을 맡은 여성 계층에 대한 언급이 있다. 그리고 그들의 존재는 초기 교회사에서도 명시적으로 확인된다. 그들은 보통 나이가 많고 경험이 있는 과부들로서, 좋은 평판을 지녔고, 젊고 경험이 부족한 이들을 지도하고 가르치기에 적합했던 것으로 보인다. 디모데전서 5:3, 9-11; 디도서 2:4와 비교하라. 『사도헌장』 제3권은 이렇게 말한다. "여성들을 향한 섬김을 위하여 신실하고 거룩한 여집사를 임명하라." 플리니우스는 트라야누스에게 보낸 유명한 편지에서, 그리스도인들의 견해와 관습에 관한 정보를 얻으려고 했던 노력에 대해 말하면서 이렇게 말한다. "나는 진실이 무엇인지 알아내기 위해 'ministrae'(곧 '여집사들')라고 불리는 두 여종을 고문할 필요가 있다고 판단했다." 이방인들 가운데서 그들이 임명된 이유는 다음과 같았다.

(1) 여성들은 보통 남성들과 분리되어 있었다. 그들은 대체로 격리되어 있었고, 오늘날의 관습처럼 남성들과 사회적으로 어울리는 것이 허락되지 않았다.

(2) 그러므로 젊은 여성들을 가르치고, 병자들을 방문하며, 그들을 돌보고, 남성 집사들이 교회 전체를 위해 수행한 봉사들을 그들을 위해 수행하도록, 나이 많고 경험 있는 여성들을 임명하는 일이 필요하게 되었다. 그러나 그들이 이런 직무들에 제한되었고, 결코 사역자들의 한 직분으로 여겨지거나 회중에게 "설교하도록" 허용되지 않았다는 것은 분명하다. 디모데전서 2:12; 고린도전서 14:34.

Of the church ... - 교회의. 그곳에 있는 교회에 대한 언급은 이것이 유일하다. 아마 바울의 수고로 모였을 것이다.

At Cenchrea - 겐그레아에 있는. 이곳은 고린도의 "항구"였다. 고린도는 지협의 한가운데에 있었고 "두" 항구 또는 포구를 가지고 있었다. 동쪽에는 도시에서 약 팔 또는 구 마일 떨어진 "겐그레아"가 있었고, 서쪽에는 "레카이온"이 있었다. 겐그레아는 에게해로 열려 있었고 주요 항구였다. 이 두 항구 사이의 바로 이 "지협"에서 "이스미아" 경기들이 열렸으며, 사도는 자기 서신들에서 그것들을 자주 언급한다.

내가 뵈뵈를 너희에게 추천하노니 — 사도는 이 서신을 쓰기 전에는 로마에 가 본 적이 없었으므로, 그가 이처럼 다정한 문안을 보내는 그곳 교회 구성원들과 개인적 친분을 가질 수는 없었을 것이다. 그들 중 많은 사람은 아마 소아시아와 헬라 여러 지역에서 그가 복음을 전하는 것을 듣고 후에 로마에 정착한, 그 자신의 회심자들이었을 가능성이 있다.

여기에서 뵈뵈는 일꾼, διακονον, 곧 겐그레아 교회의 여집사라고 불린다. 원시 교회에는 여집사들이 있었다. 그들의 임무는 여성 회심자들이 세례를 받을 때 시중드는 일, 문답 교육을 받는 사람들 또는 세례 후보자들을 가르치는 일, 병자와 옥에 갇힌 자들을 방문하는 일, 간단히 말해 교회의 여성 구성원들에게 남자들이 적절히 수행할 수 없는 종교적 직무들을 수행하는 일이었다. 그들은 대체로 교회에서 가장 경험 많은 사람들 가운데서 선택되었고, 보통은 자녀를 낳아 본 과부들이었다. 어떤 고대 교회 규정은 그들에게 40세를 요구했고, 다른 규정은 50세, 또 다른 규정은 60세를 요구했다. 그들이 감독의 안수로 직분에 임명되었다는 것은 분명하다. 그때 사용된 기도문 형식도 사도적 규정들 안에 남아 있다. 10세기 또는 11세기에 이 직분은 라틴 교회에서 사라졌으나, 헬라 교회에서는 12세기 말까지 계속되었다. Broughton의 사전, ‘여집사’ 항목을 보라.

겐그레아는 모레아와 헬라를 잇는 지협의 동쪽에 있던 항구였다. 같은 지협 서쪽의 항구가 레카이움이었던 것과 같다. 이 두 곳은 이 지역에서 고린도 다음으로 주목할 만한 유일한 두 항만과 도시였다. 레카이움이 이오니아 해로 가는 길을 열어 주었던 것처럼, 겐그레아는 에게 해로 가는 길을 열어 주었다. 두 곳은 모두 무역에 매우 유리한 위치에 있었으므로 매우 부유했다. 이 두 곳은 지금 보통 레판토 만과 잉기아 또는 에기나 만으로 불린다. 이 두 항구 사이의 지협은 폭이 약 6마일이었고, 바로 그곳에서 이스트미아 경기가 열렸다. 바울은 이 경기에 자주 암시한다.

I commend unto you Phebe our sister,.... This chapter chiefly consists of commendations and salutations of persons, and begins with the former. It was usual to give letters of commendation of a member of one church to those of another; see 2 Corinthians 3:1; The person who is here recommended was, as appears from the subscription of this epistle, if that may be depended on, the bearer of this letter, and is described by her name, Phebe; as she dwelt at Cenchrea, it is probable she was a Grecian, as is her name. Pausanias (e) makes frequent mention of one of this name in Greece. With the Heathen poets, Pheobus was the sun, and Phoebe the moon. Though it is not unlikely that she might be a Jewess, since there were many of them in those parts; and this was a name in use among them. We often read (f) of R. Ishmael , "ben Phoebi", which I take to be the same name with this. She is recommended as a sister, "our sister"; not in a natural, but spiritual relation; one that was a member of the church at Cenchrea, and in full communion with it; for as it was usual to call the men brethren, it was common to call the women sisters. Elderly men were called fathers, younger men brethren; elderly women were styled mothers, and younger women sisters, who were partakers of the grace of God, and enjoyed the fellowship of the saints:

which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea. This place was a seaport of the Corinthians, distant from Corinth about seventy furlongs, or eight or nine miles: it was on one side of the Isthmus, as Lechea was on the other (g); See Gill on Acts 18:18. In the way to this place from the Isthmus, as Pausanias relates (h), was the temple of Diana, and a very ancient sculpture; and in Cenchrea itself was the temple of Venus, and a wooden image; and near the flow of the sea was a Neptune of brass. But now, in this place, was a church of Jesus Christ; and since it was so near to Corinth, it shows that churches in those early times were not national, or provincial, but congregational. Of this church Phebe was a servant, or, as the word signifies, a minister or deacon; not that she was a teacher of the word, or preacher of the Gospel, for that was not allowed of by the apostle in the church at Corinth, that a woman should teach; see 1 Corinthians 14:34; and therefore would never be admitted at Cenchrea. Rather, as some think, she was a deaconess appointed by the church, to take care of the poor sisters of the church; though as they were usually poor, and ancient women; that were put into that service, and this woman, according to the account of her, being neither poor, nor very ancient; it seems rather, that being a rich and generous woman, she served or ministered to the church by relieving the poor; not out of the church's stock, as deaconesses did, but out of her own substance; and received the ministers of the Gospel, and all strangers, into her house, which was open to all Christians; and so was exceeding serviceable to that church, and to all the saints that came thither: though it is certain that among the ancient Christians there were women servants who were called ministers. Pliny, in an epistle of his to Trajan the emperor, says (i), that he had examined two maids, "quae ministrae dicebantur", "who were called ministers", to know the truth of the Christian religion.

(e) Graec. Deseript. l. 2. p. 125. l. 3. p. 190. l. 4. p. 276. (f) Misn. Sota, c. 9. sect. 15. T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 9. 1. & 35. 2. Jucbasin, fol. 24. 2. & 54. 2.((g) Plin. Natural Hist. l. 4. c. 4. Ptolem. l. 3. c. 16. (h) in Corinthiacis, p. 88. (i) Epist. l. 10. Ephesians 97.

Romans 16:1,2 Paul commendeth Phebe to the Christians at Rome,

Romans 16:3-16 and sendeth salutations to many by name.

Romans 16:17-20 He warneth them to take heed of those who cause

divisions and offences.

Romans 16:21-24 After sundry salutations,

Romans 16:25-27 he concludes with praise to God.

This chapter is in the nature of a postscript. The apostle begins it with the recommendation of a certain woman to them. She went upon some occasion to Rome, and by her (as some have supposed) this Epistle was sent to the church there.

Phebe: the poets called the moon Phoebe, as they did the sun Phoebus. This name is likely to have been imposed by her parents, being Gentiles.

Our sister; i.e. in Christ, and by the profession of the same faith: see Jam 2:16.

Cenchrea; a port or haven belonging to Corinth, on the east side towards Asia: there was another on the west side towards Italy, called Lechea. By reason of this double haven, Corinth was called by the poets, Bi maris. Here Paul paid a vow, which he had made, Acts 18:18. Here also he preached and converted many, amongst whom this Phebe (as is probable) was one. When he saith, she was

servant of the church, it is not meant she was a deaconness, or one of the college of widows, of whom he speaketh, 1 Timothy 5:9. But she served the church, in harbouring and succouring the saints that were driven out of their country; yea, as appears by the next verse, she was a succourer of the ministers of the gospel, and of the apostle himself. We read, Luke 8:3, of some that ministered unto the Lord of their substance; there the same word is used. And this Phebe seems to have been employed in the same works; she ministered unto Paul as Onesiphorus did, 2 Timothy 1:18; there the same word is used again.

Verses 1-20. - K. Commendation of Phoebe, and salutations to Christians at Rome. Verses 1, 2. - I commend unto you Phoebe our sister (i.e. fellow-Christian), who is a servant of the Church that is in Cenchrea: that ye receive her in the Lord, worthily of the saints, and assist her (παραστῆτε, literally, stand by her) in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she too hath been a succourer (προστάτις, corresponding to παραστῆτε) of many, and of mine own self. This Phoebe was probably the bearer of the Epistle. She appears to have had business, perhaps of a legal kind, that took her to Rome; and St. Paul took advantage of her going to send the letter by her, desiring also to enlist the aid of her fellow-Christians at Rome in furtherance of her business, whatever it might be. Her having business at Rome, and her having been "a succourer of many," suggests the idea of her being a lady of means. Her designation as διάκονος of the Church at Cenchrea probably implies that she held an office there corresponding to that of deaconess, though there is no reason to suppose the distinguishing term διακόνισσα to have been as yet in use. Her function, and that of others (as perhaps of Tryphena and Tryphosa, mentioned in ver. 12 as "labouring much in the Lord"), might be to minister to the sick and poor, and to fulfil such charitable offices as women could best discharge. Cf. 1 Timothy 3:11, where γυναῖκας, mentioned in the midst of directions as to the qualifications of men for the office of deacons, probably denotes women who fulfilled similar duties. Cf. also Pliny's celebrated letter to Trajan (circ. A.D. 107), in which he says that he had extorted information as to the doings of Christians, "ex duabus ancillis, quae ministrae dicebantur." The Latin ministra answers exactly to the Greek διάκονος. Cenchrea was the port of Corinth on the Saronic Gulf; and it appears from this passage that there was a Church or congregation there, as well as one or more in Corinth itself. It is an interesting conjecture that St. Paul, in speaking of Phoebe having been a succourer of himself as well as of others, may refer to an illness of his own at Cenchrea, during which she had ministered to him, and that his shaving his head at Cenchrea because he had a vow (Acts 18:18) may have been during, or on his recovery from, that illness.

(1) Phebe.—As the Roman Church is especially exhorted to receive Phebe, it has been inferred that she was one of the party to which St. Paul entrusted his Epistle, if not the actual bearer of it herself.

Our sister—i.e., in a spiritual sense—a fellow-Christian.

Servant.—Rather, a deaconess, keeping the technical term. Deacons were originally appointed to attend to the wants of the poorer members of the Church. This is the first mention of women-deacons, in regard to whom instructions are given to Timothy (1Timothy 3:11). The necessity for an order of deaconesses would gradually make itself felt where women were kept in a stricter seclusion, as in Greece and some parts of the East.

Cenchrea.—The port of Corinth, at the head of the Eastern or Saronic Gulf, about nine miles from the city.

Ch. Romans 16:1-16. A commendation, and many salutations

1. I commend] Lit. But, or now, I commend. The particle marks transition to a new subject.

Phebe] Strictly, Phœbe.—Nothing is known of Phœbe beyond the information in this passage. It is probable that she was the bearer of the Epistle to Rome; for no other bearer is mentioned, and the prominence of this notice of her suggests a special connexion with the writing. See further below.—The early Christian converts seem to have had no scruple in retaining a pre-baptismal name even when the name (as in this case) was that of a heathen deity. Cp. Hermes, (Romans 16:14); Nereus, (Romans 16:15); and such derivative names as Demetrius (3 John 1:12).

a servant of the church] Plainly the word “servant” here bears more than a menial reference: Phœbe was in some sense a dedicated helper of the community at Cenchreæ, and very probably a person of substance and influence.—There is good evidence of the existence in the Apostles’ time of an organized class of female helpers in sacred work; for see especially 1 Timothy 5:3-16. Just after the apostolic age the famous Letter of Pliny to Trajan indicates that such female helpers (ministræ) were known in the Bithynian Churches; and for two centuries from the time of Tertullian (cir. a.d. 210) allusions to them are frequent, and shew that they were largely employed both in the relief of temporal distress, chiefly among women, and also in the elementary teaching of female catechumens. They were regularly set apart by imposition of hands. As a rule, they were required to be of mature age, (rarely of less than 40 years,) and in most cases they appear to have been widows and mothers. By the 12th century the Order had been everywhere abolished. (See Bingham’s Antiquities, Bk. II. ch. xxii.)—We must not assume that Phœbe was a deaconess in the full later sense of the word; but that her position was analogous to that of the later deaconesses seems at least most probable.

“The church:”—here in the very frequent sense of a local community of Christians.

Cenchrěa] In the Gr. Cenchreæ: the Eastern port of Corinth. Cp. Acts 18:18.—See Introduction, ii. § 1.