The Book of Isaiah

Chapter 1 V.1 Part 3.4

Paul & the Female Controversy 5

Again, I continue in the information I found in the previously mentioned book, “In Search of Paul.”

Equal and More in the Apostolate.

Paul’s letter to the Romans concludes in 16:1-15 with mention of 29 named individuals.

Rom 16:1 I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea:

 Rom 16:2 That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also.

 Rom 16:3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus:

 Rom 16:4 Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.

 Rom 16:5 Likewise [greet] the church that is in their house. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.

 Rom 16:6 Greet Mary, who bestowed much labour on us.

 Rom 16:7 Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellowprisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.

 Rom 16:8 Greet Amplias my beloved in the Lord.

 Rom 16:9 Salute Urbane, our helper in Christ, and Stachys my beloved.

 Rom 16:10 Salute Apelles approved in Christ. Salute them which are of Aristobulus’ [household].

 Rom 16:11  Salute Herodion my kinsman. Greet them that be of the [household] of Narcissus, which are in the Lord.

 Rom 16:12  Salute Tryphena and Tryphosa, who labour in the Lord. Salute the beloved Persis, which laboured much in the Lord.

 Rom 16:13  Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.

 Rom 16:14  Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren which are with them.

 Rom 16:15  Salute Philologus, and Julia, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints which are with them.

Of those persons, two are pagan house-holders, some of whose present or freed slaves are Christians and greeted as “those in the Lord who belong to the family” of Aristobulus and Narcissus (16:10-11).

That leaves twenty seven named Christians. In what follows, watch the statistics, the details, and the names, especially which names are female and which are male.

First and above all, it is a woman who carries Paul’s letter from Corinth’s eastern port to the Christian groups in Rome – Phoebe (16:1-2).

According to Gary Wills in “What Paul Meant,” Cenchraeae is the port of Corinth, so Phoebe had stood with Paul in his very troubled dealings with the busy port city, where she was clearly efficient (as diakonos) and able to champion Paul and “many” (as prostates) indicates that she would not be leaving that sphere unless she could perform important services in Rome. Was she going there on some errand of her own and Paul just used this chance occurrence to send his letter along with her? It doesn’t fit in with the convergence of so many other important associates of Paul’s in Rome.

(Back to the book “In Search of Paul) Recall by the way that Jael, the leading and only female God-fearer in the Aprodisias inscription in Chpt 1, was also called a protector, patron, or benefactor (prostates). (The Aprodisias inscription refers to archeological inscriptions that were found. Paul Trebilco concluded in his book “Jewish Communities in Asia Minor,” that Jael was “a prominent leader of the Jewish community and represented their interests to the wider society or the president or leader who directed community affairs.”) A Pauline letter carrier would also have to circulate, read, and explain it among the Christian communities at Rome.

Second, two presumably married couples are singled out for rather extraordinary praise. Priscilla is mentioned first.

Rom 16:3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus:

Rom 16:4 Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.

Rom 16:7 Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellowprisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.

Third, in the total of twenty-seven individual Christians in the above list, ten are women (Phoebe, Priscilla, Mary, Junia, Tryphaena, Tryphosa, Persis, and an unnamed mother, Julia, and an unnamed sister) and the other seventeen are men (Aquila, Epaenetus, Andronicus, Ampliatus, Urbanus, Stachys, Apelles, Herodion, Rufus, Asyneritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hemas, Philologus, Nereus, and Olympas).

Fourth, it may be unfair to assess which gender gets the highest praise among those accolades or epithets, but one point should be noted. Paul’s Greek root special apostolic activity is Kopiano, meaning “worked hard.” He uses it for himself twice, Gal 4:11 and 1 Cor 15:10, but four times in Romans and exclusively for women, for Mary, Tryphaena, Tryphosa, and Persis.

Fifth, in one way or another, everyone Paul knows personally gets some sort of comment. Herodion, for example is “my kinsman” (re: fellow Jew). But it is interesting to compare in terms of gender the first 17 individuals known to Paul by personal contact with the last ten known only by hearsay report. Of the ten people indirectly known to Paul, only two are women and eight are men, but of the 17 directly known, 9 are men and 8 are women. In other words, those known to Paul by direct contact are about evenly divided between men and women.