Romans 16

This chapter is divided into 27 verses. The original text was written in Koine Greek: some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are: • Papyrus 46 (175-225; complete with minor lacunae at bottom of leaves) • Papyrus 118 (3rd century; extant verses 1, 4–7, 11–12) • Codex Vaticanus (325–350) • Codex Sinaiticus (330–360) • Codex Alexandrinus (400–440) • Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (~450; complete) • Papyrus 61 (7th century; extant verses 23–27) ==Phoebe (verses 1–2)==

"Phoebe" is described as a "servant" () of the church in the New King James Version, as a "deacon" in the New International Version and the New Revised Standard Version, a "deaconess" in the Revised Standard Version and the Jerusalem Bible, and a "leader" in the Contemporary English Version. According to the contemporary idiom in The Message, she was "a key representative of the church at Cenchreae" (or Cenchrea). The Jerusalem Bible suggests she was "probably the bearer of the letter" and verse 2 suggests she also had other "business" to deal with in Rome. ==Priscilla and Aquila (verses 3–4)==

"Priscilla" is a diminutive and affectionate name for 'Prisca'. She and her husband, Aquila, were expelled from Rome as Jews under Claudius, and had been converted at Corinth by Paul (Acts 18:1). Priscilla was remarkably mentioned first, perhaps inferring that she was "the more active and conspicuous of the two" Afterwards this married couple appear in Paul's company at Ephesus (Acts 18:18; Acts 18:26; 1 Corinthians 16:19). When this Epistle was written they were at Rome, but later they seem to have returned to Ephesus (2 Timothy 4:19). ==Andronicus and Junia (verse 7)==

• "Andronicus" was a kinsman of Paul and a fellow prisoner at some time, particularly well known among the apostles, who had become a follower of Jesus Christ before Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus, and whom Paul commended together with Junia as being remarkable Christian workers and "apostles" alongside Silas, Timothy, and others given that title in the early Church. • "Junia": Despite the existence of a view in the past that this was a man named Junias ( or , the latter being the Hebrew name Yĕḥunnī), the consensus among most modern New Testament scholars is that this person was a woman named Junia (), whom Paul the Apostle may have considered as an apostle. Craig Hill states that no example has been found for the masculine form 'Junias', while the feminine form of 'Junia' is "very well attested", so the rendering to 'Junias' in some Bible versions is a "scandalous mistranslation". ==Tertius (verse 22)==

"Tertius" was an amanuensis of the apostle, who wrote this letter, either from the apostle's notes, or from dictation. ==Gaius, Erastus and Quartus (verse 23)==

• "Erastus" (Greek: ): also known as "Erastus of Paneas", was a steward () in Corinth, a political office of high civic status. The word is defined as "the manager of household or of household affairs" or, in this context, "treasurer"; the King James Version uses the translation "chamberlain", while the New International Version uses "director of public works". An inscription mentioning an Erastus was found in 1929 near a paved area northeast of the theater of Corinth, dated to the mid-first century and reads "Erastus in return for his aedileship paved it at his own expense." Some New Testament scholars have identified this aedile Erastus with the Erastus mentioned in the Epistle to the Romans but this is disputed by others. • "Quartus": the description "a brother" is interpreted by most scholars as "a fellow believer", rather than 'a brother of Erastus'. According to church tradition, he is known as "Quartus of Berytus", a bishop of Beirut (around AD 50) and one of the seventy disciples. ==Doxology (verse 24)==

Paul's doxology in the conclusion of the epistle, aside from effectively summing up some of the key themes, gives a high note of ascription of glory to "the only wise God". The Letter to the Romans contains textual variations across ancient manuscripts, particularly regarding the placement of the closing doxology (verses 16:24-27). This doxology appears in different locations in various manuscripts: after chapter 14 verse 23, after chapter 15 verse 33, or at its traditional location at the end of chapter 16. Additionally, some early manuscript versions contain shorter forms of the text, which scholars believe developed through the process of collecting and reading the letter in church services, rather than originating from Paul's original writing. Controversy There are many scholars who argue that the original letter ended with Romans 14:23 because they believe that this doxology (along with much of chapters 15 and 16) were added later to summarize the contents of the letter and to provide a less abrupt ending. Some have said that the end of the original is in chapter 15. There are Romans manuscripts which end in chapter 15 and other manuscripts place chapter 16 between chapters 14 and 15. Many translations exclude this verse altogether, skipping from verse 23 to verse 25, because most of the older manuscripts, discovered some time after chapter and verse numbers were applied to Romans, do not have them, it is generally omitted from the final translation. Protestants usually omit verse 16:24 but the Anglican Church accepts it as canonical. Arland J. Hultgren said: ==See also==