1. Deciding between the indicative διώκομεν and the subjunctive διώκωμεν is difficult. The former has the stronger external support (the two best uncials of Paul’s letters, the primary Alexandrian witnesses א and B, in addition to the secondary Alexandrian uncial A, the western uncials F and G, and several other MSS) and is arguably the more difficult reading (see, e.g., S-H, 392; Michel, 436; Käsemann, 378; Dunn, 2.816; Stuhlmacher, 226). But the subjunctive, read by the secondary Alexandrian MSS C, 33, 81, and 1739, Ψ, the western D, and the majority text, is by far the better reading in the context and should probably be preferred (with most modern English translations and most commentators [e.g., Godet, 462; Meyer, 2.296; Schlier, 416; Cranfield, 2.720–21; Wilckens, 3.94; cf. also Metzger, 532]).
2. To the single word προσκόπτει (found in the first [Byzantine] corrector of א, the secondary Alexandrians A, C, 81, and 1739, and a few other MSS), a significant number of MSS add ἣ σκανδαλίζεται καὶ ἀσθενεῖ (the Alexandrian MSS B 33vid, P46vid, the western uncials D, F, and G, Ψ, and the majority text [including the second corrector of א]; one MS, the original hand of א, reads λυπεῖται alone). A few commentators support the longer reading (e.g., Meyer, 2.296; Godet, 463), but it is almost certainly a secondary expansion (cf. Cranfield, 2.725).
3. Several manuscripts, including the western uncials D, (F), and G, the secondary Alexandrian MSS 81 and 1739, Ψ, and the majority text, omit the relative pronoun here; and several commentators think this was the original text (Meyer, 2.296; Godet, 463). This might be the more difficult reading, but the strong external support for the inclusion of ἥν renders this latter reading the more likely (cf. S-H, 393; Michel, 438; Käsemann, 378; Cranfield, 2.726; Metzger, 533).
4. Some MSS add here the doxology, 16:25–27, which is placed at different points in the MS tradition of chaps. 15–16. For this variant and other related ones, see the introduction.
5. An alternative arrangement, advocated by many commentators (e.g., Wilckens, 3.90; Stuhlmacher, 226), is to divide the paragraph into two basic sections, vv. 13–18 and 19–23. Suggesting this arrangement is the similarity between v. 13a and v. 19—both using a hortatory subjunctive (κρίνωμεν; διώκωμεν) and ἀλλήλους—the strong resumptive ἄρα οὖν in v. 19, and the similarity in content between the sections. My suggestion is similar to, but not identical with, Dunn’s (2.816), who also sees a threefold structure, vv. 13–15, 16–18, and 19–21, with vv. 22–23 a sort of appendix.
6. Similar ideas about chiastic structure are suggested by Dunn, 2.816; Schmithals, 495; Thompson, Clothed with Christ, pp. 200–207.
7. Cf., e.g., Käsemann. Thompson (Clothed with Christ, pp. 163–73) thinks that Paul may allude to Jesus’ prohibition of judging (Matt. 7:1//Luke 6:37a) since absolute prohibitions of judging are not found in Greek literature nor (at least clearly) in Jewish literature. See also Davies, 138.
9. The shift from first person plural to second person plural and from the present tense to the aorist tense (κρίνωμεν/κρίνατε) lends urgency to this second verb; cf. NRSV: “resolve instead never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of another” (cf., e.g., Barrett; Lenski, on the other hand, again overinterprets the aorist, claiming that “one act, final and permanent,” is indicated).
10. The original literal sense of the verb προσκόπτω (from which πρόσκομμα is derived), “fall, fall over something,” can be seen in Matt. 7:27: “the rain came down and the floods came and the winds blew and that house fell.” The -μα ending on πρόσκομμα would normally indicate that it denotes the result of the action of falling or tripping. But, like many such nouns in Hellenistic Greek, it can also refer to the activity of falling or stumbling or even, as here, the cause of that stumbling (cf. G. Stählin, TDNT VI, 745–47; BAGD). The word occurs 11 times in the LXX, usually with metaphorical significance. Three of the five occurrences of the word in the NT come in the context of the words λίθον προσκόμματος καὶ πέτραν σκανδάλου from Isa. 8:14 (cf. Rom. 9:32, 33; 1 Pet. 2:8); the other comes in a passage (1 Cor. 8:9) that offers many conceptual parallels to Rom. 14–15.
11. The Greek word is σκάνδαλον (from the verb σκανδαλίζω). Its metaphorical significance is especially due to its use in the LXX (21 occurrences) to translate 
and 
(G. Stählin, TDNT VII, 340–41). Str-B (3.110–12) suggest that Lev. 19:14 was a seminal verse for the metaphorical significance of the word. It refers to the cause of spiritual downfall in all its NT occurrences: Matt. 13:41; 16:23; 18:7 (three times); Luke 17:1; Rom. 9:33; 11:9; 16:17; 1 Cor. 1:23; Gal. 5:11; 1 Pet. 2:8; 1 John 2:10; Rev. 2:14. Jesus’ warnings about giving “causes of offense” (σκάνδαλα) to others (Matt. 18:7; Luke 17:1–2; cf. σκανδαλίζω in Mark 9:42) may have influenced Paul’s warning here (cf. Allison, “The Pauline Epistles,” pp. 14–15; Dunn, “Paul’s Knowledge,” p. 203; S-H; Dodd; Cranfield). Thompson (Clothed with Christ, pp. 174–84), however, is more cautious, noting that Paul’s phrasing could well derive from the OT and Jewish tradition.
12. The two words overlap considerably in the LXX (see G. Stählin, TDNT VII, 341); note also the parallelism between the two suggested by their use together in Isa. 8:14. See especially the careful linguistic analysis in Müller, Anstoss und Gericht, pp. 32–35; also, e.g., Murray; Michel; Schlier; Wilckens; contra, e.g., Godet; Lenski.
13. See esp. J. Murray, “The Weak and the Strong,” WTJ 12 (1949–50), 144–49. Some commentators (e.g., Godet) think that the early Christian “love feast,” the sharing together in a meal at the time of the Lord’s Supper, might be the occasion on which such difficulties would arise.
14. Note especially the parallelism between κοινός and ἀκάθαρτος in Mark 7:2, 5 and Acts 10:14; see also Acts 10:15, 28; 11:8, 9; Heb. 10:29 (the adjective is used in a different, nontechnical sense in Acts 2:44; 4:32; Tit. 1:4; Jude 3; Rev. 21:27). The cognate verb κοινόω has this meaning in all its NT occurrences: Matt. 15:11, 18, 20; Mark 7:15, 18, 20, 23; Acts 10:15; 11:9; 21:28; Heb. 9:13. κοινός is not used in this way in the earlier parts of the LXX; but see, e.g., 1 Macc. 1:47, 62; and Josephus, Ant. 12.112; 13.4.
15. See, e.g., Cranfield; Dunn.
16. See the NIV: “As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself.” Note also S-H; Dodd; Murray; Morris; Fitzmyer.
17. Note the REB: “All that I know of the Lord Jesus convinces me that nothing is impure in itself.” See, generally, Godet (Christ’s redemptive work as the basis for liberty). Wilckens and Käsemann refer to the authority of Jesus as passed on in the early community.
18. Dunn, “Paul’s Knowledge,” p. 203; Thompson, Clothed with Christ, pp. 185–99; Michel; Cranfield (?).
19. Paul’s greeting of Prisca and Aquila in Rom. 16:3 shows that there were at least some “Pauline” Christians in the Roman community. Remember also that Paul worked with this couple in Corinth, where there is reason to think that the Christians had taken to an extreme some of Paul’s slogans about Christian freedom (see particularly in this regard 1 Cor. 6:12; 8:1–3; 10:22).
20. The Gk. εἰ μή probably means “but” (e.g., BDF 448[8]; Zerwick, 470; Michel; Käsemann; Cranfield; Dunn) rather than “except” (Gifford; Wilckens; O. E. Evans, “Paul’s Certainties. III. What God Requires of Man—Romans xiv.14,” ExpTim 69 [1957–58], 201–2).
21. Michel; Käsemann; Schlier; Cranfield. Murray, on other hand, connects it with vv. 13–14, while S-H connect it with a suppressed thought: “You must have respect therefore for his scruples, although you may not share them, for.…”
22. The γάρ does not give the basis for v. 13, but explains it.
23. Contra, e.g., BAGD; Godet.
24. Cf. Murray, “The Strong and the Weak,” pp. 147–48; S-H; Cranfield; Dunn. Barrett thinks that both the sin of violating the conscience and annoyance are involved. Somewhat similar to the use here are those occurrences of the same verb in 2 Corinthians to denote the “pain” caused the Corinthians by his letter to them (cf. 2:2, 4, 5; 6:10; 7:8, 9, 11); Paul also uses the verb in Eph. 4:30; 1 Thess. 4:13.
25. The dative τῷ βρώματι might be causal (cf. διὰ βρῶμα earlier in the verse; Turner, 242) or instrumental (Moule, Idiom Book, p. 44).
26. Paul may use the present tense ἀπόλλυε because he envisages the destruction as already underway (and the strong are to stop doing it) or, perhaps more likely, because he conceives of the spiritual destruction as a process.
27. See esp. Volf, Paul and Perseverance, pp. 85–97.
28. Every time Paul uses the verb ἀπόλλυμι with a personal object, it refers to spiritual ruin (with three possible exceptions): Rom. 2:12; 1 Cor. 1:18; 8:11; 15:18; 2 Cor. 2:15; 4:3; 2 Thess. 2:10; the possible exceptions are 1 Cor. 10:9, 10; 2 Cor. 4:9. See also the use of the cognate noun (e.g., Phil. 1:28: 3:19). He uses the verb with an impersonal object only in 1 Cor. 1:19. See, e.g., Michel; Cranfield; Dunn. Two theological nonimplications of taking ἀπόλλυμι to refer to ultimate spiritual destruction should be noted. First, the word is applied to the spiritual realm as a metaphor: it does not suggest the annihilation of the person. Second, Rom. 14:15 does not refute the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints because (1) Paul does not make clear that the person who might be destroyed is genuinely regenerate (although this conclusion must be drawn by those who adhere to limited atonement since the person is one “on whose behalf Christ died”) since the NT can use ἀδελφός of one who appears to be a believer; and (2) Paul does not say that the destruction will actually take place—he warns that this would be the ultimate consequence if the sin goes unchecked (cf. Murray, 2.191–92; Dunn, 2.820). As Hodge (424) puts it: “Believers (the elect) are constantly spoken of as in danger of perdition. They are saved only, if they continue steadfast unto the end. If they apostasize, they perish.… Saints are preserved, not in despite of apostacy, but from apostacy.”
29. Contra, e.g., Dunn, who thinks the verse opens a new paragraph.
30. Cf. Gk. οὖν, “therefore.”
31. The Greek verb βλασφημέω refers basically to the reviling or despising of the “gods” (cf. Acts 19:37); hence it is regularly used in the NT with respect to God, his name, the Spirit, and Christ (Matt. 9:3; 26:65; 27:39; Mark 2:7; 3:28, 29; 15:29; Luke 12:10; 22:65; 23:39; John 10:36; Acts 26:11; Rom. 2:24; 1 Tim. 1:20; 6:1; Jas. 2:7; 1 Pet. 4:4; Rev. 13:6; 16:9, 11, 21). By derivation, it can then also refer to “things which constitute the significant possession of Christians” (BAGD); cf. Tit. 2:5; 2 Pet. 2:2. Perhaps the most significant parallel, however, is 1 Cor. 10:30, where Paul argues that “strong” believers should not be “blasphemed” if they exercise their freedom properly.
32. With, e.g., Calvin; Godet; S-H; Michel; Murray; Käsemann; Wilckens; Fitzmyer.
33. See, e.g., Cranfield; Schlier; Dunn.
34. Cf. S-H; Michel; Wilckens.
35. Cranfield, Dunn, and Stuhlmacher all think Paul might refer to non-Christians.
36. See, e.g., Cambier, “La liberté chrétienne,” p. 68.
37. Paul’s shift from βρῶμα (v. 15) to βρῶσις here may not be significant, but this may be a place where the old distinction between these two endings is observed, with the latter indicating the action of eating (cf. Bengel; Dunn).
38. “Eating and drinking” are, of course, a natural combination; cf., e.g., Matt. 6:25; 11:18, 19; and, in Paul, 1 Cor. 9:4; 10:7; 10:31; 11:22. The mention of “drinking” in 1 Cor. 10:31, toward the end of Paul’s discussion of food sacrificed to idols and without any indication that this was a problem in Corinth, may especially suggest that in Rom. 14–15 also, Paul introduces “drinking” simply as a hypothetical matter.
39. See esp. Murray, 2.260–61 on this.
40. Elsewhere only in 1 Cor. 6:9, 10; 15:50, 54; Gal. 5:21; Eph. 5:5; Col. 4:11; 1 Thess. 2:12; 2 Thess. 1:5 (all these [with the possible exception of 1 Thess. 2:12] refer to the future state of the kingdom established by Christ at his return); 1 Cor. 4:20 (the only other clear reference in Paul to the present kingdom of God [cf., however, Col. 1:13: “the kingdom of his beloved Son”]). On the kingdom in Paul, see further K. P. Donfried, “The Kingdom of God in Paul,” in The Kingdom of God in Twentieth Century Interpretation (ed. W. Willis; Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1987), pp. 175–90.
41. See, e.g., Thompson, Clothed with Christ, pp. 200–207; Dunn, “Paul’s Knowledge,” pp. 203–4.
42. Gk. δικαιοσύνη.
43. Cf., e.g., Calvin; Michel; Cranfield; Wilckens; Dunn. Differences of emphasis relate to differences in interpreting Paul’s overall concept of “righteousness” and “the righteousness of God.”
44. E.g., Godet; S-H; Barrett; Murray; Stuhlmacher.
45. See also 12:18. Scholars line up on this issue as they did on the definition of “righeousness” (see the previous note).
46. I think it more likely that ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ modifies all three qualities and not just χαρά (cf. Godet; Käsemann; Wilckens; Schlier; Fitzmyer; contra, e.g., Michel [who refers to 1 Thess. 1:6]; Cranfield). As Schmithals rightly emphasizes, all three qualities are eschatological gifts of the Spirit. That Paul depends on his exposition of the gospel in Romans for this summary is suggested especially by its similarity to Paul’s transitional encapsulation of the argument of chaps. 1–4 in Rom. 5:1–2: “Having, therefore, been justified [Gk. δικαιόω] by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we also have access to this grace in which we stand; and we rejoice [Gk. καυχάομαι] in the hope of the glory of God.”
47. Cf. Käsemann, in contrast, e.g., to Michel, who thinks that Paul here draws a parenetic conclusion from v. 17.
48. Gk. γάρ.
49. Gk. εὐάρεστος; cf. 12:2, where Paul speaks of the “pleasing”/“acceptable” (Gk. εὐάρεστον) will of God.
50. Gk. δόκιμος, which usually means “approved (by a test),” hence “genuine” (cf. Rom. 16:10; 1 Cor. 11:19; 2 Cor. 10:18; 13:7; 2 Tim. 2:15; Jas. 1:12), but which may have here the sense “esteemed,” “respected” (BAGD; cf. Philo, Creation 128; Joseph 201; Josephus, Ag. Ap. 1.18; cf. Käsemann).
51. So also the majority of commentators; cf., e.g., S-H; Käsemann; Cranfield; Fitzmyer. A weakly attested variant (though accepted by Godet) here is the plural τούτοις, changed no doubt to reflect this interpretation.
52. Wilckens.
53. Michel.
54. Dunn.
55. Paul uses ἐν τούτῳ six other times; in all, the antecedent of τούτῳ is a “matter” or “circumstance” denoted in the previous context (cf. 1 Cor. 4:4; 7:24; 11:22; 2 Cor. 5:2; 8:10; Phil. 1:18). The occurrence in 1 Cor. 4:4 comes close to the “manner” idea that I am suggesting for Rom. 14:18.
56. The dative τοῖς ἀνθρώποις indicates that the agent of the verbal idea in δόκιμος. “Approval” or “respect” from other people is the opposite of βλασφημείσθω in v. 16; and those who approve the “strong” will therefore be the “weak.”
57. Note the strong consecutive phrase ἄρα οὖν.
58. Paul uses the hortatory subjunctive διώκωμεν (assuming this to be the correct reading; see the note on the translation above).
59. The genitive τῆς εἰρήνης is loosely objective; see BDF 266(3): “what makes for peace” (the parallel genitive τῆς οἰκοδομῆς has the same function). “Pursue peace” is a common Semitism (cf., in the NT, Rom. 12:18; Heb. 12:14; cf. also 1 Pet. 3:11 [= Ps. 35:14]).
60. εἰς ἀλλήλους, “toward one another,” could go with both τὰ τῆς εἰρήνης and τὰ τῆς οἰκοδομῆς, but it probably modifies only the latter.
61. See, e.g., Käsemann; Wilckens; Dunn; contra, e.g., Godet; Cranfield sees reference to both the edification of the individual and the community. The Greek word is οἰκοδομή. Its literal meaning is “act of building,” “building” (see Matt. 24:1; Mark 13:1, 2). Paul uses the word metaphorically, either with reference to a “building” (1 Cor. 3:9; 2 Cor. 5:1; Eph. 2:21) or, more often, of the act of spiritual building: edification, strengthening, and growth of faith (Rom. 15:2; 1 Cor. 14:3, 5, 12, 26; 2 Cor. 10:8; 12:19; 13:10; Eph. 4:12, 16, 29; see, e.g., O. Michel, TDNT V, 144–47). While the “building up” of individual believers is, of course, important, Paul seems to think especially of the collective strengthening of the church as a whole (cf., e.g., 1 Cor. 3:9; 14:5, 12; Eph. 4:12, 16).
62. The Greek verb καταλύω refers, literally, to the tearing down of a building (Matt. 24:2; 26:61; 27:40; Mark 13:2; 14:58; 15:29; Luke 21:6; Acts 6:14), but is used most often in the NT of a figurative “tearing down” or “abolishing” (Matt. 5:17; Luke 9:12; 19:7; 23:2; Acts 5:38, 39; Gal. 2:18; 2 Cor. 5:1). Paul uses καταλύω and οἰκοδομέω as opposites in Gal. 2:18.
63. S-H; Barrett; Käsemann; Schlier; Dunn; contra, e.g., Godet; Murray; Cranfield; Fitzmyer. Michel suggests that the reference may be to the work of Christ on the cross (cf. v. 15b). E. Peterson seeks to draw a closer relationship to the idea of “building up” in v. 19 by arguing that ἔργον here means “building” (“Ἔργον in der Bedeutung ‘Bau’ bei Paulus,” Bib 22 [1941], 439–41).
64. Gk. καθαρός, used in the LXX with reference to ritually “clean” food (cf., e.g., Gen. 7:2–3, 8; 8:20; Lev. 4:12; 6:11; 7:19; Ezra 6:20; Mal. 1:11). In the NT, see Luke 11:41 and the extended uses in John 13:10, 11; Acts 18:6; 20:26.
65. The Greek sentence is incomplete; we are probably to supply the form τὸ ἐσθιεῖν (derived from τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τῷ … ἐσθίοντι) as the subject of the clause (cf., e.g., Cranfield; Wilckens). It is clear that the διά introduces an “attendant circumstance” (BDF 223[3]; Turner, 267; Zerwick, 114; cf. διὰ γράμματος καὶ περιτομῆς in 2:27). Thus: “For the person who eats through, or with offense, eating is wrong.”
66. See, e.g., Godet; Murray; Michel; Wilckens; Ridderbos, Paul, p. 291.
67. So almost all other modern English translations; cf. S-H; Käsemann; Cranfield. A reference to both the strong and the weak believer (e.g., Barrett; Dunn) is unnecessarily complicated.
68. Gk. κακός, v. 20b.
69. Gk. καλόν.
70. Many scholars think that the aorist form of the infinitives φαγεῖν and πιεῖν implies that Paul is urging the strong to abstain only on particular occasions (e.g., BDF 338[1]; Barrett; Ziesler; Morris; Cranfield is hesitant). It is likely that, as in 1 Cor. 10:23–11:1, Paul commands abstention only in situations in which definite offense to the “weak” might occur; but the aorist tense of the infinitives is not a good basis for the argument.
71. The sentence is elliptical at this point, with the second μηδέ used absolutely. But it was common to use the word in this way by itself, with the word “other” assumed (BDF 480[1]).
72. Michel. As Cranfield notes, the lack of explicit connection with v. 20 (asyndeton) accentuates the principial and authoritative character of the statement.
73. ἐν in the phrase ἐν ᾧ probably has a causal sense (Turner, 253), with the antecedent of the relative pronoun not being expressed: “It is good … not to do anything because of which your fellow believer might stumble.”
74. Gk. σύ. The translation here assumes that we are to read the relative pronoun ἥν (see the note on the translation above).
75. For this translation of ἔχε κατὰ σεαυτόν, see BAGD, 406.
76. Käsemann; Fitzmyer.
77. Godet; S-H; Murray; Cranfield; Dunn (although he allows for the second view also).
78. Haldane; Michel; Schlier; Wilckens.
79. No particle or conjunction (e.g., a γάρ [“for”]) connects vv. 22a and 22b.
80. Cf. the particle δέ in v. 23.
81. As BAGD define δοκιμάζει here; it is obviouly not a natural way to depict the views of the “weak” who decisively disapprove of the practices at issue. As in v. 21, the phrase ἐν ᾧ is dependent on an assumed antecedent of ᾧ (“that in which”); ἐν is perhaps instrumental.
82. Gk. διακρινόμενος, from διακρίνω (Paul carries on the sequence of κριν- words). The verb can mean “decide, determine” (so usually in Paul; cf. 1 Cor. 4:7; 6:5; 11:29, 31; 14:29) or “doubt, waver,” often as the opposite of faith (see Rom. 4:20; Mark 11:23//Matt. 21:21; Jas. 1:6; Jude 22). Here it is clearly the latter.
83. The perfect κατακέκριται, which is clearly “timeless” here, may emphasize the state of condemnation (Porter, Verbal Aspect, p. 269).
84. The Greek word is κατακέκριται. Paul’s four other uses of the verb κατακρίνω all refer to divine condemnation (Rom. 2:1; 8:3, 34; 1 Cor. 11:32); it will not, then, refer here simply to human self-condemnation (contra, e.g., Volf, Paul and Perseverance, p. 91; cf., correctly, Stuhlmacher: “takes upon him- or herself the condemnation of God’s judgment”). The perfect form probably indicates the state that would result from the fulfillment of the condition (ἐὰν φάγῃ); it could, of course, then, denote future action (see BDF 344; Zerwick, 257).
85. Paul surely uses ἁμαρτία here in a general way, “act of sin,” “transgression” (Wilckens) and implies nothing about the state of sin that reigns over all people (cf. Cranfield).
86. Gk. γάρ.
87. Chrysostom; S-H; Murray; Cranfield; Fitzmyer; contra, e.g., Godet; Dunn.
88. Augustine, e.g., used this verse to argue that any act of a non-Christian must be sinful (Contra Julianum 4.32). His use of the verse is probably invalid because of the special nuance of “faith,” but it should not be rejected on theological grounds as quickly as many modern scholars do. For it is surely true, in one sense, that all acts done by believers and nonbelievers alike that are not motivated by, and arise from, trust and dependence on Christ are sinful. See Dunn.
89. Ridderbos, Paul, p. 291.
90. While Paul does not use the word “conscience” here, we are justified by the parallel in 1 Cor. 10:25–30 to bring it into the present discussion.
A. Ps. 69:9b
2. E.g., Schmithals, 509; cf. also Wilckens, 3.100, who thinks that 15:1–3 concludes both 14:20–23 and the entire chapter.
3. E.g., Godet, 467; Michel, 441; Käsemann, 381; Schlier, 419. Cranfield (2.731) sees this to be a possibility; Dodd (221) thinks that vv. 1–2 round off the discussion about the “strong” and the “weak,” with v. 3 beginning the transition into a more general issue.
4. Most significant is the shift from the word “weak” (ἀσθενῆς) to describe the “rigorists” in Rome to the word “powerless,” “unable” (ἀδύνατος).
5. The identification comes as no surprise since Paul has already aligned himself with the views of the “strong” (14:14, 20).
6. See esp. GEL 74.22. Paul’s shift from ἀσθενέω/ἀσθενής (14:1–2) to ἀδύνατος to describe these believers is probably simply stylistic, his use of δύνατος for the “strong” making it natural for him to use its morphological antonym (contra, e.g., Godet, who takes the change as a sign that Paul is now broaching a new, broader, topic). And δύνατος is a natural semantic antonym of ἀσθενής; cf., e.g., 2 Cor. 12:10; 13:9.
7. Gk. ὀφείλω. Paul uses this verb elsewhere, followed with an infinitive, to denote an obligation incumbent on Christians by virtue of their faith in Christ (cf. Rom. 15:27; 1 Cor. 11:7, 10; 2 Cor. 12:14; Eph. 5:28; 2 Thess. 1:3; 2:13). See also the note on 13:8.
8. Gk. ἀσθενήματα; the word occurs only here in the NT.
9. Contra, e.g., Barrett, who translates “endure” (cf. Rev. 2:2–3).
10. The Greek verb is βαστάζω, “bear, carry.” It is used in the NT both literally (e.g., Luke 22:10, where Jesus tells the disciples to look for a man “carrying [βαστάζων] a water jar”) and metaphorically (e.g., Acts 15:10, where Peter describes the law as “a yoke … which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear [βαστάσαι]”). All of Paul’s uses of the verb are metaphorical: Rom. 1:18; Gal. 5:10; 6:2, 5, 17.
11. See esp. Murray; Wilckens.
12. Gk. ἀρέσκω, used by Paul also in Rom. 8:8; 1 Cor. 7:32, 33, 34; 10:33; Gal. 1:10; 1 Thess. 2:4, 15; 2 Thess. 4:1; 2 Tim. 2:4. The most important parallel comes in the similar discussion about the “strong” and the “weak” in 1 Cor. 8–10: “Just as I try to please [ἀρέσκω] all people, not seeking my own advantage, but that of the many, in order that they might be saved” (10:33).
13. The verb here is the same—βαστάζω—and note that the previous line uses the word ἀσθενεία (“weakness”): αὐτὸς τὰς ἀσθενείας ἡμῶν ἔλαβεν (“he carried our weaknesses”). See, on this parallel, esp. Michel; Black; and, at greatest length, Thompson, Clothed with Christ, pp. 208–12. (Käsemann doubts the allusion but without good reason.)
14. E.g., Godet; Huby; Morris; Schmithals.
15. Murray; Michel; Käsemann; Cranfield; Wilckens; Schlier; Stuhlmacher.
16. Lenski. The love command, as Jesus made quite clear (Matt. 5:43), demands that Christians love all people; but, contra, e.g., Morris, this universal scope does not seem to be present here.
17. “Neighbor” (Gk. πλησίον) occurs in the NT 16 times; and all but three are found in quotations of, or allusions to, the love command of Lev. 19:18 (Matt. 5:43; 19:19; 22:39; Mark 12:31, 33; Luke 10:27, 29, 36; Rom. 13:9, 10; Gal. 5:14; Jas. 2:8; 4:12; the exceptions are John 4:5; Acts 7:27, and Eph. 4:25).
18. See Rom. 12:2, 9, 21; 13:3, 4; cf. also 8:28.
19. Morris. Eschatological salvation is included (Cranfield), but the concept is broader than that (Dunn).
20. Gk. οἰκοδομή. This second clause, πρὸς οἰκοδομήν, elaborates the first, εἰς τὸ ἀγαθόν (cf., e.g., S-H; Barrett; Käsemann). The prepositions are used interchangeably to denote purpose (Murray); contra, e.g., Godet, Stuart, who think that εἰς introduces a limitation (“in respect to that which is good”), and Bengal, 3.181, who thinks that εἰς denotes the “internal end” and πρός the “external.”
21. Fitzmyer.
22. Probably the best translation of καί here (cf. KJV; NIV; NASB; Morris).
23. The article with Χριστός may emphasize its titular significance (cf. Käsemann; Michel; Dunn; Cranfield [?]).
24. Gk. ἤρεσεν, a “constantive” aorist (BDF 332[13], though we doubt their particular application of the word).
25. The text Paul uses is identical with the majority LXX tradition (68:10b in the LXX).
26. Contra those who try to fit the quotation better to its application by identifying σε with a human being (e.g., S-H; Lietzmann).
27. Schlatter.
28. Merk, Handeln aus Glauben, p. 171; Michel; Käsemann; Wilckens; contra those who think the reference is to Jesus’ entire earthly life (BDF 332[13]; Barrett; cf. also Dunn, who refers both to Jesus’ earthly life and the passion) or to the entire “Christ event,” including especially the incarnation (cf. Phil. 2:6; Cranfield; Schmithals).
29. It is quoted or alluded to in Matt. 27:34, 48//Mark 15:35–36//Luke 23:36//John 19:28–29; John 2:17; 15:25; Acts 1:20; Rom. 11:9. Note especially Jesus’ quotation of the first half of this same verse to defend his “cleansing” of the temple: “Zeal for your house has consumed me” (John 2:17); see, on this, Dodd, According to the Scriptures, pp. 57–58; Ellis, Paul’s Use of the Old Testament, p. 139; and, on the use of this psalm in the NT, Moo, Old Testament, pp. 233–34, 243–44, 249–52, 275–80, 285–300; Lindars, New Testament Apologetic, pp. 99–108.
30. The Greek verb ὀνειδίζω used here is also used of the “mocking” of Jesus by those crucified with him (Matt. 27:44//Mark 15:32). It may also be significant that the word is used to depict the suffering that disciples of the Lord must be expected to endure (Matt. 5:11//Luke 6:22; 1 Pet. 4:14), as is the cognate noun ὀνειδισμός (Heb. 10:33; cf. 11:26). Note esp. Heb. 13:13, where Christians are exhorted to “bear the reproach that he endured.”
31. The shift in focus leads Schmithals (pp. 511–13) to suggest a rearrangement of the paragraph, in the order vv. 1–4a, 7, 4b, 5–6.
32. The Greek word is διδασκαλία, which becomes a keynote of the Pastoral Epistles (1 Tim. 1:10; 4:1, 6, 13, 16; 5:17; 6:1, 3; 2 Tim. 3:10, 16; 4:3; Tit. 1:9; 2:1, 7, 10; other Pauline occurrences are in Rom. 12:7; Eph. 4:14; Col. 2:22).
33. See also, in Paul, Rom. 4:24; 1 Cor. 9:10; 10:11; 2 Tim. 3:16.
34. Gk. ἐλπίδα ἔχωμεν; this combination is regularly used to denote Christian growth in hope (see also Acts 24:15; 2 Cor. 10:15; Eph. 2:12; 1 Thess. 4:13; 1 John 3:3). The present tense ἔχωμεν probably indicates the maintenance and strengthening of hope: “go on hoping” (cf. Cranfield; Dunn; cf., however Porter, Verbal Aspect, p. 329, for a different explanation based on his “aspect” theory).
35. See Denney.
36. Gk. διὰ τῆς ὑπομονῆς. See the note on 5:3. The preposition διά here denotes an “attendant circumstance” to the main idea, “that we might have hope” (so most modern commentators; Barrett, however, suggests that it might be causal—“because we practice endurance”). REB translates “in order that … we might maintain our hope with perseverance.”
37. Gk. διά τῆς παρακλήσεως. Similar to its cognate verb παρακαλέω (see the note on 12:1), the noun παράκλησις can mean either “exhortation” or “comfort.” Some scholars prefer the former meaning here (e.g., Barrett; Stuart). But the majority of commentators prefer, rightly, “comfort” (e.g., Käsemann; Murray; Cranfield; Schlier; Wilckens; cf. also BAGD). As Calvin says, “consolation is more suitable to patience, for this arises from it; because then only we are prepared to bear adversities in patience, when God blends them with consolation.”
The preposition διά in this phrase, in contrast to the first phrase, has its usual instrumental meaning, denoting the “comfort” or “encouragement” that comes from the Scriptures as the means by which Christians’ hope is strengthened (a causal meaning [suggested by Käsemann, Schlier, and Dunn] is similar).
38. τῶν γραφῶν is a genitive of source (e.g., Alford). It is difficult to decide whether to attach this phrase to παρακλήσεως only—“through endurance and the comfort that comes from the Scriptures” (e.g., Michel; Käsemann; Cranfield; Wilckens)—or to both ὑπομονῆς and παρακλήσεως—“through the endurance and comfort that come from the Scriptures” (e.g., Godet; Murray). The repetition of the preposition and the definite article favors the former alternative; and especially is this so if, as I have argued, we give διά different meanings in the two phrases. Note also 1 Macc. 12:9: “since we have as encouragement [παράκλησιν] the holy books in our hands.”
39. On ὑπομονή, see the note on 5:3. Paul uses παράκλησις in a context of suffering in 2 Cor. 1:4, 5, 6, 7; 7:4, 13; 2 Thess. 2:16.
40. For this general point, see Käsemann and, especially, Dunn.
41. Murray.
42. Wiles suggests that Paul’s description of God as “the God of comfort” (παράκλησις) may allude to the opening of the hortatory section (12:1, παρακαλέω), and even to the opening of the letter (cf. 1:12) (Paul’s Intercessory Prayers, p. 81).
43. The genitives τῆς ὑπομονῆς and τῆς παρακλήσεως probably denote those virtues that God gives believers. Paul often so qualifies God when he addresses him in prayer; cf. Rom. 15:13, “the God of hope”; and Rom. 15:33; 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:11; Phil. 4:9; 1 Thess. 5:23, “the God of peace.”
44. Calvin.
45. Gk. ὑμῖν. Paul has not used the second person plural to address the community since 14:1.
46. Gk. δῴη, an aorist optative (the optative is often used in wishes; cf. Zerwick, 355).
47. Gk. τὸ αὐτὸ φρονεῖν. See also Rom. 12:16; 2 Cor. 13:11; Phil. 2:2; 4:2.
48. See, e.g., Cranfield.
49. Käsemann; Cranfield.
50. Haldane.
51. Wiles, Paul’s Intercessory Prayers, pp. 81–82; Michel; Murray; Dunn. On the significance of the order of the titles—Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν—see the note on 1:1.
52. The Gk. τὸν θεὸν καὶ πατέρα τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ could be construed, as in the KJV, “God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (θεόν being absolute; cf. many older commentators [e.g., Gifford; Stuart; Meyer]) or “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (θεόν governing τοῦ κυρίου; so most modern versions and commentators). The latter rendering is preferable: it fits the syntax (articular θεόν and anarthrous πατέρα); it has precedent in Pauline usage (Eph. 1:17: ὁ θεὸς τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, “The God of our Lord Jesus Christ”); and it is theologically unobjectionable (see, e.g., Matt. 27:46 and pars.).
53. Gk. ὁμοθυμαδόν, originally a political term (H. W. Heidland, TDNT V, 185), is used especially often by Luke in descriptions of the early church (Acts 1:14; 2:46; 4:24; 5:12; 15:25; cf. also 7:57; 8:6; 12:20; 18:12; 19:29). Paul therefore prays that the Roman church might exhibit the unity that characterized the first Spirit-filled church.
54. Gk. ἐν ἑνὶ στόματι; the ἐν is instrumental (Turner, 252).
1. In place of ὑμᾶς, “you,” several manuscripts, including the primary Alexandrian uncial B, read here ἡμᾶς, “us” (see also the western uncial D [original hand]). A few scholars think this reading might be original, a scribe having replaced an original ἡμᾶς with ὑμᾶς under influence from the second person plural pronouns in vv. 5–6 (e.g., Godet, 470; Michel, 447). But ὑμᾶς is better attested (it is read in the primary Alexandrian uncial א, the secondary Alexandrian MSS A, C, 33, 81, and 1739, Ψ, the western uncials D [corrector], F, and G, and the majority text), and a scribe might have been equally likely to change to the first person plural for liturgical reasons (see, e.g., S-H, 397; Käsemann, 385; Murray, 2.203; Cranfield, 2.739; Wilckens, 3.105; Dunn, 2.844).
A. Ps. 18:49 (= 2 Sam. 22:50)
B. Deut. 32:43
C. Ps. 117:1
D. Isa. 11:10
2. This resemblance led a number of literary critics in the nineteenth century to suggest that vv. 7–13, or 8–13, were out of place and belonged somewhere else, perhaps at the conclusion of chap. 11 (see Wilckens, 3.104 for a survey). Schmithals (pp. 511–13, 519–21) holds a similar theory, arguing that 15:8–13 is the conclusion to “Romans A,” while 15:1–4a, 7, 4b–6, is the conclusion to “Romans B.”
3. See, e.g., Cranfield, 2.739; Wilckens, 3.104.
4. See, e.g., Cambier, “Liberté,” p. 81; Ziesler, 336–37.
5. Dodd, 222; Dunn, 2.844–45; Hays, 70.
6. See Käsemann, 384–85; and esp. Dunn, 2.844–45.
7. Wilckens, 3.107.
8. Contra, e.g., Althaus, 145; Karris, “Romans 14:1–15:13,” pp. 80–81. Cf. also S-H, 397, Lenski, 866, and Ziesler, 338, who think that Paul moves here into a new and broader topic. For the view I have adopted, see esp. Michel, 442; Murray, 2.203.
9. Gk. διό.
10. The article may again (as in v. 3) suggest that Paul wants to accentuate the titular significance of Χριστός, “the Messiah” (e.g., Käsemann).
11. See, e.g., Dunn.
12. E.g., Käsemann; Cranfield; Schlier.
13. Godet.
14. See NIV: “in order to bring praise to God.” A few commentators (e.g., Tholuck) have suggested that εἰς has a local sense and that δόξαν τοῦ θεοῦ denotes the state of glory to which God is leading the believer (θεοῦ, then, being perhaps a possessive genitive); hence, “as Christ received you into God’s glory.” But, with all modern English translations and almost all commentators, I believe that εἰς indicates purpose, that δόξαν refers to the glory believers ascribe to God, and that θεοῦ is an objective genitive.
15. Godet; Cranfield; Wilckens; Stuhlmacher.
16. Thüsing, Per Christum in Deum, p. 42; S-H; Murray; Käsemann; Schlier. Several attach the phrase to both clauses: Calvin; Barrett; Dunn.
17. Cranfield.
18. So, e.g., Murray; Cranfield. Others (e.g., Godet; Wilckens) construe this theological assertion as an explanation of “Christ has received you.”
19. On this view, the infinitive δοξάσαι (“glorify”) in v. 9a is parallel to γεγενῆσθαι (“became”) in v. 8, both being used in noun clauses dependent on λέγω. See esp. Cranfield, who provides his usual full list of options, and also Godet. Wilckens adopts this syntax but takes the verb δοξάσαι as an implied imperative: the Gentiles “are to glorify” God for his mercy.
20. This reading takes the infinitive δοξάσαι (“glorify”) in v. 9a to be dependent, along with βεβαιῶσαι (“confirm”), on εἰς τό. See NRSV; REB; TEV; and most commentators (e.g., S-H; Barrett; Murray; Käsemann; Schlier).
21. He is referring specifically to the change of subject from the first purpose clause—“in order that [Christ] might confirm …”—to the second—“in order that the Gentiles might glorify.…”
22. See also D. W. B. Robinson, “The Priesthood of Paul in the Gospel of Hope,” in Reconciliation and Hope, p. 232; Theobald, “Gottesbild,” pp. 151–52; Beker, 331–32, 343.
23. Gifford and Gaston, “Inclusion,” p. 133, construe περιτομῆς as a genitive of origin: Christ is a servant who has come from the circumcision—in other words, he is Jewish. But this is not Paul’s point here.
24. A few scholars take the word περιτομή as a reference to the rite of circumcision itself (e.g., S-H), but this seems clearly to be one of those many places where Paul refers to the distinctive Jewish rite as a way of denoting the Jews themselves (see the note on Rom. 3:30; cf. BAGD; Käsemann; Cranfield; Wilckens; Dunn).
25. Gk. γεγενῆσθαι (a poorly attested variant substitutes the aorist, γένεσθαι).
26. The use of διάκονος here to describe Christ may allude to Mark 10:45: “The Son of man came not to be served [διακονηθῆναι] but to serve [διακονῆσαι] and to give his life as a ransom for the many” (see, e.g., Thompson, Clothed with Christ, pp. 233–34; Dunn).
27. See Barrett; Morris.
28. See BAGD for this meaning of ὑπέρ here.
29. For the use of ἀληθεία and cognates to refer to God’s “faithfulness,” see the note on 3:7.
30. Gk. βεβαιόω. In this context, it connotes “proving promises reliable by fulfilling them” (Cranfield; cf. BAGD; Michel; Wilckens). See the similar use in 4:16.
31. See Thüsing, Per Christum in Deum, pp. 43–44. If this were the case, the purpose clause in v. 9a would be subordinate to v. 8 as a whole:
I say that Christ has become a servant of the circumcision for the sake of the truth of God,
in order to confirm the promises made to the fathers,
and so that the Gentiles might glorify God for the sake of his mercy.
32. Paul’s pairing of ἔλεος and ἀληθεία in parallel prepositional phrases may evoke the familiar OT combination of God’s “truth [or faithfulness] and mercy” (
); cf. Michel; J. Dupont, “Rm 15,1–13: Imiter la charité du Christ,” Assembles du Seigneur 4 (1961), 21. Some scholars suggest a contrasting use of the two words, “faithfulness” applying to God’s commitment to Israel, “mercy” to the purely gracious extension of God’s promise to the Gentiles (e.g., Schlatter). But the syntax suggests that “faithfulness” applies equally to Jews and Gentiles; and it is questionable whether such a distinction is theologically accurate.
33. Several scholars (e.g., Michel; Morris) find a gradation in the series of quotations, but this is not evident. Other scholars (e.g., Wilckens) think, without sufficient evidence, that Paul may be citing a pre-formed tradition. The “chain” of quotations here is similar to the rabbinic haraz form (e.g., Ellis, Paul’s Use of the Old Testament, p. 97).
34. See, e.g., Murray.
35. See, e.g., Cranfield; Morris.
36. The LXX text of these two verses is identical, except for the placement of the vocative κύριε, which Paul omits (2 Sam. 22 reproduces the text of Ps. 18). With this exception, Paul’s text reproduces the LXX exactly; and the LXX, in turn, is a faithful rendering of the Hebrew. Since Paul cites the Psalms so often, Ps. 18 is more likely his source (Koch, 34–35; contra, e.g., Schlatter).
37. For the meaning “praise” for the Greek verb ἐξομολογέω, see the note on 14:11.
38. It may be for this reason that Paul omits κύριε from his quotation; for it might have suggested that the speaker was addressing Christ. See, e.g., Wilckens; Cranfield. We do not, however, need to view the text as a “prophetic utterance by Christ” (as Hanson Studies, p. 155, thinks).
39. The implied subject of λέγει is almost certainly “Scripture” rather than David.
40. The LXX differs considerably from the MT at this point; Paul’s wording reproduces exactly the third line of the LXX text of the verse. But the LXX rendering may rest on a Hebrew Vorlage, attested in a Qumran scroll (4QDeuta; cf. Fitzmyer; note that the NRSV uses the LXX in preference to the MT at several points in translating this verse). A few scholars (e.g., Calvin) have thought that Paul might be paraphrasing Ps. 47:5.
41. Paul again follows the LXX (a straightforward rendering of the MT), varying from it only in reversing the order of πάντα τὰ ἔθνη and τὸν κύριον and in adding καί. In the second line, “all the peoples” (πάντες οἱ λαοί), who are urged to praise the Lord, are probably also the Gentiles (contra, e.g., Wilckens, who thinks the reference is to both Gentiles and Jews).
42. Paul differs only in omitting the words ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ (“in that day”), which come immediately after ἔσται in the LXX.
43. The Hebrew of the MT is: 
, which the NRSV renders “On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him.” On the basis of the LXX changes to the MT, B. Frid suggests an alternative, though unlikely, translation of Rom. 15:11 (“Jesaja und Paulus in Röm 15,12,” BZ 27 [1983], 237–41).
44. Paul uses the same Greek verb that occurs here, ἀνίστημι, to refer to Christ’s resurrection in 1 Thess. 4:14 and to the resurrection of believers in 1 Thess. 4:16 (and perhaps Eph. 5:14); cf. Käsemann; Schlier; Dunn.
45. “Root” is used as a messianic designation in Jer. 23:5; 33:15; Sir. 47:22; 4QFlor 1:11; 4QPat 3–4; Rev. 5:5; 22:16, usually in conjunction with the name David. In these texts, while we usually translate “root,” the Greek word ῥίζα refers to a “shoot, springing from the root” (BAGD).
46. See Hays, 73.
47. Wiles, Paul’s Intercessory Prayers, pp. 84–89.
48. The phrase ὁ θεὸς τῆς ἐλπίδος probably has this general sense (cf. REB; TEV; and, e.g., Cranfield) rather than, e.g., “the God in whom we hope” (Calvin), or “the God who both gives hope and in whom we hope” (Murray; Dunn).
49. Gk. πληρώσαι, an optative used to express a wish (see the note on v. 5).
50. Turner, 145 (cf. also Z-G, 493) think that the ἐν here might be causal—“because you believe”—but the usual temporal sense of the preposition (when followed by an infinitive) makes better sense in this context.
51. In the context, the reference is probably to peace among the members of the community (Käsemann; Dunn) rather than to “peace of mind” (Murray; Cranfield).
52. The Greek preposition ἐν has an instrumental force (Käsemann; Schlier), although it might shade also into a locative nuance—“in and through” (Dunn).
53. See also, e.g., Murray.
54. Ridderbos, Paul, p. 276.
55. I think that Jewett’s monograph Christian Tolerance may open the door to this danger. He suggests, e.g., that the only limit on tolerance is that one must stay consistent with one’s own faith in responsibility to God (pp. 132–33) without making clear that our “faith” on these matters must be rooted in the absolute truth of the gospel.
56. From On the Freedom of a Christian Man.
1. For a similar chart, see Dunn, 2.854.
2. Käsemann, 389. Note also R. Funk’s form-critical identification of this section as “apostolic parousia” (“The Apostolic Parousia: Form and Significance,” in Christian History and Interpretation, pp. 249–68 [cf. p. 251]).
3. Most scholars so divide the section (see, e.g., Jervis [Purpose of Romans, p. 120], who identifies vv. 14–21 as the “writing” unit and vv. 22–32 as the “visit” unit). But a few place a break between vv. 24 and 25 (e.g., Morris, 508, 516; Fitzmyer, 710; Moiser, “Rethinking Romans 12–15,” p. 581).
4. See on this esp. Jervis, Purpose of Romans, pp. 158–63; P. Müller, “Grundlinien paulinischer Theologie (Röm 15,14–33),” KD 35 (1989), 214–34.
5. These parallels have long been noticed; cf., e.g., Chrysostom, Homily 29 (pp. 542–45).
6. The MSS tradition is divided between the forms τολμηρότερον (P46, the Alexandrian MSS א and C, Ψ, the western D, F, and G, and the majority text) and τολμηροτέρως (the Alexandrian A and B, and a few minuscules). Many commentators prefer the latter (e.g., S-H, 405; Käsemann, 391; Michel, 456; Schlier, 428; Cranfield, 2.753), while a few follow UBS4 (although the editors do not mention the variant) in reading the former (Wilckens, 3.111; Dunn, 2.855). The meaning remains the same.
7. “This” translates the definite article τήν, which is read in the primary Alexandrian uncial B, in the secondary Alexandrian MSS C and 81, in the western uncials D, F, and G, and in some minuscules. Its omission in other manuscripts (e.g., the primary Alexandrian א, the secondary Alexandrian A, Ψ, and the majority text) is probably secondary (cf. Käsemann, 393; Cranfield, 2.757; Dunn, 2.856; contra, e.g., Godet, 479; S-H, 406).
8. Most manuscripts include after πνεύματος (“Spirit”) either θεοῦ (“of God”) (e.g., P46, the primary Alexandrian א, Ψ, the western D [first corrector], and the majority text) or ἁγίου (“holy”) (e.g., the secondary Alexandrian MSS A, 33, 81, and 1739, the western D [original hand], F, and G, and several important minuscules). The strength of the external support tends to favor the reading θεοῦ (cf. Metzger, 537; Fitzmyer, 713), but internal evidence strongly favors the simple πνεύματος, though read in only one—albeit important—uncial, B (cf. Lietzmann, 115; S-H, 407; Cranfield, 2.758).
A. Isa. 52:15
9. While he overplays his hand, Stuhlmacher is probably right to discern here again a polemical background: Paul must dispel doubts and diffuse resistance to him among the Roman Christians (pp. 236–37; cf. also Käsemann, 390).
10. Gk. ἀδελφοί. Paul uses this address only sparingly in Romans (cf. 1:13; 7:1, 4; 8:12; 10:1; 11:25; 12:1; 15:30; 16:17).
11. As Käsemann puts it with some exaggeration, he is “undisguisedly wooing the readers.” S. N. Olson shows how other ancient writers would use an expression of confidence in their readers to gain adherence to their ideas (“Pauline Expressions of Confidence in his Addressees,” CBQ 47 [1985], 282–95 [cf. 292–93]).
12. See esp. Cranfield, who objects to those who suggest that Paul uses the literary category of the captatio benevolentiae simply as a diplomatic insincerity.
13. Gk. αὐτὸς ἐγώ. Paul uses the emphatic nominative pronoun to underscore the sincerity of his conviction (cf. Cranfield; Dunn), probably because he is afraid that the rest of the letter might have given the opposite impression (Godet).
14. “Am convinced” translates the perfect passive πέπεισμαι. On the meaning of this form, see BAGD.
15. Paul may use the emphatic pronoun (Gk. αὐτοί) to suggest that the Roman Christians have experienced their spiritual birth and growth apart from Paul’s (or anyone else’s?) apostolic labors (cf. Käsemann; Schlier).
16. Gk. πεπληρωμένοι, the perfect connoting that the Roman Christians are in the condition of being filled (Burton, 154).
17. Whether or not we read the article before γνώσεως, πάσης will connote the idea of “the whole range of” (cf. Dunn).
18. The word is ἀγαθωσύνη. It occurs only in biblical Greek (16 times in the LXX) and in related literature (cf. LSJ) and only in Paul in the NT. It means “uprightness,” “goodness” in Eph. 5:9 and 2 Thess. 1:11 and (perhaps) “generosity” in Gal. 5:22.
19. See, e.g., S-H; Wilckens; Dunn; Michel; contra, e.g., Käsemann and Cranfield, who think it denotes “honesty in dealings with others” and, e.g., Denney, who translates “charity.”
20. Cf. S-H; Murray; Wilckens; Cranfield. As several commentators point out, the virtues Paul mentions here would be particularly necessary for the Roman Christians to overcome tensions between “strong” and “weak” (S-H; Murray; Schmithals). But it is not clear that Paul is thinking of that issue specifically.
21. The δέ is probably slightly adversative.
22. The aorist ἔγραψα is not “epistolary” because it refers here to the “past” act of writing the earlier part of the letter to which Paul refers (cf. BDF 334; Turner, 73).
23. τολμηρότερον is a comparative adverb from τολμηρός, “bold.” Turner, 30, sees this as an instance of the comparative being used for the positive; but, in any case, there is general agreement on the translation “rather boldly” (BAGD).
24. The phrase ἀπὸ μέρους (found also in 11:25; 15:24; 2 Cor. 1:14; 2:5) could modify τολμηρότερον—“boldly in some measure” (Hodge; Murray)—or ἐπαναμιμνῄσκων—“remind of things they know to a certain degree” (Godet), but it probably modifies the main verb, ἔγραψα. It must then refer to “parts” of the letter in which Paul has written “rather boldly.” But any more specific identification of these parts—e.g., 12:1–15:13 (Cranfield) or 14:1–15:13 (Wilckens; Schmithals)—is impossible.
25. The ὡς before ἐπαναμιμνῄσκων indicates manner, with the verb “write” assumed (cf. BAGD, I.2.a). NRSV “by way of reminder” is therefore better than NIV “as if to remind you.” The verb ἐπαναμιμνῄσκω occurs only here in the NT, but its simple form is common.
26. See esp. Wilckens.
27. We follow, e.g., Käsemann and Cranfield, in connecting διὰ τὴν χάριν τὴν δοθεῖσάν μοι with ἐπαναμιμνῄσκων (“reminding”) rather than directly with ἔγραψα (“I have written”). But since ἐπαναμιμνῄσκων is subordinate to ἔγραψα, the difference in meaning is virtually nonexistent.
28. We take εἰς τὸ εἶναι to indicate purpose (cf., e.g., Cranfield; Schlier).
29. Cf. Schlatter.
30. See the notes on 13:6 for the meaning of λειτουργός and related words. The term refers to a priest, or priests, in 2 Esdr. 20:36 (= Neh. 10:39); Isa. 61:6; cf. also Sir. 7:30; Ep. Arist. 95; T. Levi 2:10; 4:2; 8:3–10; 9:3; Philo, Life of Moses 2.94, 149; Special Laws 1.249; 4:191; Allegorical Interpretation 3.175; Posterity 184. Cranfield, following Barth (Shorter), thinks that Paul here presents himself as a Levite, in subordinate service to Christ the High Priest. But while λειτουργός often refers to the Levites in the LXX, the context here makes a reference to priestly service clear (so almost all commentators). See, further, H. Schlier, “Die ‘Liturgie’ der apostolischen Evangeliums (Römer 15,14–21),” in Das Ende der Zeit: Exegetische Aufsätze und Vorträge (Freiburg/Basel/Vienna: Herder, 1971), pp. 171–76.
31. θεοῦ is a source genitive (Turner, 211): “the gospel that comes from God.”
32. The construction is difficult, but τὸ εὐαγγέλιον is probably an accusative of respect; cf. the similar construction in 4 Macc. 7:8 (v.l.): τοὺς ἱερουργούντας τὸν νόμον, “those who serve the law as priests.” See, e.g., Dunn. The verb ἱερουργέω does not occur in the LXX or elsewhere in the NT, but it is used frequently in Philo and Josephus, always with the meaning “offer sacrifice” (G. Schrenk, TDNT III, 252). This renders Cranfield’s looser translation, “serve with a holy service,” very unlikely.
33. Gk. προσφορά, which can mean the act of offering (cf. Acts 24:17; Heb. 10:10, 14, 18) or, as here, what is offered (cf. also Acts 21:26; Eph. 5:2; Heb. 10:5, 8; cf. BAGD). The word is common in Sirach in the LXX (nine out of 13 LXX occurrences).
34. In this case, the genitive τῶν ἐθνῶν is subjective. See, e.g., A.-M. Denis, “La fonction apostolique et la liturgie nouvelle en esprit,” RSPT 42 (1958), 405–6; R. Dabelstein, Die Beurteilung der ‘Heiden’ bei Paulus (BBET 14; Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 1981), pp. 112–14; Robinson, “Priesthood of Paul,” p. 231; Elliott, Language and Style, pp. 91–92; Dunn (as possible).
35. Cf. also NRSV; NASB; REB; TEV; as well as the great majority of commentators (e.g., Michel; Käsemann; Cranfield). On this view, the genitive τῶν ἐθνῶν is epexegetic. Not only does this interpretation fit the context well, but it also accords with the probable background for Paul’s conception: Isa. 66:19–20, where God proclaims that in the last days he would send survivors from the nations to declare his glory among the nations and bring all their kindred “from all the nations as an offering [LXX ἐκ πάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν δῶρον] for the Lord” (cf. Murray; Aus, “Paul’s Travel Plans,” pp. 236–37; Hultgren, Paul’s Gospel, pp. 133–34; J. Ponthot, “L’expression cultuelle du ministère paulinien selon R 15,16,” in L’Apôtre Paul, pp. 254–62).
36. Calvin says that the gospel is “like a sword by which the minister sacrifices men as victims to God.”
37. Though not explicit, the sacrificial imagery makes it clear that the one before whom the sacrifices are εὐπρόσδεκτος, “well pleasing,” is God (cf. 1 Pet. 2:5; the word does not occur in the LXX and only in 15:31; 2 Cor. 6:2; 8:12 elsewhere in the NT).
38. See Hodge: “Paul … no more calls himself a priest in the strict sense of the term, than he calls the Gentiles a sacrifice in the literal meaning of that word.” On the word ἱερουργέω in this sense, see C. Wiéner, “Ἱερουργεῖν (Rm 15,16),” SPCIC 2.399–404.
39. On this theme, see esp. Newton, Concept of Purity. Paul did not, then—as some Hellenistic Jews did—“spiritualize” the sacrifices; he “eschatologized” them. See, e.g., P. T. O’Brien, Consumed by Passion: Paul and the Logic of the Gospel (Homebush West, Australia: Lancer, 1993), pp. 31–32; Käsemann; Dunn; Schlier; Michel.
40. Paul here uses the passive form, ἡγιασμένη, as he often does (see 1 Cor. 1:2; 6:11; 7:14 [twice]; 1 Tim. 4:5; 2 Tim. 2:21). In the OT, see esp. Ezek. 36:22–28, which predicts the day when God would “sanctify his name” among the Gentiles.
41. See O’Brien, Consumed with Passion, pp. 31, 50–51.
42. The connection with the preceding verse is especially clear if, as I have argued above (see the note on the translation), we read the definite article τήν before καύχησιν. For the article acts almost like a demonstrative pronoun, pointing back to vv. 15b–16 (e.g., Käsemann; Cranfield; Dunn).
43. τά makes a substantive out of the following prepositional phrase. The accusative, as in the identical phrase in Heb. 2:17, is an accusative of reference, or an adverbial accusative (BDF 160; Turner, 221). The “things” to which Paul refers will look backward to vv. 15b–16 rather than forward to vv. 18–19 (contra Jervis, Purpose of Romans, p. 123).
44. See Cranfield. Verse 17 is a hinge verse in the paragraph, drawing a conclusion from vv. 15b–16 and setting up Paul’s further discussion in vv. 18ff. (see S. N. Olson, “Epistolary Uses of Expressions of Self-Confidence,” JBL 103 [1984], 591). Some interpreters think that Paul’s reticence to “boast” may reflect his desire not to be classed as an “enthusiast,” a Christian worker who took undue pride in his spiritual gifts and accomplishments (e.g., Michel, 458–59). But Paul does not give evidence of any such concern (cf. Käsemann, 393; Dunn, 2.862).
45. Gk. τολμήσω; cf. τολμηρότερον in v. 15.
46. Paul uses the verb κατεργάζομαι. In many contexts, it is indistinguishable in meaning from the more common ποιέω (see the note on 7:15); here, however, it carries a certain emphasis: “produce,” “work out” (cf. Dunn).
47. The syntax of the verse is complicated, the singular object after λαλεῖν, τι (“something”) being filled out with a clause introduced with a genitive plural relative pronoun (ὧν …). But once we recognize that the relative pronoun is plural “according to the sense”—referring to the many different “things” alluded to by τι—the meaning resolves itself into something like “anything other than what Christ accomplished” (cf. Z-G, 494; Cranfield; and most English versions). Barrett suggests that Paul intends a contrast not only between things accomplished by himself and by Christ but also between things accomplished by himself and by others. But there is no indication of such a second contrast here (cf. Ziesler).
48. We see here again, then, an implicit trinitarianism (cf. Murray).
49. See BAGD; in the NT elsewhere: Luke 24:19; Acts 7:22; Col. 3:17; 2 Thess. 2:17.
50. Gk. ἐν, which is instrumental in both phrases.
51. See, e.g., Bengel; Leenhardt; Michel.
52. The genitive πνεύματος may be epexegetic—“the power that is the Spirit” (e.g., Käsemann; Schlier)—but is more likely subjective—“the power exercised [through me] by the Spirit”; cf. Godet.
53. Meyer; Murray; Cranfield.
54. “Power” (δύναμις) does not refer to a miracle (as it does often in the Gospels and occasionally in Paul [cf. 1 Cor. 2:4; 12:10, 28, 29; 2 Cor. 12:12 {with σημεία, “signs,” and τέρατα, “wonders”}]), but, generally, to the divine power “breaking forth in signs and wonders” (Godet; cf. Murray).
55. Gk. ἔργον.
56. Cf. Calvin; Murray; Dunn. On ἔργον in Paul, see the note on 2:6.
57. σημεία (“signs”) and τέρατα (“wonders”) occur together in the LXX 29 times; and 15 refer to the Exodus events (Exod. 7:3, 9; 11:9–10; Deut. 4:34; 6:22; 7:19; 11:3; 26:8; 29:3; 34:11; Neh. 9:10; Ps. 78:43; 105:27; 135:9). In Acts, the phrase refers to the miracles of Jesus (2:22) and then to the miracles accomplished in Christ’s name by the apostles (2:43; 4:30; 5:12), including Paul (14:3; 15:12). The phrase also occurs in Mark 13:22; 2 Cor. 12:12; 2 Thess. 2:9; Heb. 2:4.
58. See Dunn; O’Brien, Consumed with Passion, p. 142.
59. See esp. Munck, 49–55; also, e.g., Aus, “Paul’s Travel Plans,” pp. 232–62; Käsemann; Barrett; Schlier; Wilckens; Dunn.
60. See also on this passage, J. Knox, “Romans 15:14–33 and Paul’s Conception of His Apostolic Mission,” JBL 83 (1964), 3–8.
61. Cf., e.g., Michel; Cranfield; Wilckens; Müller, “Grundlinien,” pp. 216–17; O’Brien, Consumed with Passion, pp. 37–38. A. S. Geyser (“Un Essai d’explication de Rom. XV.19,” NTS [1959–60], 156–59) thinks that Paul uses Jerusalem to symbolize the approval of the 11 apostles of his ministry.
62. See, e.g., Zeller, Juden, p. 227; Meyer; Fitzmyer; Dunn (?). ἀπό might suggest that Paul began his preaching not in, but just outside Jerusalem. But the preposition is often equivalent to ἐκ (cf. BAGD, 87). We may also discern a muted allusion to Paul’s emphasis in the letter on “the Jew first.”
63. See D. B. Madvig, ISBE II, 802–3.
64. Noting that neither Paul nor Acts mentions missionary activity of Paul in Illyricum, many scholars think that Paul may be claiming only to have preached “as far as,” or “up to the boundaries of” Illyricum. μέχρι, when used spatially, indicates the limits of movement; but when a large geographical region is that limit, it is not clear whether the limit includes or excludes that region. This is the only verse in the NT in which μέχρι has a spatial significance (although see the v.l. in Acts 20:4). Hahn (Mission, p. 96) thinks that Illyricum may represent the ancient boundary between the eastern and western empires; but there is no evidence that this was the case. But it is quite possible that Paul ventured into Illyricum during his apparently circuitous trip from Ephesus to Corinth on his third journey (Acts 20:1–2). The ancient geographer Strabo (7.7.4) mentions that the Egnatian Way passes through Illyricum on its way from the Adriatic Coast to Macedonia. Knowing Paul’s preference to stick to well-traveled Roman roads, then, Paul may easily have preached in the southern regions of Illyricum during the movements mentioned by Luke in Acts 20:1–2. See, e.g., Madvig, ISBE II, 802; Godet; Meyer; Haldane; Dodd; Bruce; Barrett.
66. So many older commentators: e.g., Godet; Alford; Gifford.
67. See, e.g., Robertson, 295, 296; BAGD. And, as S-H point out, we would have expected the article if this had been the meaning of the word.
69. See esp. Knox, “Romans 15:14–33,” pp. 10–11. Knox thinks that Paul conceives of the Mediterranean world as a great circle, with him having responsibility for preaching in the northern half of that circle. See also Beker, 71.
70. See Mark 3:34; 6:6; Rev. 4:6; 5:11; 7:11.
71. Chrysostom; S-H; Viard; Cranfield.
72. εὐαγγέλιον clearly has here a dynamic sense.
73. The genitive Χριστοῦ is objective: the preaching of the good news about Christ (e.g., Michel; Cranfield).
74. Calvin; Haldane.
76. Käsemann; Dunn; Aus, “Paul’s Travel Plans,” pp. 257–60; Hultgren, Paul’s Gospel, p. 135; Munck, 51–55.
77. O’Brien, Consumed with Passion, pp. 39–43; Godet; Murray; Cranfield.
78. Knox, “Romans 15:14–33,” p. 3.
79. Gk. δέ.
80. The participle φιλοτιμούμενον, which modifies πεπληρωκέναι, is modal. The verb φιλοτίμουμαι has the root meaning “love [φίλος] of honor [τιμή]” and therefore might here mean “strive after honor” or “have as one’s ambition” (Käsemann; Godet; Meyer). But the papyri indicate a weakening in meaning, especially when followed by an infinitive, to no more than “strive eagerly,” “am zealous” (MM); this seems to be the meaning here and its other NT occurrences (2 Cor. 5:9; 1 Thess. 4:11) (cf. Cranfield; Dunn).
81. See especially clearly Dunn; and, in substance, Cranfield; Wilckens.
82. “Name” (ὀνομάζω) means here clearly “name in worship” (cf., e.g., Fitzmyer; contra, e.g., BAGD).
83. See, e.g., P. von der Osten-Sacken, “Erwägungen zur Abfassungsgeschichte und zum literarisch-theologischen Charakter des Römerbriefes,” in Evangelium und Tora: Aufsätze zu Paulus (Munich: Kaiser, 1987), pp. 120–23.
84. Its wording exactly matches the LXX; at least, it does if we follow the reading adopted in UBS4 and found in the majority of MSS, and place ὄψονται at the end of the first line. Vaticanus (B), however, places the verb at the beginning of the line, and some commentators (e.g., Cranfield and Dunn) prefer this reading, suspecting the majority reading as an assimilation to the LXX. The LXX translation differs a bit from the MT, which, literally translated, is “For what had not been told to them, they will see; and what they did not hear they will contemplate.” The LXX rendering, by adding “concerning him,” makes the application to the servant clearer, but it does not materially change the meaning.
85. See S. Pedersen, “Theologische Überlegungen zur Isagogik des Römerbriefes,” ZNW 76 (1985), 62.
86. Since Paul implies that it is his mission to announce matters “concerning him,” e.g., the Servant, it seems unlikely that he is suggesting here that he sees himself in the role of the Servant (Käsemann; Cranfield; Schlier; Fitzmyer; contra O’Brien, Consumed with Passion, pp. 143–44; Michel; Dunn—though I agree with Dunn that Paul elsewhere suggests such an identification).
1. Recognizing the incompleteness of Paul’s sentence, the secondary Alexandrian minuscule 33, the second (Byzantine) corrector of א, and the majority text add ἐλεύσομαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς, “I will come to you”; cf. KJV. The addition is secondary.
2. The Alexandrian 33, the uncial Ψ, and the majority text (including the second corrector of א) add τοῦ εὐαγγελίου (“the gospel”) to Χριστοῦ (“of Christ”); cf. KJV. The addition is secondary.
3. Käsemann.
4. E.g., Godet; Cranfield; Wilckens; Schlier.
5. Gk. ἐνεκοπτόμην is an imperfect form, probably with iterative significance; and it is best translated (as many Greek verbs that refer to the indefinite past) with an English perfect tense (Burton, 28). It comes from the verb ἐγκόπτω, used also in the NT in Acts 24:4; Gal. 5:7; 1 Thess. 2:18; 1 Pet. 3:7. It means the same thing here as the verb κωλύω, which Paul uses in a similar way in 1:13.
6. τὰ πολλά is probably temporal—“these many times” (e.g., Godet; S-H; Käsemann; Cranfield); contra, e.g., Zerwick, 74, “to a great extent,” Michel, “in all these cases.”
7. The genitive article (τοῦ) with the infinitive conveys an ablatival sense (Burton, 401; Zerwick, 386).
8. See, e.g., S-H; Michel; Cranfield; Dunn. Godet avoids this conclusion by adopting a very weak variant, omitting the γάρ in v. 24b and thus making the subordinate clauses in vv. 23–24a depend on ἐλπίζω. English versions handle the problem in different ways. Only the NASB retains the syntax of the original, indicating the breaking off of Paul’s sentence in v. 24a with a dash (see our literal rendering above). KJV (on the basis of a textual variant; see the note on the translation above), NIV, and TEV add the missing main clause. NRSV and REB turn the second ἔχων (“having”) in v. 23 into a finite verb.
9. Gk. τόπον, literally “place.” But the word often takes on the metaphorical sense of “possibility,” “opportunity,” “chance” (BAGD).
10. Gk. κλίμασι; the reference is probably to the “districts” or Roman provinces located “round about” the line from Jerusalem to Illyricum (cf. v. 19b; Paul also uses the word in 2 Cor. 11:10 and Gal. 1:21). We must, of course, interpret this “lack of opportunity” in terms of Paul’s special pioneer church planting ministry. He is not suggesting that there is no more preaching to be done in these regions or that all the nations in the east have been reached (contra Barrett); as Cranfield notes, Paul undoubtedly knew of many “eastern” regions that still required evangelistic ministry (cf. also Dunn).
11. Gk. ἐπιποθίαν, a NT hapax (it is a variant reading in 2 Cor. 7:11).
12. The preposition ἀπό in this clause has the same force as an accusative of extent (Zerwick, 70).
13. Cranfield.
14. ὡς has a temporal meaning here; and the addition of ἄν and the use of the subjunctive πορεύωμαι suggest indefiniteness (= ὅταν) (BDF 455[2]; Moule, Idiom Book, p. 133; although Turner, 112, takes it as definite).
15. Cranfield; cf. NRSV; NASB; REB.
16. See NIV; TEV. The indefiniteness of the construction is not, then, due to uncertainty about Paul’s plans for the visit but to uncertainty about whether his Jerusalem visit will allow him to carry it out.
17. See, e.g., the “old” Schürer (The Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ [2d ed.; 3 vols.; Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1890], 3.38); and, e.g., Michel; Käsemann.
18. See esp. W. P. Bowers, “Jewish Communities in Spain in the Time of Paul the Apostle,” JTS 26 (1975), 395–402; cf. also R. Jewett, “Paul, Phoebe, and the Spanish Mission,” in The Social World of Formative Judaism and Christianity: Essays in Tribute to Howard Clark Kee (ed. J. Neusner et al.; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1988), pp. 144–47; O. F. A. Meinardus, “Paul’s Missionary Journey to Spain: Tradition and Folklore,” BA 41 (1978), 61–63; Fitzmyer.
19. Aus suggests that Spain would have represented for Paul the OT “Tarshish,” the “end of the earth” (cf. Isa. 66) to which Paul must travel to complete his task of bringing Gentiles as an offering to Jerusalem and thus usher in the parousia (“Paul’s Travel Plans,” pp. 242–46; cf. also Müller, “Grundlinien,” p. 218; Black; Stuhlmacher). Dunn suggests that it was the natural extension of Paul’s “arc” from Jerusalem to Illyricum.
20. Whether Paul ever arrived in Spain is a point that we can never be certain about. The NT never reports such a visit; and the evidence of the Pastoral Epistles suggests that Paul turned back to the east after his trip to Rome (see also Phil. 1:25–26; 2:23–24, if written [as is likely] from Rome). But an early Christian document, 1 Clement (cf. 5:7), can be interpreted to suggest that he did reach Spain. See, on the whole matter, Bruce, Paul, pp. 447–48.
21. The γάρ (“for”) is explanatory.
22. Paul uses the verb θεάομαι, which can mean simply “see,” but which can also take on the connotation of “see a person as the basis of friendship and with helpful intent—‘to visit, to go to see’ ” (GEL 34.50). See also 2 Chron. 22:6; Josephus, Ant. 16.6; Matt. 22:11 (?) (cf. Cranfield).
23. Gk. ἐμπλησθῶ, from ἐμπίπλημι. The verb means, generally, “to fill” (cf. Luke 1:53; Acts 14:17) or “to satisfy” (John 6:12; Acts 14:17 [?]; 2 Cor. 6:25), and hence here, “to be satisfied with you [ὑμῶν],” e.g., “to enjoy your company” (BAGD).
24. ἀπὸ μέρους has a temporal significance (BAGD).
25. A layover for a relatively short time in Rome on his way to Spain would still afford plenty of opportunity to preach the gospel there. Thus there is no need to suggest that Paul is thinking of different visits in these two texts (as, e.g., Elliott, Language and Style, p. 87, suggests).
26. See Acts 15:3; 20:38; 21:5; 1 Cor. 6:6, 11; 2 Cor. 1:16; Tit. 3:13; 3 John 6; cf. F. Vouga, “L’Épître aux Romains comme Document Ecclésiologique (Rm 12–15),” ETR 61 (1986), 487; Michel; BAGD; GEL 15.72 (Bartsch, “Gegner,” p. 29, however, is not convinced that this meaning is established). What kind of support Paul hoped for is not specified. In keeping with the basic meaning of the verb—“accompany,” “escort”—he might be hoping for coworkers to join him in the work. Help with the customs and languages of the new territory may also be included; and almost certainly financial and logistical support.
27. See his letter to the Philippians, in which he gets around to thanking the community for its financial help only at the end (4:10–20).
28. The present tense of πορεύομαι probably implies that Paul is even as he writes preparing to leave for Jerusalem (cf. Cranfield; Dunn).
29. The participle διακονῶν could be modal, indicating that Paul goes “in service” of the saints (cf., e.g., Godet; Michel), but it probably expresses purpose (cf. Chrysostom; Cranfield; Wilckens; Schlier; Fitzmyer). J. J. O’Rourke (“The Participle in Rom 15,25,” CBQ 29 [1967], 116–18) shows that the present tense of the participle is no problem for this interpretation.
30. Many scholars think that Paul uses ἅγιοι (“saints”) here as a virtual technical term for the Jerusalem Christians (cf. also 15:26, 31; 1 Cor. 16:1; 2 Cor. 8:4; 9:1, 12), revealing the earliest Christian community’s early takeover of this honorary title of the people of God (cf., e.g., K. F. Nickle, The Collection: A Study in Paul’s Strategy [SBT 48; London: SCM, 1966], p. 138; Barrett; Michel; Schlier; Schmithals; Dunn; L. Cerfaux thinks that the term refers to the leaders of the Jerusalem church [“ ‘Les Saints’ de Jérusalem,” in Recueil Lucien Cerfaux {2 vols.; BETL 6–7; Gembloux: Duculot, 1954}, 1.392–97]). But this is not clear since every time he uses the term of the Jerusalem Christians its limitation to this particular group of believers is either explicit or clear from the context (cf. Cranfield; Wilckens).
31. For general studies of the “collection,” see esp. D. Georgi, Die Geschichte der Kollekte des Paulus für Jerusalem (TF 38; Hamburg: Evangelische, 1965); Nickle, Collection; K. Berger, “Almosen für Israel: Zum historischen Kontext der paulinischen Kollekte,” NTS 23 (1976–77), 180–204.
32. Paul uses διακονέω with respect to the collection also in 2 Cor. 8:19, 20, and calls it a διακονία, a “ministry,” in 2 Cor. 8:4; 9:1, 12, 13.
33. The γάρ is again explanatory.
34. Cranfield notes that Paul here simply extends into ecclesiology the common practice of denoting the people of nations by the name of the nation. Why Paul mentions only churches from these regions is not clear. Some think that he intentially conceals the scope of the enterprise (e.g., Käsemann) or that he reflects the fact that the Galatian churches, despite his letter to them, had recently rebuffed his efforts to claim them back to his “law-free” gospel (e.g., Luedemann, Paul, Apostle of the Gentiles, p. 86; Beker, 72–73). But it may simply be that these were the areas that came to mind because they were closest both to Paul and to the Romans (Dunn).
35. See TEV, “That decision was their own.” Cf. G. Schrenk, TDNT II, 741; Godet; Cranfield; Wilckens. The verb is εὐδόκησαν, a variant aorist form of εὐδοκέω (e.g., with a lengthening of the ε to form the augment; cf. BAGD), which can mean “be pleased, take delight,” “resolve,” “determine” (similar Pauline occurrences, with the verb followed by an infinitive, are: 1 Cor. 1:21; 2 Cor. 5:8; Gal. 1:15; Col. 1:19; 1 Thess. 2:8; 3:1).
36. GEL 57.101. The construction with the middle form of ποιέω is standard in such expressions (see Z-G, 495).
38. So most grammars (e.g., Turner, 209; Moule, Idiom Book, p. 43) and commentators (e.g., Käsemann; Cranfield; Wilckens; Fitzmyer); and cf. Georgi, Kollekte, pp. 81–82; Luedemann, Paul, Apostle of the Gentiles, p. 79.
39. E. Bammel, TDNT VI, 909; Michel (possible); Schlier; Schmithals.
40. K. Holl (“Der Kirchenbegriff des Paulus in seinem Verhältnis zu dem der Urgemeinde,” in Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Kirchengeschichte, vol. 2: Der Osten [Tübingen: Mohr, 1928], pp. 44–67) was instrumental in inaugurating this interpretation. He refers especially to Gal. 2:10, where he thinks the Jerusalem apostles’ request to Paul to “remember the poor” refers specifically to the need for the Gentile churches to express solidarity with the Jerusalem “mother” community in a kind of “tax.”
41. E.g., Luke 6:20; Jas. 2:5.
42. For the case against identifying “poor” as a technical name for the early Jerusalem Christians, see esp. L. E. Keck, “The Poor among the Saints in the New Testament,” ZNW 56 (1965), 100–129; idem, “The Poor among the Saints in Jewish Christianity and Qumran,” ZNW 57 (1966), 54–78.
43. Gk. καί; cf., e.g., Käsemann.
44. Gk. ὀφειλέται; another verbal parallel to the letter opening; cf. 1:14: “I am under obligation [ὀφειλέτης] to both Greeks and barbarians, to both the wise and the foolish.”
45. The antecedent of αὐτῶν is probably τῶν ἁγίων (“the saints”) rather than τοὺς πτωχούς (Dunn; contra Cranfield). The noun ὀφειλέτης can be followed by either a genitive or dative word to express the person(s) to whom the debt is owed (BAGD).
46. The lack of compulsion about the collection that Paul emphasizes both here and in 2 Cor. 8–9 suggests that it cannot be viewed as a “tax” on the Gentiles, equivalent to the requirement that Diaspora Jews pay a “temple tax” (cf. E. Bammel, TDNT VI, 909; Käsemann; Nickle, Collection, pp. 87–93). Berger, however, thinks that the Jerusalem apostles may have viewed the collection differently, as an essential expression of the Gentiles’ commitment to Israel (“Almosen”).
47. Some interpreters (e.g., Bengel, 3.189; Calvin, 535–36; Schmithals, 537; Fitzmyer, 723; Nickle, Collection, pp. 69–70) think that Paul is subtly inviting the Romans to participate in the collection. But the immediacy of Paul’s plans to leave for Jerusalem makes this unlikely.
48. The verb κοινωνέω followed by the dative can mean “give a share of something” (as in 12:13) or, as here, “receive a share of something” (BAGD; S-H).
49. Gk. πνευματικοῖς.
50. See, e.g., Beker, 72; Müller, “Grundlinien,” pp. 231–32.
51. Gk. λειτουργῆσαι. The choice of this verb (cf. also Acts 13:2; Heb. 10:11) may suggest that Paul views the collection as an act of worship, since it is often used in the LXX with reference to the cult. But the verb is also used in secular Greek of the work of civil servants (cf. New Docs. 1.45). It is possible, though not clear, that the priestly associations of the cognate word λειτουργός from 15:16 are still present here.
52. The “spirit/flesh” contrast here (πνευματικοῖς/σαρκικοῖς) is not, as usually in Paul, a moral one (cf. the notes on 7:5). It is a contrast between the spiritual realm and the material realm; cf. 1 Cor. 9:11: “If we have sown for you spiritual things [πνευματικά], then should we not reap your material things [σαρκικά]?”
53. See, e.g., J. Eckert, “Die Kollekte des Paulus für Jerusalem,” in Kontinuität und Einheit: Für Franz Mußner (ed. P.-G. Müller and W. Stenger; Freiburg: Herder, 1981), pp. 65–80.
54. Many scholars think that Paul viewed the collection as the fulfillment of the OT predictions about an influx of Gentile gifts into Jerusalem in the last days (see esp. Isa. 66:19–20); cf., e.g., Aus, “Paul’s Travel Plans,” pp. 240–41, 260–61; Georgi, Kollekte, pp. 84–86; Richardson, Israel, pp. 145–46. But, as in the related interpretation about the “offering of the Gentiles” (v. 16), this is unlikely.
55. Gk. διʼ ὑμῶν; Moule, Idiom Book, p. 55, translates “via you”; cf. διαπορευόμενος, “pass through,” in v. 24.
56. The “when” has no explicit counterpart in the Greek text; but it is legitimate to add it because the participles are probably temporal.
57. Gk. ἐπιτελέσας. The verb means here simply “complete, finish,” with no further connotations (Denney; Cranfield); Paul uses it also in 2 Cor. 8:6, 11, with reference to the collection.
58. τοῦτο, “this,” is neuter and refers in a general way to the concept of the collection as Paul has developed it in vv. 26–27.
59. So virtually all commentators; contra, e.g., H.-W. Bartsch, who thinks it refers to the Gentile believers of the Diaspora (“… wenn ich ihnen diese Frucht versiegelt habe. Röm 15.28,” ZNW 63 [1972], 95–97) and Nickle (Collection, pp. 128–29), who thinks it denotes Paul’s ministry. Murray thinks Paul uses the word to suggest that what the Gentiles give to the Jerusalem Christians is the “product” of the spiritual benefits they have received from them.
60. E.g., BAGD; Schlier; cf. Dunn.
61. See, e.g., Esth. 8:8, 10; John 3:33. All three other Pauline uses of σφραγίζω refer to believers being “sealed” with the Holy Spirit, and in each text the idea of “authenticating” believers, “marking” them as truly redeemed, seems to be intended (2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13; 4:30). In the NT the verb is also used with reference to the “sealing” of the tomb of Christ (Matt. 27:66), the “sealing up” (in order to keep secret) of apocalyptic teachings (Rev. 10:4; 22:10), the “sealing” shut of the abyss (Rev. 20:3), and “marking” so as to identify people (John 6:27; Rev. 7:3, 4 [twice], 5, 8).
62. A. Deissmann notes papyrus texts that speak of “sealing [sacks] of grain” in order to guarantee the correctness of their contents (Bible Studies [Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1901), pp. 238–39; cf. also MM). These texts are close to the idea here of “sealing fruit.” For a view similar to the interpretation I have adopted, see Calvin; Murray; Cranfield. Reference to an affirmation on the part of the Jerusalem Christians of Paul’s apostleship (cf. L. Radermacher, “σφραγίζεσθαι. Rm 15.28,” ZNW 32 [1933], 87–89; Viard; Fitzmyer) is unlikely since it is the collection, not Paul, that is sealed.
63. Gk. ἐν, here used to indicate accompaniment (Zerwick, 117).
64. So, e.g., Michel; Murray.
1. Gk. ἀδελφοί. The word is omitted in two very early and important manuscripts, P46 and the primary Alexandrian witness B, and Zuntz (pp. 197–98) thinks that the omission is original. But all other manuscripts include it, and it fits Paul’s usual style (cf. Cranfield, 2.775–76).
2. The primary Alexandrian uncial B and the “western” text (D, F, G) read δωροφορία ἐν, “bringing of a gift in,” in place of διακονία εἰς, “ministry unto, or for,” which is found in all other manuscripts. The former is an obvious attempt to smooth out the Greek (cf. Metzger, 537–38; contra Nickle, Collection, p. 134).
3. As Metzger (p. 538) puts it, “This verse involves a nest of variant readings.” The text after the opening ἵνα is found in five different forms:
1. ἐν χαρᾷ ἐλθὼν πρὸς ὑμᾶς διὰ θελήματος θεοῦ συναναπαύσωμαι ὑμῖν (read by the secondary Alexandrian MSS A, C, 33, 81, and 1739, and by several other MSS);
2. ἐλθὼν ἐν χαρᾷ πρὸς ὑμᾶς διὰ θελήματος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ συναναπαύσωμαι ὑμῖν (read by the original hand of the primary Alexandrian uncial א);
3. ἐν χαρᾷ ἔλθω πρὸς ὑμᾶς διὰ θελήματος θεοῦ (found in P46 and the primary Alexandrian B [which has κυρίου Ἰησοῦ in place of θεοῦ]);
4. ἐν χαρᾷ ἔλθω πρὸς ὑμᾶς διὰ θελήματος θεοῦ καὶ συναναπαύσωμαι ὑμῖν (read in the secondary Alexandrian C, in Ψ, in the second [Byzantine] correction of א, and in the majority text [some of which, however, have the indicative συναναπαύσομαι in place of the subjunctive]);
5. ἐν χαρᾷ ἔλθω πρὸς ὑμᾶς διὰ θελήματος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ καὶ ἀναψύξω μεθʼ ὑμῶν (read in the western uncials D, F, and G [the latter two have ἀναψύχω]).
All modern English translations and most commentators favor the first reading, for the following reasons: (1) Paul always speaks of “the will of God”; never of “the will of Jesus Christ” (variant 2); or “the will of Christ Jesus” (variant 5); (2) the subjunctive ἔλθω (variants 3 and 4) is, after ἵνα, a superficially “easier” reading. P46 and B may drop συναναπαύσωμαι, and D, etc., replace it because the verb is used here in an unusual sense.
4. A few manuscripts (the secondary Alexandrian MSS A and 1739, the western uncials F and G, and a few minuscules) omit ἀμήν; and the papyrus P46 replaces it with the doxology read by most MSS in 16:25–27. These variations reflect the complex and debated matter of the ending of the book of Romans (for which, see the Introduction).
5. As Jervell (“The Letter to Jerusalem”) argues; see the Introduction for discussion.
6. Wedderburn (Reasons, pp. 70–75) suggests that Jewish Christians might have distrusted the collection because it lent legitimacy to the law-free gospel while Gentile Christians might have entertained like suspicions because the collection tied them too closely to Jerusalem.
7. Gk. δέ; cf. Godet.
8. παρακαλέω; see the note on 12:1. It should not be weakened to “ask” or “request” (contra Cranfield; cf. Michel; Käsemann; Dunn).
9. See the note on the similar use of διά after παρακαλέω in 12:1; and see, here, BDF 223(4); Wiles, Paul’s Intercessory Prayers, p. 266; Thüsing, Per Christum in Deum, pp. 170–71; Michel; Schlier.
10. Cf., e.g., Cranfield.
11. E.g., the genitive τοῦ πνεύματος may be subjective; cf. Murray; Fitzmyer.
12. A source genitive; so most commentators (e.g., S-H; Barrett; Michel; Cranfield; Dunn; cf. also Z-G, 495).
13. Wiles notes, with some justification, that Paul’s prayer here alludes to a number of the letter’s key themes (Paul’s Intercessory Prayers, pp. 264–67).
14. The verb Paul uses here, συναγωνίζομαι, occurs only here in biblical Greek; but its simple form, ἀγωνίζομαι, occurs eight times in the NT. This word means “to engage in conflict,” and can be used both literally (e.g., of military battle [cf. John 18:36] or athletic contests [cf. 1 Cor. 9:25]). Particularly important for Paul’s use is the application of this word to the spiritual struggle of the righteous person in this life (cf., e.g., Philo, Husbandry 112, 119; and cf. 4 Maccabees, where the word refers to the struggles of the martyrs). See E. Stauffer, TDNT I, 135–36; V. C. Pfitzner, Paul and the Agon Motif: Traditional Athletic Imagery in the Pauline Literature (NovTSup 16; Leiden: Brill, 1967), pp. 16–75. Thus, Paul uses it to describe labor in ministry (Col. 1:19; 1 Tim. 4:10), spiritual “striving” (1 Tim. 6:12; 2 Tim. 4:7), and prayer (Col. 4:12).
15. The image may originate in Jacob’s wrestling with God (Gen. 32); cf. Black.
16. Murray; Cranfield; Wilckens. Note the use of ἀγωνίζομαι to describe prayer in Col. 4:12.
17. See esp. Pfitzner, Paul and the Agon Motif, pp. 120–25. There may be specific allusion to a struggle with spiritual powers (S-H), or, more likely, with the opposition facing him in Jerusalem (cf. Godet; Käsemann; Dunn).
18. ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ is more naturally taken with προσευχαῖς than with συναγωνίσασθαι (contra Godet).
19. Calvin.
20. See especially the use of this verb (ἀπειθέω) in 10:16, 21; 11:30, 31. Contra Segal (Paul the Convert, p. 258), this makes it unlikely that Paul would include Christians in this designation.
21. Schmithals; Dunn.
22. See, e.g., Michel; Wilckens; Dunn. Contra Cranfield, more than normal human sensibilities about receiving charity are at stake.
23. See, e.g., Acts 21:18–25; Gal. 2:1–10.
24. See especially the evidence from 2 Cor. 10–13, written shortly before Romans.
25. Cf. Wiles, Paul’s Intercessory Prayers, p. 269.
26. So most commentators, e.g., Michel; Käsemann; Cranfield; Dunn.
27. All modern English translations follow our rendering, putting “come” as a finite verb in parallel with “find rest” as dependent on ἵνα. Some may, of course, be adopting the textual variant that reads ἔλθω in place of ἐλθών (see the note on the translation above). But this translation of the participle is also justified since the participle in Greek, while syntactically subordinate, often expresses a thought that is logically parallel to the verb it modifies. This is the situation here.
28. Gk. ἐν χαρᾷ, in which ἐν is adverbial.
29. The verb, συναναπαύομαι, occurs only here in the NT; and in its only LXX occurrence, in Isa. 11:6, it means “lie down together,” “sleep with.” Here, as in Eusebius, H.E. 4.22.2, it must mean “find rest with,” “be refreshed together with” (BAGD; Cranfield).
30. See, e.g., Leenhardt.
31. Cf. Murray; Cranfield.
1. “Also” translates καί, which is read in P46 and in much of the Alexandrian tradition (B, C [original hand], and 81). It should probably be read (cf. Michel, 473; Cranfield, 2.781).
2. See C.-H. Kim, Form and Structure of the Familiar Greek Letter of Recommendation (SBLDS 4; Missoula, MT: Scholars Press, 1972).
3. Gk. συνίστημι. The word is not common in Greek letters of introduction, but it does occur (cf. 2 Macc. 9:25; MM; BAGD). Paul uses the word in this sense also in 2 Cor. 3:1; 5:12; 6:4; 10:12, 18.
4. Gk. ἀδελφή, “sister,” used only rarely in the NT in this sense (cf. also 1 Cor. 7:15; 9:5; Phlm. 2; Jas. 2:15).
5. Her Gentile background is suggested by her name, Φοίβη, which is taken from Greek mythology.
6. Corinth itself lies inland several miles from the sea (the Gulf of Corinth to the northwest and the Saronic Gulf to the northeast). Cenchreae was a seaport on the Saronic Gulf and was connected to Corinth by a series of forts (D. H. Madvig, ISBE I, 772). Paul, like other travelers taking ship for the east, left from Cenchreae after his first stay in Corinth (cf. Acts 18:18). Note that 2 Corinthians is addressed to “all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia.”
7. See especially the cognate verb διακονέω in 1 Pet. 4:10. Paul uses the word διάκονος 20 other times. Twice he uses it to refer to secular rulers (Rom. 13:4) and twice to describe Christ (Rom. 15:8; Gal. 2:17). Paul uses it especially often to refer to himself and his coworkers (1 Cor. 3:5; 2 Cor. 3:6; 6:4; Eph. 3:7; 6:21; Col. 1:7, 23, 25; 4:7; 1 Tim. 4:6) or to those who sought a position similar to his (2 Cor. 11:15 [twice], 23). Only in Phil. 1:1 and 1 Tim. 3:8, 12 does the word denote an “office.”
8. See, e.g., TEV, “who serves the church”; KJV, NIV, and NASB translate “servant”; cf. K. Romaniuk, “Was Phoebe in Romans 16, 1 a Deaconess?” ZNW 81 (1990), 132–34; Murray. One of the problems with this view is that Paul seldom—if ever—uses διάκονος of the “service” or “ministry” of Christians generally.
9. E. S. Fiorenza, “Missionaries, Apostles, Coworkers: Romans 16 and the Reconstruction of Women’s Early Christian History,” WW 6 (1986), 425–26; Jewett, “Paul, Phoebe, and the Spanish Mission,” pp. 148–49. On this meaning of διάκονος, see E. E. Ellis, “Paul and His Co-Workers,” NTS 17 (1970–71), 441–43. The first two authors and, to some extent, Ellis, confuse meaning and reference. The meaning of διάκονος in Paul is demonstrably quite general: “servant,” especially servant of Christ. Depending on the context, this term can then refer to Christian workers of many different kinds. But there is no warrant to import the reference that the term has when used, e.g., of Paul himself, to Phoebe here.
10. This is the first occurrence of ἐκκλησία in Romans. Paul uses it only in this chapter (cf. also vv. 4, 5, 16, 23), and probably always (v. 23 is debated) of the local church, “Christians in one place gathered to share their common life of worship and discipleship” (Dunn, 2.887).
11. See NRSV; REB (“minister”); and so most commentators (e.g., Chrysostom, Homily 31 [pp. 549–50, 557]; Godet; Michel; Käsemann; Cranfield; Wilckens; Dunn); cf. also D. C. Arichea, Jr., “Who was Phoebe? Translating diakonos in Romans 16:1,” BT 39 (1988), 401–9; P. Richardson, “From Apostles to Virgins: Romans 16 and the Roles of Women in the Early Church,” Toronto Journal of Theology 2 (1986), 238–39; W.-H. Ollrog, Paulus und seine Mitarbeiter: Untersuchungen zu Theorie und Praxis der paulinischen Mission (WMANT 50; Neukirchen/Vluyn: Neukirchener, 1979), 31. We use the term “semi-official” because evidence for a fixed “office,” with a definite “job description,” is lacking for this early period. We must recognize something of a transitional phase, in which people who regularly involved themselves in certain ministries were beginning to be recognized by the church as more-or-less permanent “servants” (cf. Barrett; Dunn). A few commentators use the term “deaconess” (see RSV); and, at a later date, when the office was officially recognized, the feminine term διακόνισσα was used of “female deacons” (cf. Apost. Const. 8.19, 20, 28). But διάκονος is used of female officeholders in the early church (cf. the texts cited in New Docs. 2.193–94; 4:239–41); in this period, it was clearly used of both men and women.
12. The verse begins with ἵνα. Moule (Idiom Book, p. 145) suggests that this might be an “imperatival” ἵνα.
13. The verb is προσδέχομαι, different from the verb Paul uses in 14:1 and 15:7 (προσλαμβάνω). For the meaning of προσδέχομαι here, see also Luke 15:2; Phil. 2:29 (BAGD; Käsemann).
14. “In the Lord” occurs seven times (cf. also vv. 8, 11, 12 [twice], 13, 22); “in Christ” four times (vv. 3, 7, 9, 10). There is no difference in meaning between them here.
15. The debate about whether this phrase highlights the one to be received or the ones doing the receiving (e.g., Murray) is probably misguided: the phrase modifies the verb and includes both those who receive and those who are received.
16. The Greek verb is παρίστημι. It has a variety of meanings in the NT; cf. 2 Tim. 4:17 for the closest parallel (BAGD).
17. The Greek is awkward, with the antecedent of the relative pronoun ᾧ coming after the pronoun (πράγματι; cf. Turner, 265).
18. The Greek word is πράγμα, a very general term meaning “act, deed, matter.” But in 1 Cor. 6:1 it is used to describe a legal dispute; and this meaning would fit this context well (cf. Gifford; Michel; Dunn; Fitzmyer). On the other hand, the indefinite construction Paul uses—ἄν with the subjunctive χρῄζῃ (“have need of”)—might point to the general meaning (cf., e.g., Käsemann; Schlier; Cranfield). The indefinite construction also tells against the suggestion of Jewett (“Paul, Phoebe, and the Spanish Mission,” pp. 150–51), that the “matter” was Phoebe’s sponsorship of Paul’s mission to Spain.
19. See, e.g., Lietzmann; Michel; Käsemann; Schlier.
20. See, e.g., R. R. Schulz, “A Case for ‘President’ Phoebe in Romans 16:2,” Lutheran Theological Journal 24 (1990), 124–26; D. M. Scholer, “Paul’s Women Coworkers in the Ministry of the Church,” Daughters of Sarah 6/4 (1980), 3–6.
21. προστάτις is the feminine form of προστάτης, which is often used in this sense, and sometimes with reference also to one who is the “guardian” of a particular god or religious shrine (BAGD; cf. also Lat. patronus). The feminine form of the word has recently been discovered with this general meaning in a second-century papyrus (New Docs 4.241–44). The “patron” sometimes had an official legal status; but this is not clear with respect to Phoebe. For this general approach, see Judge, “Cultural Conformity,” pp. 20–21; Meeks, First Urban Christians, p. 60; Richardson, “From Apostle to Virgin,” p. 239; Fiorenza, “Missionaries, Apostles, Co-workers,” p. 426; Jewett, “Paul, Phoebe, and the Spanish Mission,” pp. 149–50; S-H; Cranfield; Dunn; Fitzmyer.
1. Considerable debate surrounds the name that should be read here; see the notes on the verse. Since the issue hinges on the accent, and most MSS are without accents, the issue is not basically a textual one. However, two MSS (P46 and minuscule 6) read here Ἰουλίαν, “Julia.” But this reading is too weakly supported to be considered seriously.
2. A few MSS (the original hand of the secondary Alexandrian uncial C, and the western uncials F and G) read here Ἰουνιαν (see v. 7); P46 has Βηρέα καὶ Ἀουλίαν in place of Ἰουλίαν, Νερέα.
3. It is not clear whether “those of Aristobulus” and “those of Narcissus” represent house churches or not.
4. See P. Lampe, “The Roman Christians of Romans 16,” in Donfried, p. 218; Jervis, Purpose of Romans, pp. 151–52; Jewett, “Paul, Phoebe, and the Spanish Mission,” p. 153; J. A. D. Weima, Neglected Endings: The Significance of the Pauline Letter Closings (JSNTSup 101; Sheffield: JSOT, 1994), pp. 226–28; Käsemann, 412; Wilckens, 3.138; Dunn, 2.908; Fitzmyer, 734.
5. Stuhlmacher, 247.
6. Lampe, Die stadtrömischen Christen, pp. 135–53; cf. also idem, “Roman Christians,” pp. 216–30. The most important earlier studies are found in Lightfoot’s appendix on “Caesar’s Household” in his Commentary on Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians, pp. 174–77; and S-H.
7. Lampe assumes, however, that Paul specifically identifies all the Jewish Christians that he can (cf. also Lietzmann, 119). But this is not true, since Paul does nothing to identify Prisca and Aquila; and the latter, at least, was certainly Jewish.
8. Lampe concludes that four names are definitely not those of slaves or freemen; ten definitely are; and 12 cannot be determined. He further acknowledges that we cannot know whether this pattern obtained for the church as a whole. However, if it did, the composition of the church would mirror rather closely the society as a whole (cf. Die stadtrömischen Christen, pp. 141–53; cf. also the brief summary in “Roman Christians,” pp. 227–29).
9. The Greek verb is ἀσπάζομαι, which, MM claim, was the “term. tech. for conveying the greetings at the end of a letter.”
10. Cf. Gamble, 93. As Lampe notes, asking the Romans themselves to convey his greetings may have been a tactic to improve relations in the church (“Roman Christians,” p. 218). But Paul does the same thing at the end of Philippians, so we should probably not make too much of the point.
11. Luke prefers “Priscilla,” the diminutive form of “Prisca.” We do not know why Priscilla/Prisca comes first in four of the six NT mentions of the couple. Scholars have suggested that she may have been the more dominant of the two, the more gifted, the one who brought most money into the marriage, or the one who was most significant for their “home-based” ministry.
12. Dunn, 2.892.
13. Michel, 474; Watson, 105; Lampe, “Roman Christians,” p. 220.
14. Gk. συνεργοί (cf. also vv. 9, 21; 2 Cor. 8:23; Phil. 2:25; 4:3; Col. 4:11; Phlm. 1, 24). On the meaning of the term, see Ollrog, Paulus, pp. 63–72. The term always denotes work in ministry, but the kind of ministry undertaken is not specified; contra, e.g., Fiorenza, “Missionaries, Apostles, Co-workers,” p. 430, who argues that the term denotes leaders in the community. See, in general, Ellis, “Paul and His Co-Workers,” p. 440.
15. This need not indicate a literal “baring of the neck” to the executioner; the imagery is very similar to our “risking one’s neck” (cf. Deissmann, Light, pp. 117–18).
16. The Greek word ψυχή refers here, in Hebrew fashion, to the “life” as a whole.
17. E.g., Michel; Cranfield.
18. Cranfield; Murray (?).
19. Dunn.
20. It is just possible that the Greek, τὴν κατʼ οἶκον αὐτῶν ἐκκλησίαν, could mean “the church made up of members of their household.” But this is less likely. The κατά is not distributive, as if Paul is identifying that part of the Roman church which met in their house (Godet), but it simply means “in” (BAGD II.1.c; M. Gielen, “Zur Interpretation der Formel ἡ κατʼ οἶκον ἐκκλησία,” ZNW 77 [1986], 111–12), the “church” being, as throughout Rom. 16, the “house church.”
21. The term is virtually equivalent here, and in vv. 8, 9, and 12, to ἀδελφός, “fellow believer.” See esp. Dunn, 2.893.
22. On this application of the imagery of the “first fruits” (ἀπαρχή), see 1 Cor. 16:15; and see the note on 11:16.
23. See, e.g., Michel; Lampe, “Roman Christians,” p. 221; Fitzmyer. Wilckens thinks that he simply belonged to their house church.
24. E.g., Michel; Käsemann. S-H demur, noting that Paul does not identify her as Jewish, as he does a number of others in these greetings (cf. also Lampe, “Roman Christians,” p. 225). But Paul is not consistent on this matter, so this argument holds no water.
25. See, for some recent evidence, New Docs 4.229–30.
26. Gk. πολλά, “many things.” The word here intensifies the verb (Z-G, 496).
27. Gk. εἰς ὑμᾶς, which functions like a dative of advantage (Z-G, 496). Paul’s use of the second person form here might suggest that Paul had heard of Mary only indirectly (through Prisca and Aquila?; cf. Lampe, “Roman Christians,” p. 220).
28. See esp. A. von Harnack, “κόπος (κοπιᾶν, οἱ κοπιῶντες) im frühchristlichen Sprachgebrauch,” ZNW 27 (1928), 1–10; note also Scholer, “Paul’s Women Co-workers,” pp. 3–4; Lampe, “Roman Christians,” p. 223. Paul uses the verb in 16:12; 1 Cor. 4:12; 15:10; 16:16; Gal. 4:11; Eph. 4:28; Phil. 2:16; Col. 1:29; 1 Thess. 5:12; 1 Tim. 4:10; 5:17; 2 Tim. 2:6.
29. The Greek term is συγγενεῖς. It has occasionally been argued that the word refers, literally, to Paul’s “blood relatives” (Meyer; Liddon; Haldane; Murray) or to his close “companions” (V. Fabrega, “War Junia(s), der hervorragende Apostel (Röm. 16, 7), eine Frau?” JAC 27–28 [1984–85], pp. 49–50) or to fellow citizens of Tarsus (W. R. Ramsay, The Cities of St. Paul [New York: A. C. Armstrong and Son, 1908], pp. 175–78), but a reference to fellow Jews fits both Paul’s usage (see Rom. 9:3 and the note there) and the context.
30. The UBS4 and NA27 Greek New Testaments both accent Ἰουνιᾶν, which would be the contracted form of Junianus. They cite Ἰουνίαν, from “Junia,” as a variant. It must be remembered that few of the oldest MSS had any accents at all. The later minuscules, many of which did have accents, reflect the interpretation of the name as masculine that became current from the thirteenth century onward (an exception, however, is the important minuscule 33, which has the feminine form; cf. Lampe, “Roman Christians,” p. 223).
31. The first explicitly to identify “Junia(s)” as a man was apparently Epiphanius (A.D. 315–403) in his Index of Disciples 125.19–20 (cf. J. Piper and W. Grudem, “An Overview of Central Concerns: Questions and Answers,” in Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism [ed. J. Piper and W. Grudem; Westchester, IL: Crossway, 1991], p. 79). But the reliability of his information is called into question by his identification, in the same passage, of Prisca as a man. The next known person to identify Junia(s) as a man was Aegidius of Rome (A.D. 1245–1316); cf. the history of interpretation in B. Brooten, “ ‘Junia … outstanding among the Apostles,’ ” in Women Priests: A Catholic Commentary on the Vatican Declaration (ed. L. and A. Swidler; New York: Paulist, 1977), pp. 141–44. See also, e.g., Godet; S-H; Meyer; Lietzmann; Gaugler; Althaus; Barrett; Murray; Hendriksen.
32. See the list in Fitzmyer. The only possible exception is Origen, who, according to Rufinus’s translation of his commentary in Migne, PG 14, 1281B and 1289A, reads a masculine name. But Migne’s text (notoriously corrupt) is probably in error; Origen apparently read a feminine name here (cf. Brooten, “Junia,” p. 141; Lampe, “Roman Christians,” p. 223).
33. See, e.g., Brooten, “Junia,” pp. 141–44; Fiorenza, “Missionaries, Apostles, Coworkers,” p. 430; Fabrega, “Junia(s),” pp. 48–49; R. R. Schulz, “Romans 16:7: Junia or Junias?” ExpTim 98 (1986–87), 109–10; Richardson, “From Apostles to Virgins,” pp. 238–39; Lampe, “Roman Christians,” pp. 223–24 (though he is more cautious in “Iunia/Iunias: Sklavenherkunft im Kreise der vorpaulinischen Apostel [Röm 16,7],” ZNW 76 [1985], 132–34); R. S. Cervin, “A Note Regarding the Name ‘Junia(s)’ in Romans 16.7,” NTS 40 (1994), 464–70; Lagrange; Bruce; Cranfield; Wilckens; Dunn; Fitzmyer; Schlier.
34. See, e.g., Lampe, “Roman Christians,” p. 223. It should be noted, however, that the Greek form Ἰουνία was not a popular name; a search of the TLG database came up with only three occurrences outside of Rom. 16:7 (see J. Piper and W. Grudem, “An Overview of Central Concerns,” pp. 79–80).
35. So most of the commentators who identify Junia(s) as a woman.
36. A few scholars have suggested that Paul might use the term συναιχμαλώτος, “fellow prisoner,” in a metaphorical sense, “captured for the gospel ministry” (G. Kittel, TDNT I, 196–97; Fabrega, “Junia(s),” pp. 50–51), but there is no evidence for this usage.
37. Luke records only one imprisonment of Paul before the writing of Romans: an (interrupted) overnight incarceration in Philippi (Acts 16:24–34); but Paul himself, writing just before Romans, acknowledges many imprisonments (2 Cor. 11:23); and many scholars think that Paul was imprisoned for a time during his Ephesian ministry (Acts 19).
38. The Greek phrase is ἐπίσημοι ἐν τοῖς ἀποστόλοις; on this view, ἐν will have an instrumental force, or be equivalent to the Hebrew “in the eyes of.” See, e.g., Meyer; Zahn; Gifford; Hodge; Lenski; Murray.
39. With a plural object, ἐν often means “among”; and if Paul had wanted to say that Andronicus and Junia were esteemed “by” the apostles, we would have expected him to use a simple dative or ὑπό with the genitive. The word ἐπίσημοι (“splendid,” “prominent,” “outstanding”; only here in the NT in this sense [cf. also Matt. 27:16]) also favors this rendering (cf. esp. S-H).
40. See, e.g., Brooten, “Junia,” p. 143; Fiorenza, “Missionaries, Apostles, Coworkers,” pp. 430–31; Richardson, “From Apostles to Virgins,” pp. 238–39.
41. See 2 Cor. 8:3; Phil. 2:25.
42. The phrase is E. E. Ellis’s (“Paul and His Co-Workers,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters [ed. G. F. Hawthorne and R. P. Martin; Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1993], p. 186). See especially the probable distinction in 1 Cor. 15 between “the twelve” (v. 5) and “all the apostles” (v. 7); also 1 Cor. 9:5–6; Gal. 2:9; Acts 14:4, 14. Even Paul’s reference to the teachers bothering the Corinthians as false “apostles” (11:5; 12:11) implies a broader use of the term. And note the evidence from the early church: Did. 11:4; Herm. Vis. 3.5.1; Sim. 9.15.4; 16.5; 25.2. On the whole matter, see esp. J. B. Lightfoot, The Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians (rpt.; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, n.d.), pp. 95–99; R. Schnackenburg, “Apostles Before and During Paul’s Time,” in Apostolic History and the Gospel, pp. 287–303.
43. See, e.g., Lightfoot, Galatians, pp. 97–98; B. Bacon, “Andronicus,” ExpTim 42 (1930–31), 300–304; Meeks, First Urban Christians, pp. 131–33; Calvin; Godet; Michel; Käsemann; Cranfield; Wilckens; Dunn; Fitzmyer; Schlier.
44. Wilckens.
45. Lampe, “Roman Christians,” p. 228; cf. Lightfoot, Philippians, p. 174.
47. Lightfoot (Philippians, p. 174), indeed, conjectures that he may have been part of “Caesar’s household” (cf. Phil. 4:22), that is, the imperial staff.
48. See, e.g., Michel; Murray; Cranfield; Schlier.
49. The Greek term δόκιμιον often denotes the proven character that results from a test (see the note on 5:4 [δοκιμή]); and several commentators think Paul uses it in this sense here (Godet; Murray; Dunn [?]). But in Rom. 14:18 it seems to mean simply “approved,” “esteemed.”
50. Agrippa went to Rome, accompanied by his brother, as a hostage. Aristobulus never held public office (cf. Josephus, Ant. 18.273–76; J.W. 2.221). On the identification, see Lightfoot, Philippians, p. 174–75; it is supported by most commentators since Aristobulus is a rare name in Rome (cf. Lampe, “Roman Christians,” p. 222). Käsemann is not convinced, but he shows unnecessary scepticism about identifying those greeted here with people known from other sources.
51. Lampe, “Roman Christians,” p. 226.
52. Tacitus, Ann. 31.1; Cassius Dio, Rom. Hist. 60.34; cf. also Lightfoot, Philippians, p. 175; Calvin.
53. Lampe, “Roman Christians,” p. 228. Both names, as Lightfoot (Philippians, p. 176) notes, are found at about Paul’s time for servants in the imperial household.
54. It was common to give children names from the same Greek root.
55. On κοπιάω, see v. 6; on “in the Lord” see v. 2.
56. The name comes from “Persia” and perhaps denotes a slave captured in that region.
57. Mark identifies Simon as “the father of Alexander and Rufus” (Mark 15:21), perhaps to connect him with two well-known Christians in Rome, from where Mark is probably written. Rufus was, however, a fairly common name (Lampe, “Roman Christians,” p. 226). Favoring the identification are Lightfoot, Philippians, p. 176; Godet; Cranfield; Dunn; doubting it are Käsemann; Schlier.
58. Godet; S-H; Murray; Barrett. Dunn thinks that the word suggests that Rufus had been chosen for some special task and theorizes that it might have something to do with his father’s carrying of Christ’s cross.
59. See esp. Cranfield, who notes that Paul uses other terms, such as “beloved” (see my notes on v. 5), in this list without any special emphasis.
60. Hermes “is among the commonest of slave-names” (Lightfoot, Philippians, p. 176).
61. See, e.g., Cranfield; Fitzmyer. Both names occur frequently to denote members of the imperial court (Lightfoot, Philippians, p. 177).
62. The placement of πάντας in this phrase, τοὺς σὺν αὐτοῖς πάντας ἁγίους, is unusual; but it must be equivalent to πάντας τοὺς ἁγίους σὺν αὐτοῖς (Moule, Idiom Book, p. 93).
63. See G. Stählin, TDNT IX, 121–22; 125–27; S. Benko, Pagan Rome and the Early Christians (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University, 1984), pp. 79–102.
65. See, e.g., Michel, 478; Cranfield, 2.796; Wilckens, 3.137; Schlier, 446.
66. The genitive τοῦ Χριστοῦ here is a classic example of a genitive that defies narrow classification; Turner (p. 212), with others, calls it a “mystical” genitive, but perhaps “general” would be a better description. It suggests that the churches are “related to” Christ but in no single, particular manner.
67. Fitzmyer.
68. See esp. Wilckens, 3.137–38.
69. See especially D. Moo, “What Does It Mean Not to Teach or Have Authority over Men?” in Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, pp. 179–93.
1. Several MSS (the secondary Alexandrian witnesses A, C, 33, 81, and 1739, Ψ, and the majority text) add Χριστοῦ, “Christ.” The shorter reading, which has strong and early support (P46 and the two primary Alexandrian witnesses, א, and B) should be followed.
2. Several, mainly western, MSS (D, F, G) omit the grace prayer-wish entirely, putting in its place a similar grace wish that other MSS put after v. 23.
3. K. Erbes, “Zeit und Zeil der Grüße Röm 16,3–15 und der Mitteilungen 2 Tim 4,9–21,” ZNW 10 (1909), 146; Jewett, Christian Tolerance, pp. 17–22; O’Neill, 252–53; Schmithals, 550–51; Ollrog, “Abfassungsverhältnisse,” pp. 221–44.
4. See, e.g., Gamble, 52; Wiles, Paul’s Intercessory Prayers, pp. 95–97; Jervis, Purpose, pp. 152–53; Seifrid, Justification by Faith, p. 198; Michel, 479; Wilckens, 3.139.
5. Stuhlmacher (252–53) argues plausibly that Paul has the same group in mind in both texts.
6. For the latter, see Wilckens, 3.143.
7. Many scholars think that Paul may issue a generic warning that would cover any kind of false teaching that might crop up in Rome (e.g., Seifrid, Justification by Faith, p. 199; Cranfield, 2.800–801; Schlier, 446; Dunn, 2.904).
8. See esp. Wilckens, 3.144. Cf. also Michel, 472, 479. Verses 17–19 have many parallels with two similar Pauline warnings: Phil. 3:17–21 and Gal. 6:11–16.
9. Donfried, “Short Note,” pp. 51–52; Black, 212–13; Barrett, 285 (?).
10. See, e.g., Dodd, 242–43, and esp. Schmithals, 560, and at greater length in his “Die Irrlehrer von Rm 16:17–20,” ST 13 (1959), 51–69.
11. Godet, 496; S-H, 429; Stuhlmacher, 252–53; and esp. Wilckens, 3.141, 144–45.
12. See Seifrid, Justification by Faith, pp. 199–200; M. H. Franzmann, “Exegesis on Romans 16:17ff.,” Concordia Journal 7 (1981), 14; Godet, 496; S-H, 429; Murray, 2.234–35; contra, e.g., Watson, 210–12, who finds here evidence of a Roman Jewish-Christian congregation antagonistic to the “Gentile-oriented” congregation focused on Prisca and Aquila.
13. Gk. ἀδελφοί. See the note on 15:30.
14. Godet, 496; Cranfield, 2.797–98.
15. See the note on 12:1; cf. also 12:8; 15:30.
16. The verb means “observe,” “pay attention to,” and Paul elsewhere uses it with a positive nuance (2 Cor. 4:18; Gal. 6:1; Phil. 2:4; 3:17).
17. Gk. ποιοῦντας, a substantival participle coming at the end of the clause.
18. I therefore steer a middle course in the interpretation of the article between Wilckens, who insists that it indicates that the false teachers were known to the Romans, and Dunn, who thinks that it is simply stylistic (cf. also Godet).
19. “Dissensions” translates διχοστασίας, a word that occurs only twice else in biblical Greek (1 Macc. 3:29; Gal. 3:20; it is v.l. in 1 Cor. 3:3).
20. See 9:33; 11:9; 14:13; cf. esp. Müller, Anstoss und Gericht, pp. 46–67.
21. The phrase is parallel to the τύπον διδαχῆς of 6:17.
22. Gk. ἐκκλίνω, which is common in the LXX but rare in the NT (cf. also Rom. 3:12; 1 Pet. 3:11). The present tense probably suggests that the Roman Christians must be constant in their vigilance.
23. Contra, e.g., Franzmann, “Exegesis,” pp. 15–16. See Cranfield; Wilckens.
24. See the γάρ, “for.”
25. Gk. τοιοῦτοι, which has a qualitative force (cf. BAGD).
26. E.g., Godet; W. Schmithals, Paul and the Gnostics (Nashville: Abingdon, 1972), pp. 231–32.
27. Barrett; Fitzmyer (?).
28. See, e.g., Cranfield; Michel; Käsemann; Wilckens; Schlier.
29. See Dunn; and note the translation “appetites” in almost all modern English versions. Perhaps this meaning finds some confirmation in 1 Cor. 6:13, a “slogan” of the Corinthians: “foods for the belly, and the belly for foods.” Paul’s only other use of the word is in Gal. 1:15, where he refers to the “belly,” i.e., “womb,” of his mother.
30. The Greek word Paul uses here, ἄκακος, can have a very positive nuance, as when Christ is called “innocent” in Heb. 7:26 (the only other NT use of the word; cf. BAGD). But it clearly has something of a pejorative meaning here (cf. Cranfield): note KJV, “simple”; NRSV, “simple-minded”; NIV, “naive.”
31. Gk. διὰ τῆς χρηστολογίας καὶ εὐλογίας. As most recognize, the construction is a hendiadys, in which the two nouns are mutually interpreting. χρηστολογία occurs only here in the Greek Bible, and means “smooth, plausible speech” (BAGD; Black’s suggestion of a complicated allusion to “Christ” is too subtle by half). εὐλογία, on the other hand, occurs frequently, and everywhere else in the NT with the positive sense, “blessing.” But the word can mean “fine speaking” (BAGD), and Paul apparently uses it here with deliberate irony: they conceal the content of what they say in attractive rhetorical flourishes. (The suggestion that Paul is alluding here to a sectarian christological “eulogy” [cf. R. Trevijano, “Εὐλογία in Paul and the Text of Rom. 16,18,” SE 6 {1973}, 537–40] cannot be accepted.)
32. Cf. the γάρ, “for.”
33. See Calvin. It is a play on the same concept rather than on the same word because Paul uses different words for “innocent” in v. 18b (ἀκάκος) and in v. 19b (ἀκεραίος); and this might be an objection to my interpretation. But perhaps Paul changes words to hint at the difference in meaning that I suggest (or because v. 19b picks up the same word that Jesus used in a similar saying). Other interpreters think that γάρ in v. 19 is parallel to the one in v. 18, both supporting the command “shun” them in v. 17b (e.g., Z-G, 496); or that it connects v. 19 to v. 18 in a different way: e.g., that Paul thinks the false teachers will aim at Rome precisely because of their reputation (Godet); or that Paul reminds them of the reputation that they must uphold (Cranfield).
34. πάντας must, of course, be restricted by its context to “all the other Christians who have heard about you.”
35. The δέ at the beginning of this clause is therefore adversative.
36. εἰς (τὸ ἀγαθόν) means “with respect to” (Meyer); cf. also εἰς (τὸ κακόν) at the end of the verse.
37. See, e.g., Stuhlmacher. Matthew has the same word for “innocent” that Paul uses—ἀκέραιος—but a different one for “wise”—φρόνιμος, in contrast to σοφός. ἀκέραιος occurs only in these two verses and in Phil. 2:15 in the NT.
38. Cranfield; Dunn.
39. Cf., e.g., Wilckens; Fitzmyer.
40. Godet; Michel. It must be said, however, that the language of Paul’s promise is not that close to that of Gen. 3:15. Nor are the alleged (e.g., Schlier, 449–50) Jewish parallels to Gen. 3:15: Jub. 23:29; T. Mos. 10:1; T. Levi 18:37; T. Sim. 6:6; cf. also the twelfth benediction in the Shemoneh Esreh.
41. See, e.g., Michel; Cranfield; Dunn; contra those who think Paul is looking for an immediate victory over Satan’s forces in history (e.g., Schmithals, Paul and the Gnostics, p. 235; Wiles, Paul’s Intercessory Prayers, p. 95; Calvin; Harrison; Morris). Paul’s prediction that the victory over Satan will come “quickly” (ἐν τάχει) is no problem for the eschatological view once we appreciate rightly the NT concept of imminence (see the notes on 13:11–14).
1. A number of MSS, including the “western” uncials D, F, and G, Ψ, and the majority text, add after v. 23 a grace wish: ἡ χάρις τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ μετὰ πάντων ὑμῶν. Ἀμήν (there are minor variations among these witnesses, particularly in the names of Christ); and the KJV therefore has, as v. 24: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” But the verse is omitted in the earliest and most important MSS (P46, א, B, the secondary Alexandrian uncial C, P61, 0150, and a few minuscules) and is clearly a later addition to the text.
2. Contra Wilckens, 3.140.
3. The break in the sequence of greetings has sparked theories about dislocations or interpolations in the text (cf. the introduction to vv. 17–20 and, on vv. 21–23, Schmithals, 563–64). But no textual evidence for such interpolations exists; and the theories assume a rigidity in Paul’s letter-ending format that his letters simply do not bear out.
4. Paul does not mention Timothy in 1 Corinthians, written from Ephesus, but he is included as coauthor of 2 Corinthians, written from Macedonia.
5. See Col. 1:1; Phlm. 1; and Phil. 1:1, 19–23 (assuming that Philippians was written from Rome).
6. See Godet.
7. Godet.
8. Cf. BDF 125(2); Stuart; Schmithals; Dunn (?); Stuhlmacher (?).
9. See Bruce; Käsemann; Schlier; Fitzmyer.
10. Godet; Michel; Cranfield; Wilckens; contra, e.g., Käsemann; Schlier.
11. Sosipater (Σωσίπατρος) is a variant of Sopater (Σώπατρος).
12. Gk. συγγενεῖς, on which see v. 7. It is not completely clear whether this designation applies to all three or only to the last two (cf. Cranfield).
13. See, e.g., Michel; Wilckens; Dunn; Fitzmyer. Käsemann objects, arguing that Jewish Christians would not have represented Paul’s “Gentile” churches. But perhaps this is just why some Jewish Christians were selected: to demonstrate to the Jerusalem saints that the Pauline churches were not exclusively Gentile.
14. On this meaning of γράφω, see BAGD. It was customary for ancient authors to use a scribe to write out their letters; and authors gave to their scribes varying degrees of freedom in the actual wording of the contents. (See, e.g., R. N. Longenecker, “Ancient Amanuenses and the Pauline Epistles,” in New Dimensions in New Testament Study, pp. 281–97; R. E. Richards, The Secretary in the Letters of Paul [WUNT 2.42; Tübingen: Mohr, 1991], esp. pp. 170–72.) Most scholars agree that the directness of the style of Romans, as well as its similarity to the style of Galatians and 1 Corinthians, suggests strongly that the wording of Romans is Paul’s own. Tertius probably simply copied out Paul’s dictation.
15. ἐν τῷ κυρίῳ (“in the Lord”), which probably modifies ἀσπάζομαι (“greet”) rather than γράψας (“write”); cf. Cranfield.
16. His full name would then have been Gaius Titius Justus, Gaius being his praenomen (cf. Bruce).
17. Gk. ξένος. The word usually means “stranger,” “alien,” but it can also mean “host” (BAGD).
18. BAGD; Althaus; Dunn; Gielen, “Zur Interpretation”; Fitzmyer.
19. See, e.g., Käsemann; Wilckens.
20. Cf., e.g., Fitzmyer.
21. The aedile was appointed for one year and was responsible for the city streets and buildings and for certain finances. The identification of Lat. aedile and Gk. οἰκονόμος is questioned by many (e.g., H. J. Cadbury, “Erastus of Corinth,” JBL 50 [1931], 42–58; G. Theissen, The Social Setting of Pauline Christianity [Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1982], pp. 77–78). But D. W. J. Gill shows that the identification is possible (“Erastus the Aedile,” TynBul 40 [1989], 293–301).
22. See Theissen, Social Setting, pp. 77–78; Meeks, First Urban Christians, pp. 58–59; Bruce.
23. See also A. D. Clarke, “Another Corinthian Erastus Inscription,” TynBul 42 (1991), 146–51.
24. Gk. ἀδελφός, “brother.” A few think that the word could here be used of a physical relationship to Erastus or Tertius (e.g., Bruce), but this is unlikely.