Romans 16:21-23

Romans 16:21-23-Paul Passes Along Greetings To Romans From Eight Individuals With Him In Corinth

Thus far in our study of Romans 16 we have noted that in Romans 16:1-2 Paul introduces Phoebe to the Roman believers and commands them to welcome her and put themselves at her disposal. Romans 16:1, “Now, I introduce to you Phoebe, our spiritual sister, who is also serving the church at Cenchrea 2 in order to welcome her into fellowship with yourselves with great honor and hospitality on the basis of the Lord’s teaching to love one another in a manner worthy of the saints and in addition that you place yourselves at her disposal for the purpose of providing her with anything at all she needs from you because she in fact has demonstrated herself to be of assistance for many including myself as well.” In verse 1, Paul gives a two-fold description of Phoebe, both of which were designed to facilitate Phoebe’s acceptance into the fellowship of the Roman believers. The first description “ our spiritual sister ” denotes the common spiritual relationship that Phoebe has with not only Paul and his companions with him in Corinth but also the common spiritual relationship she has with the Roman believers. The second description “ who is also serving the church at Cenchrea ” describes Phoebe as one who serves both Paul and the Roman believers as an intermediary between the two in the sense that she is the courier of this epistle. It does not denote the office of “deacon” since Paul’s teaching in 1 Timothy 2:11-15 and 3:12 prohibit a woman holding this position of authority in the church. “Cenchrea ” refers to a seaport seven miles east of Corinth on the Saronic Gulf, which was used for trade with Asia and was mentioned in the writings of Thucydides, Pausanias, and Strabo. It served as the southern harbor of Corinth. In Romans 16:1, it is identified as the home of Phoebe. Then, in Romans 16:2, he presents the two-fold purpose for Paul introducing Phoebe to the Roman believers. First of all, he introduced her to them so that they would welcome her into their fellowship with great honor and hospitality. The reason why they should do so is because of the Lord’s teaching to love one another. They were to welcome her in a manner worthy of the saints or that was the proper way among Christians of welcoming a fellow believer, which is in accordance with the Lord’s teaching to love one another. The second purpose for Paul introducing Phoebe to the Roman believers was so that they would place themselves at her disposal for the purpose of providing her with anything she

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 1 needs. Then, he presents the reason why they should do this, namely, because she has demonstrated herself to be of assistance for many Christians including himself. Then, in Romans 16:3-15, Paul commands the Roman believers to greet on his behalf 26 individuals, 2 families and other unnamed individuals. Romans 16:3, “All of you please give my regards to Prisca as well as Aquila, my co-workers in the cause of Christ, who is Jesus 4 who, indeed are of such character, risked their own necks for my life. Not only am I grateful but also each and every one of the churches from among the Gentiles. 5 Also, all of you please give my regards to the church, which is in their private home. Please give my regards to Epenetus, my dear friend who possesses the particular distinction of being the first convert to Christ from Asia. 6 All of you please give my regards to Mary, who is of outstanding character, having worked very hard on behalf of all of you. 7 All of you please give my regards to Andronicus as well as Junia, my fellow-workers as well as my fellow- prisoners who possess depth of character being well-known to the apostles, who have entered into the state of being in union with Christ before me. 8 All of you please give my regards to Ampliatus, my dear friend with respect to serving the Lord. 9 All of you please give my regards to Urbanus, our co- worker in the cause of Christ as well as Stachys, my dear friend. 10 All of you, please give my regards to Apelles, the battle tested one in the cause of Christ. All of you please give my regards to those from the household of Aristobulus. 11 All of you please give my regards to Herodion, my fellow-countryman. All of you please give my regards to those from the household of Narcissus, who are under the authority of the Lord. 12 All of you please give my regards to Tryphaena and Tryphosa, hard workers with respect to serving the Lord. All of you please give my regards to Persis, the beloved, who possesses depth of character, having worked very hard with respect to serving the Lord. 13 All of you please give my regards to Rufus, who is outstanding with respect to serving the Lord as well as his mother and mine. 14 All of you please give my regards to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas and Hermas as well as those spiritual brothers associated with them. 15 All of you please give my regards to Philologus as well as Julia, Nereus as well as his sister and in addition, each and every one of the saints associated with them.” In Romans 16:3-15, Paul sends greetings to 26 individuals. Paul sends greetings to 17 men (Aquila, Epenetus, Andronicus, Ampliatus, Urbanus, Stachys, Apelles, Herodion, Rufus, Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, Philologus, Nereus and Olympas). He sends his greetings to 9 women, 7 of which he names (Prisca, Mary, Junia, Tryphaena, Tryphosa, Persis, Rufus’ mother, Julia and Nereus’ sister). Of these individuals, 2 are married couples (Prisca and Aquila; Andronicus and Junia) and one more could either be husband and wife or brother

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 2 and sister (Philologus and Julia). The apostle also sent greetings to the slaves or freedmen connected to the families of Aristobulus and Narcissus. There could be as many as five house churches, one headed by Prisca and Aquila, one each connected to the household of Aristobulus and Narcissus, one connected to Asyncritus’ group and those connected to Philologus. Of these individuals, Paul identifies 4 as being dear friends, Epenetus, Ampliatus, Stachys and Persis and 5 are Jews, Prisca, Aquila, Andronicus, Junia and Herodion.

Next, in Romans 16:16, Paul commands the Roman believers to greet on one another with a holy kiss and also tells them that all the churches sends their greetings. Romans 16:16, “I myself request that all of you greet one another with a holy kiss. Each and every one of the churches owned by the one and only Christ give their regards to each and every one of you without exception.” In the first statement in this passage, Paul requests that the Roman believers and those whom he sends his regards to in verses 3-15 greet one another with a holy kiss. This kiss in the first century among Christians was an expression of greeting, affection, appreciation, intimate fellowship and unity. In western civilization in the twenty first century, this kiss would be equivalent to a hug or handshake. The adjective hagios , “holy” emphasizes that this kiss is reserved exclusively for fellow Christians. In the second statement in the verse the apostle passes along a greeting to the Romans from each and every one of the churches that he had planted among the Gentiles from Jerusalem to Illyricum. He passes along this greeting because he wants the Roman believers to understand that they are not alone and that the churches that he planted were identifying with them and regarded them as worthy of great respect. It emphasizes with his readers in Rome that the churches that he planted from Jerusalem to Illyricum regarded them as extremely important. Also, Paul wants to build unity between the Roman church and the ones he planted.

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Then, in Romans 16:17, Paul warns the Roman believers to watch out for those who cause divisions and temptations to sin and apostasy contrary to the doctrine they’ve been taught and that they were to avoid them. Romans 16:17, “Now, I warn each and every one of you without exception, spiritual brothers and sisters to keep a watchful eye out for those who cause those divisions as well as those temptations to sin and apostatize contrary to the teaching, which each and every one of you without exception learned. Also, all of you continue making it your habit of keeping away from them.” This verse contains a warning for the Roman believers to keep a watchful eye out for those who cause divisions in churches and who entice believers to sin and apostatize. This group of individuals is the Judaizers and their legalistic teaching is what caused divisions in churches and believers to sin and apostatize in the first century. The Romans were to keep a watchful eye out for these individuals because their teaching was contrary to the teaching they have learned from their pastor- teachers who received their teaching from the Lord and the apostles. On the heels of this warning, Paul commands the Romans to continue making it their habit of keeping away from these individuals. Next, we studied Romans 16:18 and in this passage Paul informs the Romans that the Judaizers who cause divisions in churches and temptations to sin and apostasy by their teaching do not serve Christ but their own appetites. He also writes that they deceive the spiritually immature by their smooth talk and flattery. Romans 16:18, “Because, such individuals are by no means characterized as being slaves to our Lord, who is Christ but rather their own stomach and in addition by means of their smooth talk, yes flattering talk too, they deceive the hearts of the naïve.” In this verse, Paul presents two reasons why the Roman believers were to watch out for the Judaizers and their legalistic teaching and avoid them. The first is that they do not serve Christ but their own stomach, which contains the figure of “synecdoche” of the part where the stomach of the Judaizers is put for their strict adherence to the dietary restrictions of the Mosaic Law. They were causing divisions in the church by attempting to impose the ritual of circumcision upon the Gentile believers (Acts 15; Gal. 5) and by imposing the observance of laws of food that were a part of the oral traditions of the Rabbis and were not a part of Scripture (Col. 2:16-17). If you recall, in Romans 14, Paul addressed the proper attitude to the dietary restrictions of the Mosaic Law, which the Judaizers insisted upon. The second reason why the Romans were to watch out for the legalistic teaching of the Judaizers and avoid them is that they deceived the spiritually naïve or immature by their smooth talk and flattery. Lastly, in Romans 16:19, Paul presents the reason for his warning to watch out for the legalistic teaching of the Judaizers and his command to avoid them. In this

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 4 verse, he states that he warned them because even though their obedience was known to all and he rejoiced over this obedience, he still wanted them to be wise with respect to what is good and innocent with respect to evil. Romans 16:19, “Indeed, your obedience has itself become known to everyone. Therefore, I am rejoicing because of all of you. However, I want each and every one of you without exception to exist in the state of being wise ones with respect to that which is good in quality and character, however uncontaminated with respect to that which is evil in quality and character.” The statement “ indeed, your obedience has itself become known to everyone ” advances upon and intensifies Paul’s warning in verses 17-18 to watch out for the legalistic teaching of the Judaizers and his command to avoid them because they are not slaves of Christ but to the dietary regulations of the Mosaic Law and they deceive the hearts of the naive. The statement “ your obedience has itself become known to everyone ” refers to the obedience to the gospel by the Roman believers not only when they exercised faith alone and Christ alone and as a result were declared justified by the Father but also it refers to their obedience to the gospel after their conversion and their advance to spiritual maturity. It indicates that the obedience of the Roman believers to the gospel had become known to a majority of Christians throughout the Roman Empire in 57 A.D. “Therefore, I am rejoicing because of all of you ” is the result of an inference from the previous statement that the obedience of the Roman believers to the gospel had itself become known to many Christians in the Roman Empire. “However, I want each and every one of you without exception to exist in the state of being wise ones with respect to that which is good in quality and character, however uncontaminated with respect to that which is evil in quality and character ” presents a contrast with Paul’s previous statement that he was rejoicing because of the obedience of the Roman believers to the gospel. The contrast is between rejoicing over the Roman believers’ obedience to the gospel with a warning to be wise in what is good but innocent in what is evil. The contrast is between the Romans’ present obedience with their future obedience, which is dependent upon the Romans obeying the warning to be wise in what is good but innocent in what is evil. “I want each and every one of you without exception to exist in the state of being wise ones with respect to that which is good in quality and character ” indicates that Paul desires that the Romans possess God’s wisdom in their soul with respect to sound teaching. It denotes that he wants them to have keen understanding and discernment regarding that which is sound doctrine. It refers to teaching that is in accordance with the Father’s will. It denotes that they are to have keen discernment and deep understanding as to what is sound teaching. This

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 5 interpretation is indicated by the fact that in verses 17-18, Paul warns the Romans about false teachers who cause divisions. “Uncontaminated with respect to that which is evil in quality and character indicates that Paul desires that the souls of the Roman believers would be pure or clean and suitable for fellowship with God and fit for the Father’s purpose as a result of avoiding false teachers such as the Judaizers. “ That which is evil in quality and character ” refers to teaching which is in disobedience to the will of the Father and not accordance with His will emphasizing the evil character of false teaching, which contradicts the will of the Father. Lastly, in Romans 16:20, Paul promises the Roman believers that God the Holy Spirit who produces peace in and among believers will soon crush Satan under their feet. He follows this up by expressing his desire that the grace of the Lord Jesus be with them. Romans 16:20, “Now, God the Holy Spirit who produces peace, will, as a certainty, crush Satan under your feet. May the grace originating from our Lord, namely Jesus, who is the Christ, cause itself to be manifested among all of you as a corporate unit.” The promise “ God the Holy Spirit who produces peace, will, as a certainty, crush Satan under your feet ” marks a transition from Paul’s warning concerning false teachers in Romans 16:17-19 to a promise of deliverance from Satan who is behind these false teachers here in Romans 16:20. It is technically not a prayer since it is not addressed specifically to the Father. However, it is an intercessory prayer that Paul prayed. He is revealing the content of this prayer to encourage the Roman believers. So Paul is revealing his Spirit inspired desire for the Roman church as an indirect means of encouraging the Roman believers to go forward in the Father’s plan. This peace refers to the peace of God that is produced by the Spirit in and among the Roman believers. He does this when they continue to obey the commands and prohibitions that Paul issued them in the main argument of the epistle and if they obey his teaching concerning false teachers such as the Judaizers in Romans 16:17-19. This crushing of Satan does not refer to God the Son’s victory over Satan at His Second Advent or upon putting down the final Gog-Magog rebellion after the millennium since there is nothing in the context that indicates this whatsoever. Rather, it speaks of a victory in the lives of the Roman believers at the time of writing and not the future eschatological victory of Christ over Satan and his kingdom. This is indicated by the fact that Paul does not say that Satan will be crushed under Christ’s feet, which will be the case at His Second Advent and when He casts Satan into the lake of fire but rather he says that God the Holy Spirit will

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 6 crush Satan under his readers’ feet! This will take place if the Roman believers obey his teaching in Romans 16:17-19. Here in Romans 16:20, Paul implies that Satan is behind the false teachers that he warned the Roman believers about and thus when they obey his teaching in verses 17-19, the Holy Spirit who inspired this teaching, will, as a certainty, crush Satan and the false teachers that he inspires. The crushing of Satan under the feet of the Roman believers is a special imagery taken of one who is vanquished lying beneath the victor’s feet. It speaks of Satan being vanquished under the Roman believers’ feet if they obey Paul’s teaching concerning the false teachers in Romans 16:17-19. “May the grace originating from our Lord, namely Jesus, who is the Christ, cause itself to be manifested among all of you as a corporate unit ” is a Spirit inspired desire that the Romans would respond to the Spirit’s teaching in this epistle regarding the will of the Father for each individual Roman believer. The apostle Paul under the ministry of God the Holy Spirit is appealing to the Romans to respond to his doctrinal teaching in this epistle, which originates from the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul is not speaking here of grace at the moment of conversion but the grace or God’s provision for after conversion. The grace of God is God’s provision for salvation and a post-conversion relationship and fellowship with Him. The Spirit, through the communication of the Word of God to the believer reveals God the Father’s grace policy to the believer. The Spirit of Christ speaking through the communication of the mind of Christ, i.e. the Word of God to the believer’s human spirit regarding the will of the Father is the means by which grace is received by the believer. Next, we will note Romans 16:21-23 and in this passage Paul passes along greetings to Romans from eight individuals who were with him in Corinth when he wrote this Roman epistle. Romans 16:21, “Timothy my fellow worker greets you, and so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen. 22 I, Tertius (TUHR shuhss) , who write this letter, greet you in the Lord. 23 Gaius (gay yuhs) , host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer greets you, and Quartus, the brother.” The apostle Paul employs the figure of “asyndeton” in Romans 16:21 meaning he does not use a connective word to join the previous statement in Romans 16:20 and the one to follow in Romans 16:21. In Romans 16:20, Paul expresses his Spirit inspired desire that the Romans would respond to the Spirit’s teaching in this epistle regarding the will of the Father for each and every one of them. Then, in verse 21, he passes along to the Romans a greeting from Timothy and three other individuals with him in Corinth.

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He uses this figure since he wants to emphasize with his readers in Rome that the individuals whose greetings he is passing along to them are extremely important to him and are not insignificant in his life and his ministry to the Gentiles. Romans 16:21, “Timothy my fellow worker greets you, and so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.” “Timothy ” is the nominative masculine singular form of the proper name Timotheos ( ) (ti-moe-thay-oce), which means “one who honors God” since it is composed of the noun time , “honor” and the noun theos , “God.” His name appears 24 times in the Greek New Testament and is found 6 times in Acts (16:1; 17:14-15; 18:5; 19:22; 20:4). His name appears 18 times in Pauline epistles (Romans 16:21; 1 Corinthians 4:17; 16:10; 2 Corinthians 1:1, 19; Philippians 1:1; 2:19; Colossians 1:1; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 3:2, 6; 2 Thessalonians 1:1; 1 Timothy 1:2, 18; 6:20; 2 Timothy 1:2; Philemon 1:1; Hebrews 13:23). His name appears at the head of eight of the Pauline epistles (2 Cor. 1:1; Phlp. 1:1; Col. 1:1, 1 Th. 1:1, 2 Th. 1:1, 1 Tm. 1:2; 2 Tm. 1:2; Phlm 1:1). In Acts 16:1 the adverb of place ekei , “in that place” refers to its antecedent noun Lustran , “Lystra” and indicates that Timothy came from the town of Lystra. The deliberate omission of designating Timothy to the city of Derbe along with Gaius in Acts 20:4 clearly indicates that Timothy was from Lystra. Luke does not assign Timothy to the city of Derbe even though he does so with Gaius in the same sentence thus clearly implying that he has already told his readers where Timothy is from. In fact, Luke does not even assign Timothy to a city even though does so with the other men listed in the passage. The city of Lystra belonged to the district of Lycaonia in the Roman province of Galatia. Little is known of the early history of Lystra. The name is apparently from the Lycaonian language. J.R.S. Sterrett in 1885 established its location beyond doubt as the large mound just north of the Turkish village of Hatun Sarai (“Lady’s Mansion”), thus 29 km (18 miles) south-southwest of Iconium in the region of Lacaonia rising 100-150 ft. above the surrounding plain located on the east of the mountain ranges which form the Pisidian triangle. The site is exceptionally attractive, in a secluded valley at the junction of two broad streams. No systematic archeological excavation has been undertaken. But since Lystra did not lie along the course of the main roads, it was not destined to become a great city. In fact, it is located 8 to 10 miles from the great trade route. It was able, therefore, to preserve local character more than cities such as Iconium. Hellenism during the 100-year rule of the Seleucids, for example, apparently made little impact on Lystra. Despite these drawbacks, Augustus designated Lystra with Antioch of Pisidia, a Roman colony in A.D. 6, thereby necessitating a Roman road called the “Imperial Road” to be built between the two cities.

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When Lystra had become a colony she acquired some Roman settlers, most of whom were veterans. Also under the Roman influence roads were built during Augustus’ rule, whereby a road went from Iconium through Lystra and then on to Derbe and Laranda and finally into Cilicia. The Romans had ruled Lystra for some time previously, following the reigns of the Seleucids and Attalids. Amnyntas of Galatia had willed the city to the Romans at his death in 25 B.C. Augustus’ generals regarded Lystra as a suitable place for the Roman garrison to defend the province of Galatia, primarily from the mountain tribes to the west and south. This decision was obviously important to the development of Lystra although the threat of the mountain tribes soon diminished remarkably. The official Roman presence, which must have contrasted strongly with the native Lycaonian populace and culture, brought the city prestige. Regarding Lystra’s inhabitants, first, the Roman element was a small group of the local aristocracy of soldiers who were the ruling class. Secondly, there were the Greek educated residents who were called the Hellenes who were not a racial group but an educated and generally well-to-do segment of the population. The majority of the population was made up of the uneducated Lycaonians who were a small Anatolian tribe. The Roman aristocracy spoke Latin and the educated were able to speak Greek and the Lycaonians spoke in their own vernacular (cf. Acts 14:11), which was still spoken in the 6th century A.D. and were not well acquainted with Greek. Colonial coins of Lystra and a statue of Concord sent by Lystra toward the end of the second century to its sister colony Antioch have been recovered. The later history of Lystra is not well known. The foundations of a Byzantine church have been found at the eastern slope of the hill. On his second missionary journey Paul met Timothy at Lystra (Acts 16:1-5). Timothy, who may have been converted as the result of Paul’s 1st visit to Lystra, was highly regarded by the royal family at Lystra and Iconium. His Jewish mother had become a believer with his grandmother (2 Tm. 1:5) but yet his father is described as a Greek (Acts 16:1) and thus would have belonged to the small elite class of Lystra who had been educated in the Greek language and culture. Acts 16 indicates that Timothy’s mother was a Jewish woman who was a believer. She had married a Greek whose name is unknown. There is no reference to his father being a believer hence he would have been considered a heathen by both Jews and Christians. This mixed marriage would have been viewed by Jewish law as illegal and would have been opposed by the Christian church (cf. 2 Cor. 6:14). The marriage thus took place while his mother was not strictly observing Judaism and before she became a Christian. This “mixed” marriage between a Jew and a Gentile would place their offspring (Timothy) on all but the lowest step in

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 9 the Jewish scale of precedence, yet this was not uncommon in the later periods of Jewish history. Even though Timothy’s mother married a Gentile he was considered a Jew by the Jews and was therefore liable to be circumcised. In Jewish law, a child takes the religion of its mother; so Timothy should have been circumcised and raised a Jew. But in Greek law the father dominates the home. Apparently the Jewish community at Lystra was too weak or lax to interfere with Greek custom. The absence of any personal allusion to the father in Acts or the Epistles suggests the inference that he must have died or disappeared during his son’s infancy. The care of the boy thus devolved upon his mother Eunice and her mother Lois (2 Tm. 1:5). The fact that he had not been circumcised implies either that his mother was not a practicing Jew or that his Gentile father had refused to allow the sign of the covenant to be performed on his son. The imperfect tense of the verb huparchen in Acts 16:3 indicates that Timothy’s father was dead at the time of writing. Huparchon is from the verb huparcho and denotes to be, to be in existence, involving an existence or condition both previous to the circumstances mentioned and continuing after it. Thus the meaning of the verb emphasizes that Timothy’s father existed previous to the circumstances mentioned in Acts 16:1-3. While the present tense indicates progressive or continuous or durative action at the present time, the imperfect expresses continuous action occurring in the past. The progressive imperfect indicates past action that is continuing up to a given point of time. It vividly describes what took place at some time in the past. The imperfect tense thus emphasizes a past of event rather than a current event. Thus, the imperfect tense is emphasizing that Timothy had a Greek father and implies that he no longer is. If the writer wanted to emphasize that his father was still alive he would have put the verb in the present tense but he doesn’t and puts the verb in the imperfect instead. Under the training of Eunice and Lois, Timothy’s education was emphatically Jewish. 2 Timothy 1:5 speaks of the sincere Jewish faith of Timothy’s grandmother Lois and of his mother Eunice, and 2 Timothy 3:15 speaks of Timothy’s early instruction in the Hebrew Scriptures. His mother Eunice is identified as a Jewess as well as a Christian believer in Acts 16:1 who had probably believed on the Lord Jesus Christ during Paul and Barnabas’ 1st visit to Lystra (Acts 14:20-23). Likewise, from Paul’s reference to Timothy in 1 Corinthians 4:17 as his son, we may assume that Timothy’s conversion to Christ also dates from the proclamation of the gospel on that 1st missionary journey. Timothy became an associate and traveling companion of the apostle Paul. 1 Timothy 1:18 strongly suggests that some prophetic utterances about Timothy had first pointed him out to Paul and had encouraged Paul to enlist him as a fellow-

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 10 soldier of Christ. He is called a “disciple” or “student” ( mathetes ) in Acts 16:1. Paul was at least indirectly responsible for Timothy’s conversion and since he had such a close working relationship with him, he could justly call him his gnesio tekno en pistei , “true child in the faith” (1 Tm. 1:2; Phlp. 2:22). Paul calls him his mou teknon agapeton kai piston en kurio , “my beloved and faithful student in the Lord” (1 Cor. 4:17). These two statements indicate that Paul was indeed Timothy’s spiritual father and mentor. Paul had Timothy circumcised after he asked him to become his co-worker (Acts 16:3). According to the text Paul did this not out of deference to Timothy’s mother but on account of local unregenerate Jews who knew Timothy had not been circumcised. Timothy’s thoughts about the matter are not mentioned but evidently he willingly complied with Paul’s request. Paul’s refusal to have Titus, a Gentile by birth, circumcised (Gal. 2:1-5) is not inconsistent with his decision to have Timothy, a Jew by birth, circumcised; both decisions accord with his theology and missionary strategy. Paul considered circumcision per se as nothing, and the same was true of uncircumcision (Gal. 5:6; 6:15). If someone insisted that circumcision was necessary for salvation, Paul fought against this as false doctrine and refused to permit the uncircumcised person to be circumcised. But in Timothy’s case circumcision was simply a matter of expediency; and since Paul himself was prepared to become all things to all people so as to win some (1 Cor. 9:19-23), he did not hesitate to ask the same of Timothy. Paul would not risk impeding the gospel’s progress among the Jews by having an uncircumcised Jewish-Christian as his associate. Had he obstinately done so, he would have alienated his audience immediately and forever. Therefore, Paul regarded Timothy’s circumcision not as a means of salvation but as a legal act to remove a serious obstacle to the presentation of the gospel to unregenerate Jews. Some time after Timothy had been ordained with the laying on of hands by the pastor-teachers at Lystra (1 Tm. 4:14), he became a nearly constant companion of Paul. This long association began some time during Paul’s second missionary journey. Timothy is probably the best known of all of Paul’s co-workers, although Acts mentions his name infrequently and does not record all of his movements. But presumably Timothy traveled with Paul from the time of his calling at Lystra onward, until his second and final Roman imprisonment. Paul links Timothy’s name with his own in saluting the churches in: (1) Corinth (2 Cor. 1:1). (2) Philippi (Phlp. 1:1). (3) Colosse (Col. 1:1). (4) Thessalonica (1 Th. 1:1; 2 Th. 1:1). This indicates either that Timothy served with Paul in each of these churches, or that he had been sent there by the apostle, or that he had come to be known by them because of his close association with Paul (cf. Rm. 16:21).

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As Silas took Barnabas’s place as Paul’s senior associate on his second missionary journey (Acts 15:36-41), so Timothy replaced Mark as Paul’s junior associate. Timothy was diligent student of Paul’s as well as becoming a trusted and invaluable colleague. Paul describes him as: (1) “My fellow-worker ” (Rm. 16:21). (2) “God’s fellow-worker ” (1 Th. 3:2). (3) “My beloved and faithful student in the Lord ” (1 Cor. 4:17). (4) “True child in the faith ” (1 Tm. 1:2; Phlp. 2:22). (5) “A Christian gentleman of proven worth ” (Phlp. 2:22). (6) “Brother ” (2 Cor. 1:1; Col. 1:1). (7) “My son ” (1 Tm. 1:18; cf. v. 1; 1 Cor. 4:14). (8) “I have no one like- minded ” (Phlp. 2:20). (9) “Slave of Christ Jesus ” (Phlp. 1:1). (10) “Seeks the things of Jesus Christ ” (Phlp. 2:21). (11) “Loyal ” (2 Tm. 3:10). (12) “Doing the Lord’s work ” (1 Cor. 16:10). Apparently the apostle Paul derived special comfort from Timothy’s presence (Phlp. 2:20-22). Paul’s request for Timothy to leave Ephesus and come to him at Rome during his second and last Roman imprisonment demonstrates once again Paul’s deep and lasting affection for Timothy and his need for Timothy’s sympathy and care, especially at the end of his life (2 Tm. 4:9). Evidently, Timothy was a young man with exceptional leadership qualities since Paul authorized him to appoint pastor-teachers and to establish order in the churches throughout the Roman Empire. On occasion Paul left Timothy behind while he went on ahead, in order that Timothy might accomplish some unnamed task (Acts 17:14) or, perhaps, act as a decoy, allowing Paul to escape danger (vv. 13f.). On other occasions Paul enlisted Timothy as an emissary to do what he himself could not do such as when the Macedonian Christians were suffering persecution Paul sent him to Thessalonica to encourage them and teach them doctrine (1 Th. 3:1-3). Later Paul sent him from Ephesus to other Macedonian churches with perhaps the same mission (Acts 19:22). Paul sent him to Corinth (1 Cor. 4:17-21) and Philippi (Phlp. 2:19). On at least one return journey Timothy brought with him a monetary gift, which seems to have freed Paul from the need to work with his hands (cf. Acts 18:5; Phlp. 4:15). Timothy accompanied Paul on his last recorded journey to Jerusalem (Acts 20:4) and was at his side during his first Roman imprisonment (Phlp. 1:1; Phlp. 2:19). The Scriptures indicate that Timothy was the pastor-teacher at Ephesus (1 Tm. 1:3). He was frequently ill (1 Tm. 5:23), timid (2 Tm. 1:7), and even despised because of his youthfulness (1 Tm. 4:12; 1 Cor. 16:10), yet he was loyal (1 Cor. 16:10; Phlp. 2:19ff. 2 Tm. 3:10ff.). Paul had to command him to be diligent in his studies as a pastor-teacher (2 Tm. 3:16) as well as to persevere in his own spiritual life (1 Tm. 4:12-16; 2 Tm. 1:6; 3:14 f.).

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He needed instruction on how to: (1) Behave toward various groups of people (1 Tm. 5) (2) Control his own inclinations (2 Tm. 2:22 f.) (3) Respond to persons in error (3:1-8). Paul also reminded him to set an example for his congregation by his conduct (1 Tm. 4:12) through the execution of his own spiritual life. He was commanded by Paul to fight the noble fight of doctrine (1 Tm. 1:18), to guard the doctrine in his soul (1:19), and to protect his soul from the cosmic system and non-essentials (1:4; 4:7). The last reference of Timothy in the Scriptures is Hebrews 13:23 which indicates that Timothy was well-known to the readers of this epistle. Timothy was still young when Paul was put to death in A.D. 68 and was probably not more than 35 years old. Church history dates Timothy’s martyrdom as after the date of Revelation in A.D. 96. In Romans 16:21, the proper name Timotheos functions as a nominative subject meaning that it is performing the action of the verb aspazomai , “greets” indicating that Paul is passing along a greeting from Timothy to the Romans. Romans 16:21, “Timothy my fellow worker greets you, and so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.” “My fellow-worker ” is the articular nominative masculine singular form of the adjective sunergos ( ) (see-ear-roce), “ fellow-workers ” and the genitive first person singular form of the personal pronoun ego ( ) (eh-go), “ my .” Sunergos is an adjective used mainly as a noun and is a compound word composed of the preposition sun , “with” and the noun ergon , “act of work.” The word denotes a colleague, a fellow-worker, an assistant. Liddell and Scott list the following classical meanings: (1) helper (2) bad sense, accomplice (3) astrologically, in co-operation, of planetary influence (4) person of the same trade as another, fellow-workman, colleague (Pages 1711-12). Sunergos is found in Pindar of Cynoscephalae (518-446 B.C.) in his Olympia with the meaning “fellow-worker” or “helper” (8.32). The ancient historian Thucydides of Athens (460-396 B.C.) also used the term in his history of the Peloponnesian War (3.63) where it had the meaning of “fellow-confederate.” Plato employs the word in one of his dialogues entitled Symposium (212b) where Apollodorus states to Phaedrus that “human nature will not easily find a helper ( sunergos ) better than love ( eros ). And therefore, also, I say that every man ought to honor him ( eros , ‘love’) and walk in his ( eros ) ways and exhort other to do the same, and praise the power and spirit of love ( eros ) according to the measure of my ability now and ever.” He also uses the word in another dialogue entitled Charmides (173d) where ignorance will “live and act” or “play a part” in man’s actions. The word also appears in Polybius during the second century B.C. (31, 24, 10).

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Both Josephus and Philo utilize the word in their writings. Philo uses the word of the memory which cooperates with virtue ( De Mutatione Nominum , “On The Changes of Names,” 84; The Works of Philo, page 348.84). He also uses the word in relation to rationalizations as assistants in comprehending the Creator of the universe ( De Praemiis et Poenis , “On Rewards and Punishments,” 43; The Works of Philo, 668.43). He employs the word in relation to the parts of the soul agreeing to commit acts of sin ( De Cofusione Linguarum , “On the Confusion of Tongues,” 22; The Works of Philo, 236.22). He also states that there is no human helper or assistant on the road which leads to virtue ( De Fuga Et Inventione , “On Flight and Finding,” The Works of Philo 322.21). Philo uses the word of the arts of statuary and painting are co-partners in the system of idolatry ( De Specialibus Legibus , “The Special Laws I” The Works of Philo 536.29). He also uses the word of God Who needed no helper in creating the cosmos ( De Opificio Mundi , “On The Creation” Works of Philo 11.72; Quod Deus Immutabilis Sit, “On The Unchangeableness of God, The Works of Philo 165.87). Josephus uses the formula theou sunergountos , “with God’s help” (Antiquities 8.130). The word appears only twice in the LXX (2 Macc. 8:7; 14:5). In these passages the night is said to be a sunergos with Maccabeus in his night raids on the enemy. Sunergos occurs only 13 times in the Greek New Testament (Rm. 16:3, 9, 21; 1 Cor. 3:9; 2 Cor. 1:24; 8:23; Phlp. 2:25; 4:3; Col. 4:11; 1 Thess. 3:2; Phlm. 1:1, 24; 3 Jn. 8). It only appears in the Pauline corpus with the only exception being 3 Jn. 8. Both Paul and John only use the word to describe the relationship between church age believers who are members of the royal family of God, the body of Christ. The word is used by Paul to describe 17 members of the royal family of God in relation to himself: (1) Priscilla (Rm. 16:3). (2) Aquila (Rm. 16:3). (3) Urbane (Rm. 16:9). (4) Timothy (Rm. 16:21; 1Th. 3:2). (5) Titus (2 Cor. 8:23). (6) Epaphroditus (Phlp. 2:25). (7) Euodia (Phlp. 4:3). (8) Syntyche (Phlp. 4:3) (9) Clement (Phlp. 4:3). (10) Tychicus (Col. 4:11). (11) Onesimus (Col. 4:11). (12) Aristarchus (Col. 4:11; Phlm. 24) (13) Barnabas’ cousin Mark (Col. 4:11). (14) Jesus called Justus (Col. 4:11). (15) Philemon (Phlm. 1). (16) Demas (Phlm. 24) (17) Lucas (Phlm. 24). It is interesting to note that there are 17 names mentioned in the Old Testament Hall of Fame of Visible Heroes in Hebrews 11. The number 17 is the number of the perfection of spiritual order since it is the combination of 2 perfect, indivisible numbers (7 and 10)-7 being the number of spiritual perfection, and 10 of ordinal perfection. The word is used of those individuals in the body of Christ, royal family of God whose objectives are those of Jesus Christ (cf. Phlp. 2:21). The word always appears in the NT as a substantive. It is used of individuals who are joint-partners

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 14 in the advancement of the communication of the Word of God throughout the Roman Empire through the utilization of their time, talent and treasure as well as their spiritual gift (cf. Phlp. 1:7). The word is used to describe by Paul to describe himself and Apollos in relation to the Lord (1 Cor. 3:9). Louw and Nida define the word, “one who works together with someone else” (Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains, 42.44). A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature-Third Edition states the word “pertains to working together with, helping, as substantive and always so in our literature helper, fellow-worker” (Page 969). The New Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon defines the word, “a companion in work, fellow-worker, a joint-promoter” (page 603). The Analytical Greek Lexicon Revised defines the word, “a fellow-laborer, associate, coadjutor” (page 388). Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament “working together with, helping; predominately substantivally in the NT fellow worker, helper, fellow laborer” (Page 366). In Romans 16:21, the adjective sunergos is employed as a substantive as indicated by its articular construction. It is in the singular meaning “co-worker” and is used to describe Timothy. The word describes him as a joint-partner with Paul in the advancement of the gospel throughout the Roman Empire (cf. Phlp. 1:7). It denotes that he contributed his time, talent, treasure and truth for the advancement of the gospel throughout the Roman Empire. The word always denotes undefined work in the ministry. The word is a nominative in simple apposition meaning that it stands in apposition to the nominative subject, Timotheos , “ Timothy ” indicating that it is describing Timothy’s relationship with the apostle Paul. The articular construction of the adjective sunergos functions as a substantiver meaning that it converts the word into a substantive. The article is also used with the personal pronoun ego , “ my ” to denote possession. The personal pronoun ego is a genitive of possession indicating that Timothy “belongs to” Paul in the sense that he is Paul’s fellow-worker. Therefore, we will translate the expression ho sunergos mou ( ), “ my co-worker .” Romans 16:21, “Timothy my fellow worker greets you, and so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.” “Greets” is the third person singular present middle indicative form of the verb aspazomai ( α ) (ah-spaz-owe-meh), which means “greet” or “gives his regards” and is used of Timothy giving his regards or greeting to the Romans through Paul’s letter to them.

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The present tense of the verb is an “instantaneous” present used to indicate that the action of Timothy sending his greetings to the Romans through Paul’s epistle to them is completed at the “moment” of writing. The middle voice of the verb is an intensive or indirect middle since one can see the middle force of the word here in this passage. Some grammarians call this an indirect middle, dynamic, indirect reflexive, benefactive middle. The subject acts for (or sometimes by) himself or herself, or in his or her own interest. The subject thus shows a special interest in the action of the verb. Paul is stating to the leadership in Rome who shall read this letter to pass along Timothy’s greetings to the readers in Rome. The middle voice emphasizes that it is Timothy’s greeting. So what Paul is saying here with the middle voice is that Timothy, “give his regards to….” We will translate aspazomai , “ gives his regards to .” “You ” is the accusative second person plural personal pronoun su ( ) (see), which is used in a distributive sense meaning “each and every one of you” and refers to “each and every” member of the body of Christ in Rome without exception regardless of race, gender or social status. The word functions as an accusative direct object meaning that it is receiving the action of the verb aspazomai indicating that each and every one of the Roman believers without exception is the object of this greeting from Timothy. We will translate the word “each and every one of you without exception .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 16:21, “Timothy, my co-worker, gives his regards to each and every one of you without exception…” Romans 16:21, “Timothy my fellow worker greets you, and so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.” “And ” is the “adjunctive” use of the conjunction kai (α ) (keh), which introduces an “additional” individual who was residing in Corinth with Paul when he wrote the Roman epistle in 57 A.D. and is passing along his greetings to the Romans. We will translate the word “ and in addition .” “Lucius ” is the nominative masculine singular form of the proper name Loukios ( ) (loo-kee-oce), which is a Greek name of uncertain meaning. There is no evidence that this individual is the Lucius of Cyrene or Luke the author of Luke and Acts. He was a Jew as indicated by the expression that follows, which describes him hoi sungeneis mou ( ), “ my kinsmen .” This expression refutes that idea that this individual is Luke since he was a Gentile. The proper name Loukios functions as a nominative subject meaning that it is performing the action of the verb aspazomai , “greets” indicating that Paul is passing along a greeting from Lucius to the Romans. Corrected translation thus far of Romans 16:21, “Timothy, my co-worker, gives his regards to each and every one of you without exception and in addition Lucius…”

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Romans 16:21, “Timothy my fellow worker greets you, and so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.” “And ” is the “adjunctive” use of the conjunction kai (α ) (keh), which introduces an “additional” individual who was residing in Corinth with Paul when he wrote the Roman epistle in 57 A.D. and is passing along his greetings to the Romans. We will translate the word “ as well as .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 16:21, “Timothy, my co-worker, gives his regards to each and every one of you without exception and in addition Lucius as well as…” Romans 16:21, “Timothy my fellow worker greets you, and so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.” “Jason ” is the nominative masculine singular form of the proper name Iason (ω ) (ya-sone), which was a famous Greek name and was often used by Hellenistic Jews for the Hebrew names Joshua or Joseph and also used by the Gentiles. He too was a Jewish Christian as indicated by the expression that follows, which describes him as well as Lucius and Sosipater, namely hoi sungeneis mou ( ), “ my kinsmen .” He may be the same Jason that appears in Acts 17:5-9 who demonstrating great hospitality to Paul and Silas in Thessalonica and even had his house attacked by Jews seeking to find Paul. The proper name Iason functions as a nominative subject meaning that it is performing the action of the verb aspazomai , “greets” indicating that Paul is passing along a greeting from Jason to the Romans. Corrected translation thus far of Romans 16:21, “Timothy, my co-worker, gives his regards to each and every one of you without exception and in addition Lucius as well as Jason…” Romans 16:21, “Timothy my fellow worker greets you, and so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.” “And ” is the “adjunctive” use of the conjunction kai (α ) (keh), which introduces an “additional” individual who was residing in Corinth with Paul when he wrote the Roman epistle in 57 A.D. and is passing along his greetings to the Romans. We will translate the word “ and also .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 16:21, “Timothy, my co-worker, gives his regards to each and every one of you without exception and in addition Lucius as well as Jason and also…” Romans 16:21, “Timothy my fellow worker greets you, and so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.” “Sosipater ” is the nominative masculine singular form of the proper name Sosipatros ( ωα ) (so-see-pa-troce), which means “sound parentage.” Like Jason and Lucius, this individual was also a Jewish Christian as indicated by the expression that follows, which describes him as well as Lucius and Jason, namely

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 17 hoi sungeneis mou ( ), “ my kinsmen .” Sosipater is more than likely the “Sopater” mentioned in Acts 20:4, which describes him as the son of Pyrrhus from Berea since this passage says that he accompanied Paul through Macedonia as he prepared for his last trip to Jerusalem. The proper name Sosipatros functions as a nominative subject meaning that it is performing the action of the verb aspazomai , “greets” indicating that Paul is passing along a greeting from Sosipater to the Romans. Corrected translation thus far of Romans 16:21, “Timothy, my co-worker, gives his regards to each and every one of you without exception and in addition Lucius as well as Jason and also Sosipater…” Romans 16:21, “Timothy my fellow worker greets you, and so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.” “My kinsmen ” is composed of the articular nominative masculine plural form of the adjective sungenes ( ) (seen-yee-neice), “ kinsmen ” and the genitive first person singular form of the personal pronoun ego ( ) (eh-go), “ my .” The adjective sungenes functions in Greek literature as a noun, which is how it is used in Romans 9:3, 16:7 and 21. The primary meaning is “related by blood,” that is “relative.” It can be used in broader sense to mean “fellow-countrymen.” In the Septuagint, the word means “relative” in the narrower family sense. However, in a few instances it is a title of honor for one related to the king in a special way. Philo employed sungenes over 160 times in the sense of “related, belonging, corresponding,” most often in describing the relationship between the soul, body and mind (7:739). Sungenes appears only 11 times in the Greek New Testament. In the Gospels, it was to mean either “relatives” in a family or friends related by broader bonds. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature-Third Edition: (1) belonging to the same extended family or clan, related, akin to (2) belonging to the same people group, compatriot, kin (Page 950). Louw and Nida list the following usages: (1) a person who belongs to the same extended family or clan—‘relative, kinsman’ (10.6). (2) a person who is a member of the same ι or ‘nation’ (11.56)—‘fellow countryman’ (11.57) (Greek- English Lexicon of the New Testament Based upon Semantic Domains) Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament lists the following: (1) literally of common origin, related (by blood), akin to; substantivally in the NT relative; plural relatives, kinsfolk (2) in a broader sense of the same race or people fellow countryman, fellow citizen (3) passive, of close relationship in Christ close companion, intimate friend, (spiritual) kinsman (Pages 358-359). In Romans 9:3, 16:7, 11, 21, Paul uses the word to describe his “fellow” Jewish “countrymen” to whom he was related by blood and race. Thus, the word means

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“fellow countrymen.” In Romans 16:21, the word is used to describe Lucius, Jason and Sosipater. The articular construction of the word is used with the personal pronoun ego , “my ” to denote possession. The personal pronoun ego means “ my ” and refers of course to Paul and is functioning as a “genitive of possession” indicating that Paul possessed a particular relationship with these fellow-countrymen, Andronicus and Junia, namely, they were his fellow-workers. The word is a nominative in simple apposition meaning that it stands in apposition to the three nominative subjects, Loukios , “ Lucius ,” Iason , “ Jason’ and Sosipatros , “ Sosipater ” indicating that it is describing the relationship of these three individuals with the apostle Paul. We will translate expression hoi sungeneis mou , “ my fellow countrymen .” Completed corrected translation of Romans 16:21, “Timothy, my co-worker, gives his regards to each and every one of you without exception and in addition Lucius as well as Jason and also Sosipater, my fellow countrymen.” So in this verse, Paul passes along greetings to the Roman believers from Timothy and three of his fellow Jewish Christians, namely Lucius, Jason and Sosipater who all resided with him in Corinth when he wrote this Roman epistle. Romans 16:22, “I, Tertius (TUHR shuhss) , who write this letter, greet you in the Lord.” “I” is the nominative first person singular form of the personal pronoun ego ( ), which emphasizes Tertius as the subject distinguishing him from the other individuals who are with Paul in Corinth and are passing along their greetings to the Romans. The contrast is identified by the expression to follow, namely, ho grapsas ten epistolen ( ι), “ who write this letter .” This expression distinguishes Tertius from the others with Paul who are conveying through Paul their greetings to the Romans. The personal pronoun ego functions as a nominative subject meaning that it is performing the action of the verb aspazomai , “greets” indicating that Tertius as the subject is passing along his personal greeting to the Romans. “Tertius ” is the nominative masculine singular form of the proper name Tertios ( ) (ter-tee-oce), which is a Latin personal name meaning “third son.” He is Paul’s “amanuensis” for the writing of Romans. We know that in the first century an “amanuensis” was employed in letter writing, which refers to someone who was hired to write from dictation and write it down in longhand immediately. At other times they would use a form of shorthand (tachygraphy) to take down a letter and then later write it out in longhand. Sometimes, the amanuensis would get the gist of what a person wanted to say and then be left to relate the ideas in a letter without any help. This third option

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 19 would not apply to the work of Tertius in Romans unless he was the amanuensis for all of Paul’s unquestioned letters. The stylistic and semantic similarities with Paul’s other letters calls for a stricter control on what was written down and so it is very doubtful that Paul would have turned over such an important task to Tertius. Moo writes, “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…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 copied out Paul’s dictation.” (Moo, Douglas J., The New International Commentary on the New Testament, The Epistle to the Romans, page 935; William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan/Cambridge, U.K., 1988) The proper name Tertios is a nominative in simple apposition meaning that it stands in apposition to the personal pronoun ego , “ I” clarifying for the reader whose Paul’s amanuensis for this epistle to the Romans. We will translate expression ego Tertios ( ι ), “ I, Tertius .” “Who write ” is the articular aorist active participle form of the verb grapho (gravfw ) (graf-o), which means, “to write.” The verb grapho is found in Homer (Iliad 17, 599) and is used of the tearing of the flesh by a lance, and of engraving in tables. The sense of carving and engraving is probably the original. The root graph - has the primary meaning of to scratch on, engrave on, with reference to an ornament, reports, letters, lists and instructions. From it are derived the English graphic, graph. The material can be various: (1) Stone (2) Wood (3) Metal (4) Wax (5) Leather. In Herodotus 4, 36 the word is used meaning to draw, of lines on maps; and scholars of the third century B.C. used it of drawing of mathematical figures. In Homer grapho is already used in the sense of scratching signs on a tablet as a kind of letter (Iliad 6, 169). From the time of Herodotus it is used generally in the normal sense of to write, and from the time of Pindar in the derived sense of to prescribe, to order. From the practice of handing in a written accusation, grapho came in judicial language to mean to accuse (Plato, Euthyphro 2b). Liddell and Scott have compiled the following meanings from their exhaustive research of the verb: (1) Scratch, graze (2) Having marked or drawn signs thereon; represent by lines, draw, paint (3) Describe a figure (4) Of a point or a line in motion, generate a figure (5) Brand, mark (6) Express by written characters, write (7) Inscribe (8) Write down (9) Write a letter (10) Write on a subject (11) Write

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 20 down a law to be proposed (12) Prescribe, ordain (13) The secretary for the nome of Oxyrhynchus (pages 360). The verb graphein is commonly used for painting or drawing (Aristophanes, Ra. 537; Herodotus II, 41; Xenophanes, 13 (I, p. 59, 1, Diehl); Plato Gorg. 453c; Josephus Apion. 2, 252). The verb means to make a testamentary disposition in Plato (Leg. XI, 923c; 924a). It is commonly used in relation to legislative activity (Pindar Nem. 6, 7; Demosthones 24, 48; Xenophon Mem. I, 2, 42; Josephus Ant. 3, 213; 11, 92; 12, 201). The verb grapho appears 287 times in the Septuagint and almost without exception for the Hebrew term kathav ( bjk ), “to write.” It is used of hagiasma kurio , “sanctified or set apart for the Lord” on the plate of the high priest (Ex. 36:39 [39:30]). The verb was used of the carved figures in 1 Kings 6:28-29 and of the hewing out of a chamber in the rock (Is. 22:16). It is used of engraving of the Law on the stones of Jordan in Dt. 27:3; Jos. 9:5 (8:32) and of inscribing on bronze tablets in 1 Macc. 14:18. The word is used by Jeremiah of a bill of sale (Jeer. 39:25). The following Hebrew terms were translated by the verb grapho in the Septuagint: (1) Dath ( jd ), “edict” (Est. 9:1) (2) Chaqaq ( qqd ), Qal: “decree” (Is. 10:1); poel: “decree” (Pr. 8:15) (3) Kathav ( bjk ), Qal: “write, record” (Ex. 34:27, 2 K. 15:6; Is. 4:3); niphal: “be written down, recorded” (Ez. 8:34; Est. 1:19; Ps. 69:28); piel: “write, record” (Is. 10:1) (4) Kethav ( bjk ), “write” (Dn. 5:5, 6:25, 7:1-Aramaic) (5) Kethav ( bjk ), “writing” (Ez. 4:7; Est. 8:8) (6) Qala ( ulq ), “carve” (1 K. 6:29) (7) Sim ( syc ), “put lay” (Est. 10:1). The verb grapho occurs 191 times in the Greek New Testament. The New Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon list the following meanings: (1) With reference to the form of the letters; to delineate (or form) letters on a tablet, parchment, paper or other material (2) With reference to the contents of the writing; (3) To express in written characters; (4) To commit to writing (things not to be forgotten), write down, record; (5) Used of things which stand written in the sacred books (of the OT); (6) To write to one i.e. by writing (in a written epistle) to give information, directions, etc. to one (7) To fill with writing, a volume written within and behind, on the back; hence on both sides (8) To draw up in writing, compose (page 121-122). The Analytical Greek Lexicon Revised lists the following: (1) To engrave, write, according to the ancient method of writing on plates of metal, waxed tables; to write on parchment, paper, etc. (2) To write letters to another (3) To describe in writing (4) To inscribe in a catalogue (5) To write a law, command, or enact in writing (page 82).

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Vine writes the following article regarding the usage of grapho in the NT (Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, page 1263), “ Grapho is used (a) of ‘forming letters’ on a surface or writing material, (John 8:6; Gal. 6:11), where the apostle speaks of his having ‘written’ with large letters in his own hand, which not improbably means that at this point he took the pen from his amanuensis and finished the epistle himself; this is not negatived by the fact that the verb is in the aorist or past definite tense, lit., ‘I wrote,’ for in Greek idiom the writer of a letter put himself beside the reader and spoke of it as having been ‘written’ in the past; in Eng. we should say ‘I am writing,’ taking our point of view from the time at which we are doing it; cf. (Philem. 19) (this Ep. is undoubtedly a holograph), where again the equivalent English translation is in the present tense (see also (Acts 15:23; Rom. 15:15); possibly the apostle, in Galatians, was referring to his having ‘written’ the body of the epistle but the former alternative seems the more likely; in (2 Thes. 3:17) he says that the closing salutation is written by his own hand and speaks of it as ‘the token in every epistle’ which some understand as a purpose for the future rather than a custom; see, however, (1 Cor. 16:21) and (Col. 4:18). The absence of the token from the other epistles of Paul can be explained differently, their authenticity not being dependent upon this; (b) ‘to commit to writing, to record,’ e. g., (Luke 1:63; John 19:21, 22); it is used of Scripture as a standing authority, ‘it is written,’ e. g., (Mark 1:2; Rom. 1:17) (cf. (2 Cor. 4:13)); (c) of ‘writing directions or giving information,’ e. g., (Rom. 10:5), ‘(Moses) writeth,’ RV (KJV, ‘describeth’); (15:15; 2 Cor. 7:12); (d) of ‘that which contained a record or message,’ e. g., (Mark 10:4,5; John 19:19; 21:25; Acts 23:25).” Louw and Nida defines grapho , “to write” (33.61) (Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains) Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament lists the following meanings: (1) of the activity of writing write (2) as covering something with writing or drawing write, engrave (3) as making a record write down, record (4) as making a literary composition compose, write (5) as drawing up a legal composition set down, draw up; it is written, used for legal attestation of the law and Old Testament witnesses (Page 101). A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature: (1) to inscribe characters on a surface, write (2) to express thought in writing (pages 206-207). In Romans 16:21, the verb grapho is used with Tertius as its subject and the Roman epistle as its object and refers to Tertius copying in writing Paul’s dictation. The verb functions as a “substantive” participle as indicated by the definite article preceding it, which functions as a substantiver meaning that it converts the

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 22 participle into a substantive. Therefore, this can be reflected by translating the article with the relative pronoun, “ who .” The word is a nominative in simple apposition meaning that it stands in apposition to the personal pronoun ego , “ I” clarifying for the reader whose Paul’s amanuensis for this epistle to the Romans. The aorist tense of the verb is an epistolary aorist describing Tertius copying in writing Paul’s dictation of the Roman epistle as a whole since it is describing this epistle from the time frame of the Roman believers when they read this epistle. The active voice indicates that Tertius as the subject performed the action of copying in writing Paul’s dictation of this Roman epistle. We will translate grapho , “ who wrote .” “This letter ” is the articular accusative feminine singular form of the noun epistole ( ) (ah-pee-stowe-lee), which means “letter, epistle” and refers to the Roman epistle. An epistle is a form of written communication between two persons or parties, either private or official. The epistle is among the oldest forms of communication. In fact, the epistle is among the oldest and most abundantly preserved types of texts that we have today from the ancient world. These extant documents are extremely important to us today for historical, literary and biblical research. The Babylonian royalty employed epistolary communication as far back as 2275 B.C. The Egyptians used this form of written communication extensively as evidenced by remains from the second millennium B.C. Akkadian letters have been found on potsherds and clay tablets. The greatest epistolary activity occurs during the Greco-Roman period. The Greek language was diversified into various dialects such as Aeolic, Doric, Ionic, Attic but yet mutually intelligible. Eventually, all of these dialects were joined into one “common” language, the Koine Greek, which Alexander the Great spread throughout the rest of the world which he had conquered. The Romans spoke Latin but very much influenced by the Greeks and their culture. In fact, the Roman Empire at its height spoke primarily Koine Greek. The Romans wrote their Law in Latin but their literary prose was in Greek. Latin was not used by Roman historians until Cato in 160 B.C. Latin practical and economical like the Romans themselves, whereas, the Greeks were much more colorful in their speech and thought and therefore, produced a more complicated language. There are over 14,000 extant epistles from the Greco- Roman period. The increase in scribal learning and influence. The growing demands for careful documentation in the areas of: (1) Commerce and travel (2) Official propaganda (3) The administrative concerns in government (4) Military (5) Law (6) Apologetic considerations (7) Philosophical speculations (8) Rhetorical practice (forensic, didactic and epideictic)

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The needs in these various areas produced various responses, which can be categorized as such: (1) Business letters (2) Official communiqués (3) Letters for public consumption (4) Letter essays (5) Letters of introduction and commendation (6) Poetic letters (7) Epistles of consolation (8) Encyclical documents (9) Rhetorical paradigms (10) Legal pleas. Letters can also be classified according to the form of preservation and the writing materials employed. There were various materials used for writing during the Greco-Roman period. The historian Will Durant in his work The Life of Greece sheds some light on what the Greeks employed for writing materials, he writes, “The materials used to receive writing were various: at first, if we may believe Pliny, leaves or the barks of trees; for inscriptions, stone, bronze, or lead; for ordinary writing, clay tablets as in Mesopotamia; then wooden tablets covered with wax, which were popular, in retrospect, with schoolboys; for more important purposes papyrus, which the Phoenicians brought from Egypt, and (in the Hellenistic and Roman periods) parchment, made from the skins or membranes of goats or sheep. A metal stylus was used on wax tablets; on papyrus or parchment a reed dipped in ink. Wax writing was erased with the flat butt of the stylus, ink with a sponge;” (The Life of Greece, chapter 9, page 206.) In his work, Caesar and Christ, Durant comments on what the Roman’s used for writing materials, “The Romans wrote in ink with a slit metal reed (calamus, stilus), at first upon leaves ( folia ), whence our words folio and leaf (two pages); then upon strips of inners bark (liber; often upon white (album) tablets of waxed wood; later upon leather, linen paper and parchment.” (Caesar and Christ, Chapter 4, page 73). The noun epistole occurs 24 times in the Greek New Testament and means “a letter” or “epistle.” It originally meant in classical Greek a message of any kind, either written or verbal. Where the verb epistello meant the act of writing a message, the noun epistole meant “that which is transmitted or written,” the message or letter itself. The noun epistole in classical Greek referred to a wide range of written communication. Gunter Finkenrath of Burscheid-Hilgen University commenting on the classical usage of the noun epistole in Colin Brown’s Dictionary of New Testament Theology, volume 1, page 246, writes, “With the spread of the Hellenic culture a whole range of letters was developed, from private letters of an intimate nature, open letters (e.g. the didactic letters of the Epicurean philosophers) to artistic epistles, which were aesthetic treatises in letter form. Traveling philosophers and their pupils were accustomed to carry letters of recommendation.”

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By the Septuagint and the New Testament periods, epistole had lost its oral meaning and meant only the written message, hence, a letter, or epistle. Epistole was not only used in an informal sense in the New Testament as in secular writings, but more importantly it was employed in an authoritative and official sense. The apostolic epistles in the New Testament were authoritative in nature. They were authoritative because they originated from the throne room of God. The apostolic epistles are unique from secular epistles in that sense alone. The Christian epistle claimed divine authorship. They claimed to be the very words of God. Karl Heinrich Rengstorf of Munster University comments on this fact in Kittel’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, volume 7, page 594, he writes, “It is a generally acknowledged fact today that the apostolic letters collected in the NT are marked by an authoritative and official nature. Connected herewith is the point that for all their formal similarity to the epistles of antiquity the NT epistles constitute a special genre. As has long since been recognized, their distinctiveness is to be seen not merely in the way in which the authors introduce themselves as deputies of Christ but also in the prefaces, even though these differ and Paul’s letters occupy a special place of their own. At any rate the NT epistles, like oral proclamation and the Gospels, seek to say a last and definitive word about the historical situation of the individual, humanity and the world in the light of the Christ event as God’s eschatological act.” The Christian epistle is unique simply by the fact that they claim divine authorship, pasa graphe theopneustos, “All Scripture, God-breathed!” Paul’s letter to the Romans is written according to the pattern of letter writing found in the ancient world during the first century. The general form of a first century letter contained the following elements: (1) The author identifies himself (2) The author identifies the recipient (3) The greeting (4) Main body of the epistle (5) Closing greeting (usually a simple word wishing the recipient good health) (6) Final signature of endorsement by the writer of the letter. The final signature of endorsement authenticated the letter’s contents and served as protection against fraudulent correspondence. The final signature was also important because frequently an amanuensis was employed to write the letter. An amanuensis is a person who writes while another dictates. Paul employed Tertius as an amanuensis to write the letter to the Romans (Rom. 16:22). The great German scholar Adolf Deissman in his book Bible Studies gives several examples of first and second century letter writing from everyday life in the Roman world. He gives a translation of a letter of recommendation written in A.D. 25, “Theon to his esteemed Tyrannos, many greetings. Herakleides, the bearer of this letter, is my brother. I therefore entreat you with all my power to treat him as your protege. I have also written to your brother Hermias, asking him to

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 25 communicate with you about him. You will confer upon me a very great favor if Herakleides gains your notice. Before all else you have my good wishes for unbroken health and prosperity. Good-bye.” Deissman also translates a letter from a “Chaireas” to “Tyrannos” written in the same year, “Chaireas to his dearest Tyrannos, many greetings. Write out immediately the list of arrears both of corn and money for the twelfth year of Tiberius Caesar Augustus, as Severus has given me instructions for demanding their payment. I have already written to you to be firm and demand payment until I come in peace. Do not therefore neglect this, but prepare the statements of corn and money from the...year to the eleventh for the presentation of the demands. Good-bye.” Today, we begin our letters by addressing the recipient first and identifying ourselves at the end of the contents of the letter which is the exact opposite to what the ancient letter writer would do. Paul’s letters in the New Testament generally followed the same pattern of letter writing found in the first and second centuries. The Lord commanded the distribution of apostolic letters. The practice of sending a letter and distributing it out to the different local assemblies in a geographical area was commanded by our Lord in Revelation 1:11. The Lord commands the apostle John to write the book of Revelation and distribute it throughout the churches located in Asia or what is now Western Turkey (Rev. 1:11). This would mean that the local assemblies in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea would all assemble together in each their own local assembly to hear Revelation read publicly. The Spirit has a message for the local assembly as a whole and not just for particular individuals (Rev. 2:7a). This why the writer to the Hebrews stresses with the Jewish believers in Jerusalem not to forsake their assembling together (Heb. 10:24-25). For it was at this time that a letter from one of the Apostles would be communicated to the local assembly. It was also a time when the Pastor-Teacher communicated doctrine to the local assembly. It was a time when the Spirit would speak to the church as a whole. Many believers today forsake the assembling of themselves which is expressly against the command of the Word of God found in Hebrews 10:25. The distribution of letters from the apostles throughout a particular geographical area was therefore common place in the early first century churches. The assembling of the believers in a geographical area to hear the communication of these letters was also standard procedure among the churches. Now, what would take place in the early first century churches is that a courier would arrive in a particular city with a letter from one of the apostles such as Paul. Someone who was a good public speaker, more than likely the pastor himself, would read the letter publicly to the whole congregation. Paul commanded that his first letter to the Thessalonians be read publicly to the whole local assembly (1

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Thess. 5:27). Therefore, the letter to the Romans was read publicly to all of the churches located in the city of Rome. The letter was then distributed to other churches in that geographical area. After being read publicly several times in Rome and then copied, the letter was sent to another city or town to be read publicly there. Eventually the letter would be read by each of the churches throughout the rest of the Roman Empire. And of course, this same letter has reached us today impeccably intact in its original language, indestructible! In Romans 16:21, the noun epistole functions as an accusative direct object meaning that it is receiving the action of the verb grapho . The articular construction of the word is “deictic” in function meaning that it is pointing out the noun epistole , which is present at the moment of writing. Thus it has a demonstrative force meaning “this.” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 16:22, “I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle…” Romans 16:22, “I, Tertius (TUHR shuhss) , who write this letter, greet you in the Lord.” “Greet ” is the first person singular present middle indicative form of the verb aspazomai ( α ) (ah-spaz-owe-meh), which means “greet” or “gives his regards” and is used of Tertius giving his regards or greeting to the Romans through Paul’s letter to them. The present tense of the verb is an “instantaneous” present used to indicate that the action of Tertius sending his greetings to the Romans through Paul’s epistle to them is completed at the “moment” of writing. The middle voice of the verb is an intensive or indirect middle since one can see the middle force of the word here in this passage. Some grammarians call this an indirect middle, dynamic, indirect reflexive, benefactive middle. The subject acts for (or sometimes by) himself or herself, or in his or her own interest. The subject thus shows a special interest in the action of the verb. Tertius is stating to the leadership in Rome who shall read this letter to pass along his greetings to the readers in Rome. The middle voice emphasizes that it is Tertius’ greeting. So what Paul is saying here with the middle voice is that Tertius, “give his regards to….” We will translate aspazomai , “ gives my regards to .” “You ” is the accusative second person plural personal pronoun su ( ) (see), which is used in a distributive sense meaning “each and every one of you” and refers to “each and every” member of the body of Christ in Rome without exception regardless of race, gender or social status. The word functions as an accusative direct object meaning that it is receiving the action of the verb aspazomai indicating that each and every one of the Roman believers without exception is the object of this greeting from Tertius. We will translate the word “each and every one of you without exception .”

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Corrected translation thus far of Romans 16:22, “I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle, give my regards to each and every one of you without exception…” Romans 16:22, “I, Tertius (TUHR shuhss) , who write this letter, greet you in the Lord.” “In the Lord ” is composed of the preposition en ( ), “ in ” and the dative masculine singular form of the noun kurios ( ) (ker-dee-oce), “ the Lord .” The noun kurios indicates the following about Jesus Christ: (1) His equality with the Father and the Spirit. (2) His joint-rulership with the Father over the entire cosmos. (3) His highest ranking position as Chief Administrator in the divine government. (4) His absolute sovereign authority as Ruler over all creation and every creature. (5) His victory over the sin nature and Satan and His kingdom. In His deity, Jesus Christ is “ Lord ” (See Luke 20:42). However in His human nature He received this title as a result of His obedience to the Father’s will, which called for Him to suffer a spiritual and physical death on the cross as a substitute for every member of the human race-past, present and future (See Philippians 2:5- 11). The noun kurios , “Lord” is the object of the preposition en , which functions as a marker of content as a means of specifying a particular referent. This prepositional phrase contains the figure of metonymy where the person of the Lord is put for serving Him. This figure is indicated by the fact that Tertius was serving Paul by copying his dictation of this epistle and that the recipients of this epistle, the Roman believers would be served by this dictation. Tertius uses the noun kurios alone here because he wants to emphasize with the Romans that he is serving them as one who is under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, we will translate the prepositional phrase en kurio ( ), “with respect to serving the Lord .” Completed corrected translation of Romans 16:22, “I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle, give my regards to each and every one of you without exception with respect to serving the Lord.” So in this verse, Tertius, Paul’s amanuensis, passes along his greetings to the Roman believers and who served the Lord by copying in writing Paul’s dictation. Romans 16:23, “Gaius (gay yuhs) , host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer greets you, and Quartus, the brother.” “Gaius ” is the nominative masculine singular form of the proper name Gaios ( ) (guy-oce), which is the Greek form of the Latin name Caius, which means “I am glad, rejoice.” This individual lived in Corinth since Paul says that he was his host and Paul wrote Romans from Corinth. He is very same Gaius mentioned by Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:14 who was one of the few individuals that Paul baptized in water since Paul wrote Romans from Corinth.

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The proper name Gaios functions as a nominative subject meaning that it is performing the action of the verb aspazomai , “greets” indicating that Gaius as the subject is passing along his personal greeting to the Romans. “Host to me ” is composed of the articular nominative masculine singular form of the adjective xenos ( ) (x-zen-oce), “ host ” and the genitive first person singular form of the personal pronoun ego ( ) (eh-go), “ my .” The adjective xenos is a common word in classical Greek used to express the idea of what is “strange, foreign” or even “surprising.” There are two distinct usages of the term: (1) As an adjective it describes something or someone as “foreign, unacquainted, or unusual.” (2) As a substantive, it refers generally to a “stranger.” As an adjective xenos could be a “man from without, strange, hard to fathom, surprising, unsettling, sinister” and as a noun it could be a “stranger” who gives or receives hospitality (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, volume 5, pages 1). In classical Greek, writers applied the term to persons who gave and receiving hospitality. The emphasis was often placed on a guest who could be any visitor, traveler, foreigner, alien, refugee, wanderer or beggar. The adjective appears 20 times in the Septuagint where it is usually used of “strangers.” It occurs 14 times in the Greek New Testament where it has five distinct usages: (1) Describing a stranger who is an outsider needing help (Matthew 25:35, 38, 43, 44). (2) It refers to “strange” gods (Acts 17:18) and doctrines (Hebrews 13:9). (3) It expresses something unusual or surprising (1 Peter 4:12). (4) Gentiles are described as estranged from the covenants of promise (Ephesians 2:12). (5) It describes the host who entertains others (Romans 16:21). In Romans 16:21, the adjective xenos functions as a substantive as indicated by its articular construction and describes Gaius as Paul’s host expressing the concept of hospitality. We can insert the relative pronoun phrase “who is” into the translation of this word. The articular construction of the word is used with the personal pronoun ego , “my ” to denote possession. The personal pronoun ego means “ my ” and refers of course to Paul and is functioning as a “genitive of possession” indicating that Paul possessed a particular relationship with Gaius, namely, he was Paul’s host. The substantive form of the adjective xenos is a nominative in simple apposition meaning that it stands in apposition to the proper name Gaios , “ Gaius ” clarifying and describing for the reader Paul’s relationship to Gaius. We will translate expression ho xenos mou ( ), “ who is my host .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 16:23, “Gaius, who is my host…” Romans 16:23, “Gaius (gay yuhs) , host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer greets you, and Quartus, the brother.”

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“ And ” is the “adjunctive” use of the conjunction kai (α ) (keh), which introduces a group of individuals whom Gaius is hosting “in addition to” Paul. We will translate the word “ as well as .” “To the whole church ” is composed of the genitive feminine singular form of the adjective holos ( ) (owe-loce), “ whole ” and the articular genitive feminine singular form of the noun ekklesia ( ηα ) (ek-klee-see-ah), “ of the church .” The noun ekklesia is a compound word composed of the preposition ek , “out from” and the verb kaleo , “to call,” thus it literally means “called out ones.” Liddell and Scott list the following meanings: (1) Assembly duly summoned (2) In LXX, the Jewish congregation (3) In NT, the Church as a body of Christians (Page 509). So therefore the word has three distinct stages of meaning: (1) Secular (2) Jewish (3) Christian. As a secular term, he ekklesia was a technical term for the lawful assembly of free Greek citizens met to transact public affairs. That they were summoned is expressed in the verb kaleo and the preposition ek indicates that they were summoned out of the whole population as a select portion that included neither the populace, strangers, nor those who had forfeited their civic rights. Both the calling and the calling out are the distinctives that make the word well adapted for its new Christian usage. The word was used in classical literature for the summons to the army to assemble. It is attested from Eurpides and Herodotus onwards (5th century B.C.) and denotes in the usage of antiquity the popular assembly of the competent full citizens of the polis , “city.” It reached its greatest importance in the 5th century and met at regular intervals (in Athens about 30-40 times a year, elsewhere less frequently) and also in cases of urgency as an extra-ordinary ekklesia . Its sphere of competence included decisions on suggested changes in the law (which could only be effected by the council of the 400), on appointments to official positions and-at least in its heyday-on every important question of internal and external policy (contracts, treaties, war and peace, finance). To these was added in special cases (e.g. treason) the task of sitting in judgment, which as a rule fell to regular courts. The ekklesia opened with prayers and sacrifices to the gods of the city. It was bound by the existing laws. Every citizen had the right to speak and to propose matters for discussion, but a proposition could only be dealt with if there was an expert opinion on the matter (Aristotle Ath. Pol. 45). A decision was only valid if it won a certain number of votes. Authorization to participate and the methods of summoning the assembly and of voting-by show of hands in Athens (Aristotle Ath. Pol., 45), by acclaim (Thuc. 1.87), by ballot sheets or stones (Xenophon Hell. 1.7.9)-were strictly regulated, as was the control of the assembly, which originally

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 30 lay with the president of the Prytaneis and from the 4th century B.C. with a college of nine. Thus, ekklesia , centuries before the LXX and the NT was clearly characterized as a political phenomenon, repeated according to certain rules and within a certain framework. It was the assembly of full citizens, functionally rooted in the constitution of the democracy, an assembly in which fundamental political and judicial decisions were taken. The scope of its competence varied in the different states. The word ekklesia throughout the Greek and Hellenistic areas always retained its reference to the assembly of the polis. In only three exceptional cases was it used for the business meeting of a cultic guild. Otherwise it was never used for guilds or religious fellowships. The Greeks had a well developed vocabulary to describe their religious gatherings and offerings. Most of these terms are not found in the NT. Ekklesia was used in a very restricted sense while sunagoge was used especially for the cultic gatherings and various offerings to the pagan deities. The noun ekklesian occurs 97 times in the Septuagint representing exclusively the Hebrew qahal (including once each for 4 derivatives of the root). Where ekklesia is used in the LXX for qahal , it indicates the assembly of the people of Israel (e.g. Deut. 9:10; 23:3 ff.; Mic. 2:5). It also indicates, especially in the Chronicler, the assembly of the people for worship (e.g. 2 Chron. 6:3 at the consecration of the temple; 30:2, 4, 13, 17 at Hezekiah’s Passover; cf. also Joel 2:16 and in the Psalm 21:23, 26. The noun ekklesia was used in the LXX primarily as an equivalent to qahal , a term which to some degree was itself a particular group within the people of God, even when it was translated by sunagoge . Ekklesia was used only infrequently for non-religious assemblies and it was never used for a pagan religious gathering. The term ekklesia is employed 114 times in the Greek New Testament. It appears only three times in the Gospels (Mt. 16:18; 18:17 twice). The word occurs most frequently in the Pauline epistles. In the overwhelming majority of the New Testament passages, ekklesia is used as a fixed Christian term and is to be translated with congregation or congregational assembly or church. Early Christianity did not conceive of ekklesia primarily as an organizational, but rather as a theological entity or spiritual organism. The New Thayer’s Greek Lexicon lists the following meanings for the word (pages 195-196): (1) A gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place; an assembly (2) Among the Greeks from Thucydides down, an assembly of the people convened at the public place of council for the purpose of deliberating (3) In the LXX often equivalent to qahal , the assembly of the Israelites (4) Any gathering or throng of men assembled by chance or tumultuously

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(5) In the Christian sense: (a) an assembly of Christians gathered for worship (b) a company of Christians, or of those who, hoping for eternal salvation through Jesus Christ, observe their own religious rites, hold their own religious meetings, and manage their own affairs according to regulations prescribed for the body for order’s sake (c) those who anywhere, in city or village, constitute such a company and are united into one body (d) the whole body of Christians scattered throughout the earth; collectively, all who worship and honor God and Christ in whatever place they may be (Pages 195-196). Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament lists the following meanings: (1) in a general sense, as a gathering of citizens assembly, meeting (2) as the assembled people of Israel congregation (3) as the assembled Christian community church, congregation, meeting (4) as the totality of Christians living in one place church (50 as the universal body of believers church (Page 137). A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature-Third Edition: (1) a regularly summoned legislative body, assembly (2) a causal gathering of people, an assemblage, gathering (3) people with shared belief, community, congregation (a) of OT Israelites assembly, congregation (b) of Christians in a specific place or area; of a specific Christian group assembly, gathering ordinarily involving worship and discussion of matters of concern to the community; congregation or church as the totality of Christians living and meeting in a particular locality or larger geographical area, but not necessarily limited to one meeting place (c) the global community of Christians (universal) church (Pages 303-304) Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains: (1) A congregation of Christians, implying interacting membership – ‘congregation, church’ (11.32). (2) The totality of congregations of Christians – ‘church’ (11.33). (3) A group of citizens assembled for socio-political activities – ‘assembly, gathering’ (11.78). The use of ekklesia became more widespread than sunagoge as the church rooted itself more predominately in the soil of the Gentile world, breaking away from its Jewish roots. The use of sunagoge in the early first century church declined because it was permanently associated with the nation of Israel, while the use of ekklesia increased, not only because it was already familiar but also because it had an honorable meaning in Greek culture. After the period of the exile it was the synagogue which dominated the religious life of the Jews. It was in the Greek Diaspora that the synagogue became accepted as the new designation for the ` edhah . The name applied not only to the house of the synagogue but to the congregation of the synagogue as well. Having this background in mind, it is very interesting that the Gentile Christian congregations did not use the designation of synagogue for their signification. The

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 32 members of these first Christian congregations came in a large degree from the Jewish synagogues which consisted of both Jews and proselytes. These believers claim to represent true Jewish congregation (Rm. 2:28-29) and the true Israel of God (Rm. 9:6) since they were regenerate. Although these ancient Christian congregations were patterned primarily after the Jewish synagogues, they avoided using the term synagogue. In fact, the term synagogue is used only one time in the New Testament as a designation for a Christian congregation (Jm. 2:2) since James was speaking exclusively to regenerate Jews. In the Roman Empire the synagogues stood as symbols of Jewish law and religion, and the new Christian religion. However, Christian congregations avoided association with this term. Instead, they adopted the term ekklesia which had fallen out of usage in Jewish circles. As well as avoiding associations with the Jewish religion, the Christians also chose ekklesia as a way of distancing themselves from the terms utilized by the pagan Greek cults. Here a multitude of terms would have been at the disposal of the ancient Christians. Secular Gentile authors such as Lucian and Celsus did, however, identify the Christians congregations by the pagan term thiasos . More amazing than this though, the early Church historian Eusebius also used the term for the church. Therefore, the term ekklesia was employed by the New Testament writers as a technical term to designate a totally unique group of believers who at the moment of faith in Jesus Christ as Savior were called out of the cosmic system of Satan and were placed into union with the Lord Jesus Christ through the baptism of the Spirit and as a result have been provided with totally unique privileges and opportunities to glorify God. The ekklesia began with the baptism of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost in June of 32 A.D. (Acts 2), and will leave this earth at the Rapture (1 Th. 4:13-17). This group of believers is distinct from Old Testament saints who belong to the theocentric dispensations. In Romans 16:23, the noun ekklesia refers to members of the Christian community whether in Corinth or who passed through Corinth who were the recipients of Gaius’ hospitality. The word is an objective genitive meaning that it functions semantically as the direct object of the verbal idea implicit in the head noun xenos , “ host .” We can convert the verbal noun xenos , “ host ” into the verb form xenizo , “to host.” Paul omits the noun xenos after kai deliberately, though it is implied, since he is using the figure of ellipsis. The articular construction of ekklesia indicates that this local assembly is well known to Paul’s readers, namely it was the Christian community in Corinth and throughout the Roman Empire who enjoyed Gaius’ hospitality.

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The adjective holus means “whole” and is used attributively modifying ekklesia and is describing the Christian community as a whole with focus on its unity. We have here the first predicate position meaning we have an adjective-article-noun construction, which makes the adjective holus slightly more emphatic than the noun ekklesia . Therefore, we will translate the expression holes tes ekklesias ( η η ), “ to the entire church .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 16:23, “Gaius, who is my host as well as host to the entire church…” Romans 16:23, “Gaius (gay yuhs) , host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer greets you, and Quartus, the brother.” “Greets” is the first person singular present middle indicative form of the verb aspazomai ( α ) (ah-spaz-owe-meh), which means “greet” or “gives his regards” and is used of Gaius giving his regards or greeting to the Romans through Paul’s letter to them. The present tense of the verb is an “instantaneous” present used to indicate that the action of Gaius sending his greetings to the Romans through Paul’s epistle to them is completed at the “moment” of writing. The middle voice of the verb is an intensive or indirect middle since one can see the middle force of the word here in this passage. Some grammarians call this an indirect middle, dynamic, indirect reflexive, benefactive middle. The subject acts for (or sometimes by) himself or herself, or in his or her own interest. The subject thus shows a special interest in the action of the verb. Gaius is stating to the leadership in Rome who shall read this letter to pass along his greetings to the readers in Rome. The middle voice emphasizes that it is Gaius’ greeting. So what Paul is saying here with the middle voice is that Gaius, “gave his regards to” the Romans. We will translate aspazomai , “ gives his regards to .” “You ” is the accusative second person plural personal pronoun su ( ) (see), which is used in a distributive sense meaning “each and every one of you” and refers to “each and every” member of the body of Christ in Rome without exception regardless of race, gender or social status. The word functions as an accusative direct object meaning that it is receiving the action of the verb aspazomai indicating that each and every one of the Roman believers without exception is the object of this greeting from Gaius. We will translate the word “each and every one of you without exception .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 16:23, “Gaius, who is my host as well as host to the entire church, gives his regards to each and every one of you without exception…” Romans 16:23, “Gaius (gay yuhs) , host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer greets you, and Quartus, the brother.”

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The apostle Paul employs the figure of “asyndeton” in Romans 16:23 meaning he does not use a connective word to join the previous greeting from Gaius and the one to follow from Erastus. He uses this figure since he wants to emphasize with his readers in Rome that Erastus whose greetings he is passing along to them is extremely important to him and is not insignificant in his life and his ministry to the Gentiles. “Erastus ” is the nominative masculine singular form of the proper name Erastos ( α ) (eh-ra-stoce), which means “beloved” and is the name of the treasurer of the city of Corinth. It is unlikely that he is the same individual mentioned in Acts 19:22 and 2 Timothy 4:20 who served as a traveling companion for Paul since this position would have made travel difficult. The conversion of this man was proof the gospel success throughout the Roman Empire in that it reached into its government. This individual is mentioned by Paul in 2 Timothy 4:20. The proper name Erastos functions as a nominative subject meaning that it is performing the action of the verb aspazomai , “greets” indicating that Erastus, the city treasure of Corinth, as the subject is passing along his personal greeting to the Romans. “The city treasurer ” is composed of the articular nominative masculine singular form of the noun oikonomos ( ) (ee-koe-no-moce), “ the treasurer ” and the articular genitive feminine singular form of the noun polis ( ) (police), “ city .” The noun oikonomos means “public treasurer” in Romans 16:23 and denotes that Erastus had the authority and responsibility for the finances of the city of Corinth. It indicates that Erastus was a city of official in charge of the public funds and properties of the city of Corinth. The word is a nominative in simple apposition meaning that it stands in apposition to the proper name Erastos , “ Erastus ” describing for the reader Erastus’ position in the city of Corinth. The articular construction of the word is monadic emphasizing the unique position that Erastus held in the city of Corinth. The noun polis means “city” and denotes a population center of great size. It refers here to Corinth. The articular construction of the word is also monadic indicating that Erastus is the city treasurer for a particular city that is unique in itself, namely, Corinth. The noun is a genitive of possession meaning that Erastus is the city treasurer “belonging to” a particular city, namely Corinth. We will translate the expression ho oikonomos tes poleos ( ω ), “ this city’s treasurer .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 16:23, “Gaius, who is my host as well as host to the entire church, gives his regards to each and every one of you without exception. Erastus, this city’s treasurer…”

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Romans 16:23, “Gaius (gay yuhs) , host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer greets you, and Quartus, the brother.” “Greets” is the first person singular present middle indicative form of the verb aspazomai ( α ) (ah-spaz-owe-meh), which means “greet” or “gives his regards” and is used of Erastus giving his regards or greeting to the Romans through Paul’s letter to them. The present tense of the verb is an “instantaneous” present used to indicate that the action of Erastus sending his greetings to the Romans through Paul’s epistle to them is completed at the “moment” of writing. The middle voice of the verb is an intensive or indirect middle since one can see the middle force of the word here in this passage. Some grammarians call this an indirect middle, dynamic, indirect reflexive, benefactive middle. The subject acts for (or sometimes by) himself or herself, or in his or her own interest. The subject thus shows a special interest in the action of the verb. Erastus is stating to the leadership in Rome who shall read this letter to pass along his greetings to the readers in Rome. The middle voice emphasizes that it is Erastus’ greeting. So what Paul is saying here with the middle voice is that Erastus, “gave his regards to” the Romans. We will translate aspazomai , “ gives his regards to .” “You ” is the accusative second person plural personal pronoun su ( ) (see), which is used in a distributive sense meaning “each and every one of you” and refers to “each and every” member of the body of Christ in Rome without exception regardless of race, gender or social status. The word functions as an accusative direct object meaning that it is receiving the action of the verb aspazomai indicating that each and every one of the Roman believers without exception is the object of this greeting from Erastus. We will translate the word “each and every one of you without exception .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 16:23, “Gaius, who is my host as well as host to the entire church, gives his regards to each and every one of you without exception. Erastus, this city’s treasurer gives his regards to each and every one of you without exception…” “And ” is the “adjunctive” use of the conjunction kai (α ) (keh), which introduces an “additional” individual that is with Paul in Corinth who sends his regards to the Roman believers. We will translate the word “ as well as .” “Quartus ” is the nominative masculine singular form of the proper name Kouartos ( α ) (koo-are-toce), which is a Latin personal name meaning “fourth.” It was a common name among slaves and freedmen. This individual is described by Paul as a fellow believer. The proper name Kouartos functions as a nominative subject meaning that it is performing the action of the verb aspazomai , “greets” indicating that Quartus is passing along his personal greeting to the Romans.

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“The brother ” is the articular nominative masculine singular form of noun adelphos ( ) (ah-thel-foce), which means “fellow-believer, fellow- Christian, spiritual brother or sister” indicating that Quartus is a fellow believer of the apostle Paul and the Romans. The articular construction functions as a possessive pronoun meaning “our” indicating Quartus’ relationship to Paul and the Roman believers. The word is a nominative in simple apposition meaning that it stands in apposition to the proper name Kouartos , “ Quartus ” describing for the reader Quartus. We will translate the expression Kouartos ho adelphos ( ), “ our spiritual brother .” Completed corrected translation of Romans 16:23, “Gaius, who is my host as well as host to the entire church, gives his regards to each and every one of you without exception. Erastus, this city’s treasurer gives his regards to each and every one of you without exception as well as Quartus, our spiritual brother.” In this verse, Paul passes along Gaius’ greetings to the Romans. Paul describes him as his host and the host to the entire church, those believers who were in need of housing in Corinth and those who were traveling through the city. Also, the apostle passes along Erastus’ greetings to the Romans. Paul describes him as the treasurer for the city of Corinth. Lastly, he passes along Quartus’ greetings, whom he describes simply as the spiritual brother of Paul and the Romans.

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