1. |!commend (cuvictnus). See on ch. iii. 5.
Phoebe. The bearer of the epistle. The word means bright. In classical Greek an epithet of Artemis (Diana) the sister of Phoebus Apollo.
Servant (Sidxovov). The word may be either masculine or feminine. Commonly explained as deaconess. The term Svax- évizca deaconess is found only in ecclesiastical Greek, The “ Apostolical Constitutions” * distinguish deaconesses from wid-
* A collection of ecclesiastical prescripts in eight books, containing doc- trinal, liturgical, and moral instructions, and dating from the third, or pos- sibly from the close of the second, century,
Cu. XVI.) THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 177
ows and virgins, prescribe their duties, and a form for their ord- ination. Pliny the younger, about a.p. 104, appears to refer to them in his letter to Trajan, in which he speaks of the torture of two maids who were called ministrae (female ministers). ‘ine office seems to have been confined mainly to widows, though virgins were not absolutely excluded. Their duties were to take care of the sick and poor, to minister to martyrs and confessors in prison, to instruct catechumens, to assist at the baptism of women, and to exercise a general supervision over the female church-members. Tryphaena, Tryphosa, and Persis (ver. 12) may have belonged to this class. See on 1 Tim. v. 3-16.* Conybeare (“Life and Epistles of St. Paul”) as- sumes that Phoebe was a widow, on the ground that she could not, according to Greek manners, have been mentioned as act- ing in the independent manner described, either if her husband had been living or she had been unmarried. Renan says: “‘ Phoebe carried under the folds of her robe the whole future of Christian theology.”
Cenchrea. More correctly, Cenchreae. Compare Acts xviii. 18. Corinth, from which the epistle was sent, was situated on an isthmus, and had three ports, Cenchreae on the east side, and Lechaeum on the west of the isthmus, with Schoenus, a smaller port, also on the eastern side, at the narrowest point of the isthmus. Cenchreae was nine miles from Corinth. It was a thriving town, commanding a large trade with Alexandria, Antioch, Ephesus, Thessalonica, and the other cities of the Aegean. It contained temples of Venus, Aesculapius, and Isis. The church there was perhaps a branch of that at Corinth.
2. Assist (zapacrfr.). See on Acts i. 3. It is used as a legal term, of presenting culprits or witnesses in a court of justice. Compare prove, Acts xxiv. 13. From this, and from the term mpoortdtis succorer, it has been inferred that Phoebe was going to Rome on private legal business (see Conybeare and Howson). This is a mere fancy.
* See Schaff’s ‘ Apostolic Church,” and Bingham’s ‘Christian Antiqui. ties.’’ Vou, IIl.—12
178 WORD STUDIES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. [Cu. XVI
Succorer (apoortdris). Only here in the New Testament. The word means patroness. It may refer to her official duties. The word is an honorable one, and accords with her official position.
3. Prisca and Aquila. Priscilla is the diminutive of Prisca. See Acts xviii. 2, 18, 26; 1 Cor. xvi. 19; 2 Tim. iv. 19. It is argued by some that Aquila and Priscilla must have been at Ephesus at this time, since they were there when Paul wrote 1 Cor. xvi. 19, and again when he wrote 2 Tim. iv. 19. “Tt is strange to find them settled at Rome with a church in their house between these two dates” (Farrar). But, as Bishop Lightfoot remarks (“ Commentary on Philippians,” p. 176), “As Rome was their headquarters, and they had been driven thence by an imperial edict (Acts xviii. 2), it is natural enough that they should have returned thither as soon as it was convenient and safe to do so. The year which elapses between the two notices, allows ample time for them to transfer themselves from Ephesus to Rome, and for the apostle to hear of their return to their old abode.” Notice that the name of Priscilla precedes that of her husband. So Acts xviii. 2. Probably she was the more prominent of the two in christian activity.