Romans 16 Chapter Introduction

Structure and Formatting

Conclusion (15:14–16:27)
- Paul describes his mission (15:14–21)
- Paul’s travel plans (15:22–33)
- Paul commends Phoebe (16:1–2)
- Paul greets Christians in Rome (16:3–16)
- Paul warns against false teachers (16:17–20)
- Paul greets more Christians in Rome (16:21–24)
- Doxology (16:25–27)

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

Letter writing and sending

In this culture, someone who wanted to send a letter often spoke what they wanted to say, and a scribe would write it down for them. Then, they would send the letter with a messenger, who would read the letter to the person or people to whom it was addressed. In this chapter, Tertius mentions that he is the scribe writing the letter for Paul (16:22). Paul begins this chapter by recommending Phoebe to the believers in Rome who receive this letter. This could indicate that Phoebe was the messenger who delivered the letter to them.

Greetings

In this culture, it was common for those who sent letters to include greetings to and from others in their letters. In this way, many people could greet each other but only send one letter. In 16:3–16 and 21–23 Paul includes greetings to and from people whom he and the Romans knew. Express these greetings in a natural form in your language.