Romans 16 Footnotes

16:1-2 Paul called his helper Phoebe a diakonos of the church. Bible versions differ on whether to translate this term as “servant” or “minister” or to transliterate it as “deacon[ess],” since by the time Paul wrote to the Romans this term could already have designated the office of deacon (Php 1:1; 1Ti 3:8,12). Probably the latter is more likely, though it is far from certain.

16:7 Many claim that Junia, designating one of Paul’s relatives, could be either a man’s or a woman’s name. In fact, the masculine form, Junias (as a contraction of Junianus), has not been located elsewhere, whereas the feminine Junia is common. Of course, if this person was a woman, this would be an intriguing fact, particularly since Paul called Andronicus and Junia “apostles.” J. D. G. Dunn suggests they were husband and wife—a reasonable assumption.

The precise status of all who are called apostles isn’t clear. Some, such as Barnabas (Ac 14:14) and James (Gl 1:19), were close associates of the apostles; but also see the Greek term apostolos in 2Co 8:23 and Php 2:25.

16:17 The term “teaching” implies that by this time the gospel had already been taught to the point that it could be followed and understood and also should have been defended against corruption (see 2Th 3:6).