Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Romans 16:7
Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.
7. Androncus and Junia ] Or, perhaps, Juntas, i.e. Junianus (in a contracted form, as Lucas for Lucanus, Silas for Silvanus, &c.). There is no various reading, but the Gr. accusative may belong to either Junia (feminine) or Junias (masculine). It is impossible to decide, but perhaps the following expressions favour the view that we have here two Christian men.
my kinsmen ] Of course in a literal sense, which alone can be distinctive here. Their names are Greek and Latin (respectively); but this was continually the case with Jews, (cp. Paulus, Crispus, Apollos, &c.). They were, we may assume, Benjamites at least, if not near relatives of St Paul’s. Of his “kinsmen” we elsewhere (outside this chapter) hear only where his nephew is mentioned, Act 23:16.
fellowprisoners ] Strictly, fellowprisoners-of-war. Same word as Col 4:10; Phm 1:23. The word indicates that these Christians had once been in prison with St Paul (a glorious reminiscence) in the course of the warfare of Christian duty and suffering.
See 2Co 6:5; 2Co 11:23, for hints of the many (to us) unknown imprisonments of the Apostle. The last passage is specially instructive as proving that the Acts is a narrative of selection only.
of note among the apostles ] The words may mean either (1) “ distinguished Apostles,” or (2) “ well known to, and honoured by, the Apostles.” If (1) is right, the word “Apostle” is used (as in the Gr. of 2Co 8:23; Php 2:25😉 in its literal and wider sense of a messenger, and here probably (if so) a messenger of the Gospel, a missionary. The context, however, in 2 Corinthians 8 and Philippians 2, is of a kind which explains, and so justifies, such a reference more distinctly than the context here. We may suppose that St Paul would more naturally have written here, had (1) been his meaning, “of note among the apostles of the churches.” We incline, then, to the explanation (2): these two Christians, possibly because of special deeds of love and help to others of the Apostles besides St Paul, were particularly honoured by the apostolic body.
in Christ before me ] A beautiful and affecting tribute to these his “senior saints.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
My kinsmen – In Rom 9:3, the apostle calls all the Jews his kinsmen, and it has been doubted whether he means anything more here than that they were fellow Jews. But as many others who were Jews are mentioned here without this appellation, and as he especially designates these persons, and Herodian Rom 16:11, it seems probable that they were remote relatives of the apostle.
My fellow-prisoners – Paul was often in prison; and it is probable that on some of those occasions they had been confined with him; compare 2Co 11:23, In prisons more frequent.
Who are of note – The word translated of note episemoi, denotes properly those who are marked, designated, or distinguished in any way, used either in a good or bad sense; compare Mat 27:16. Here it is used in a good sense.
Among the apostles – This does not mean that they were apostles, as has been sometimes supposed. For,
(1) There is no account of their having been appointed as such.
(2) The expression is not one which would have been used if they had been. It would have been who were distinguished apostles; compare Rom 1:1; 1Co 1:1; 2Co 1:1; Phi 1:1.
(3) It by no means implies that they were apostles All that the expression fairly implies is, that they were known to the other apostles; that they were regarded by them as worthy of their affection and confidence; that they had been known by them, as Paul immediately adds, before he was himself converted. They had been converted before he was, and were distinguished in Jerusalem among the early Christians, and honored with the friendship of the other apostles.
(4) The design of the office of apostles was to bear witness to the life, death, resurrection, doctrines, and miracles of Christ; compare Matt. 10; Act 1:21, Act 1:26; Act 22:15. As there is no evidence that they had been witnesses of these things; or appointed to it, it is improbable that they were set apart to the apostolic office.
(5) The word apostles is used sometimes to designate messengers of churches; or those who were sent from one church to another on some important business, and if this expression meant that they were apostles, it could only be in some such sense as having obtained deserved credit and eminence in that business; see Phi 2:25; 2Co 8:23.
Who were in Christ … – Who were converted before I was. The meaning is clear. The expression, in Christ, means to be united to him, to be interested in his religion, to be Christians.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 7. Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen] As the word signifies relatives, whether male or female, and as Junia may probably be the name of a woman, the wife of Andronicus, it would be better to say relatives than kinsmen. But probably St. Paul means no more than that they were Jews; for, in Ro 9:3, he calls all the Jews his kinsmen according to the flesh.
My fellow prisoners] As Paul was in prison often, it is likely that these persons shared this honour with him on some occasion, which is not distinctly marked.
Of note among the apostles] Whether this intimates that they were noted apostles or only highly reputed by the apostles, is not absolutely clear; but the latter appears to me the most probable. They were not only well known to St. Paul, but also to the rest of the apostles.
In Christ before me.] That is, they were converted to Christianity before Paul was; probably at the day of pentecost, or by the ministry of Christ himself, or by that of the seventy disciples.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Salute Andronicus and Junia; it may be rendered Junius. Some think this Junia was a woman, and the wife of Andronicus; others take them both for men.
My kinsmen; so he calls them, either because they were Jews, Rom 9:3; or because they were of the same tribe; or because they were more nearly related to him by consanguinity and affinity.
My fellow prisoners; i.e. they had been imprisoned for the gospel, as well as he: the apostle had been often in prison himself, 2Co 11:23. We read, Act 16:23, of his being imprisoned at Philippi, and it may be these two were his fellow prisoners, for we read of other prisoners there besides Paul and Silas, Rom 16:25,26.
Who are of note among the apostles; i.e. they were well known to the apostles, and were in good esteem with them: not only the twelve, together with Paul and Barnabas, but other teachers are sometimes called apostles, or messengers; see 2Co 8:23; Phi 2:25. Some have thought these two, Andronicus and Junia, were of the number of the seventy disciples, who are mentioned Luk 10:1. Others, that they were of the one hundred and twenty, who are mentioned in Act 1:15; or of those that were converted by the first preaching of Peter, and the rest, Act 2:41; 4:4. By what follows, it appeareth they were of considerable standing in Christianity.
Who also were in Christ before me: there are three things for which he commends these two persons: the first is, their sufferings for Christ; the second is, their fame among the apostles; and the third is, their forwardness in conversion. This was Mnasons commendation, Act 21:16. When he saith, they
were in Christ, he intimates the virtue and power of faith to incorporate us into Christ, as branches into a vine.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7. Andronicus and Juniaor, asit might be, “Junias,” a contracted form of “Junianus”;in this case, it is a man’s name. But if, as is more probable, theword be, as in our version, “Junia,” the person meant wasno doubt either the wife or the sister of Andronicus.
my kinsmenor,”relatives.”
and my fellow prisonersonwhat occasion, it is impossible to say, as the apostle elsewheretells us that he was “in prisons more frequent” (2Co11:23).
which are of note among theapostlesThose who think the word “apostle” is usedin a lax sense, in the Acts and Epistles, take this to mean “notedapostles” [CHRYSOSTOM,LUTHER, CALVIN,BENGEL, OLSHAUSEN,THOLUCK, ALFORD,JOWETT]; others, who arenot clear that the word “apostle” is applied to any withoutthe circle of the Twelve, save where the connection or somequalifying words show that the literal meaning of “one sent”is the thing intended, understand by the expression used here,”persons esteemed by the apostles” [BEZA,GROTIUS, DEWETTE, MEYER,FRITZSCHE, STUART,PHILIPPI, HODGE].And of course, if “Junia” is to be taken for a woman, thislatter must be the meaning.
who also were in Christbefore meThe apostle writes as if he envied them this priorityin the faith. And, indeed, if to be “in Christ” be the mostenviable human condition, the earlier the date of this blessedtranslation, the greater the grace of it. This latter statement aboutAndronicus and Junia seems to throw some light on the preceding one.Very possibly they may have been among the first-fruits of Peter’slabors, gained to Christ either on the day of Pentecost or on some ofthe succeeding days. In that case they may have attracted the specialesteem of those apostles who for some time resided chiefly atJerusalem and its neighborhood; and our apostle, though he came latein contact with the other apostles, if he was aware of this fact,would have pleasure in alluding to it.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen,…. According to the flesh, being perhaps not only of the same nation, Jews, but also of the same tribe, the tribe of Benjamin, and even of the same family, and might be nearly allied in blood. And though the apostle did not value himself upon his carnal descent, yet he had a very great value and affection for his relations after the flesh, even though they were only of the same nation; see Ro 9:3; and especially for such as were partakers of the grace of God, as these his kinsmen were. These were their Gentile names, the one Greek, the other Latin; but both were Jews. Grotius thinks that their Jewish names were, the one Masinissa, and the other Naarah; and that the latter was the wife of the former, but they rather seem both to be men; Junia should be read Junias, a contraction of Junilius:
and my fellow prisoners; either at Philippi, or in some other place; for though we read only of the apostle’s being in prison at that place, and at Rome, yet it is certain from his own account, 2Co 11:23; that he was frequently imprisoned; and Clement of Rome says, he was seven times in bonds o, at one of which times these were bound with him, but when and where is not known. This is a greater character of them, and a greater honour to them, than to be called his kinsmen after the flesh:
who are of note among the apostles; were well known by, and in great account with the twelve apostles, though not of their number; they might be converted by them, and be followers of them in Judea; they are thought by some to be of the number of the seventy disciples, whom Christ himself sent forth to preach: Andronicus particularly is mentioned among them, and said to be bishop of Pannonia, or rather of Spain; [See comments on Luke 10:1]; however, they might be preachers of the Gospel, and be persons of great fame and renown as such; for which reason they might be called apostles, that being a name sometimes given to ordinary ministers of the word, and to such who were messengers of the churches, 2Co 8:23, as these might be, and were famous for their prudent, faithful, and diligent discharge of their office and duty:
who also were in Christ before me; which is to be understood, not of their secret being in Christ, as being loved by him, chosen in him, given to him, and represented by him in the covenant of grace; for they had not a place in Christ’s heart, or a share in his love before him; wherefore the Arabic version is not only a bad one, but carries a false sense in it; which renders the clause thus, “who were in the love of Christ before me”: nor were they chosen in Christ before him, for all the elect were chosen together in him before the foundation of the world; nor were they given to him, put into his hands, and made his care and charge before him; nor were they considered in Christ as their covenant head before him; Christ became their surety for them together, and received grace, blessings, and promises for them, and they in him before the world began; and was their common head and representative in time, in their nature; and they were all together crucified, buried, and raised with him, and set down with him in heavenly places together. But they were in the profession of faith, and in the church of Christ, and in the ministry of the word before him, being converted and brought to the faith of Christ before he was; which is the saints’ open being in Christ, and is the effect and evidence of their being secretly in him from everlasting: this is to be created in Christ, or made new creatures in him; to be brought to believe in him, and even into him for righteousness, pardon, peace, acceptance, and eternal life, which are in him; and to live upon him, and in him, and derive all light and life, grace and strength, joy, peace, and comfort from him, as the branch derives its sap and nourishment from the vine, in which it is; and in this sense these men were in Christ before the apostle; they were converted persons, professors of religion, members of a church, and Gospel ministers before him: and though this is nothing in the business of salvation, who is called first or last; the one is equally as safe and as happy as the other; the thief that was called at the last hour, and the last man that will be called by grace in the world; yet it is a great blessing and mercy to be converted early; hereby a multitude of sins is prevented, and more, service done for Christ. And doubtless the apostle had this in view, and therefore gives these his kinsmen the preference to himself, that whilst he was a blasphemer of Christ, a persecutor of his people, and injurious to his interest, these made a profession of his name, preached his Gospel, and served his cause: it shows also, that they were persevering Christians, were pillars in the house of God, and never went out; and on account of their constancy and long standing, were worthy of respect. The apostle rises gradually in the character of these persons; as it was more to be fellow prisoners with him than to be his kinsmen, so it was more to be of note among the apostles, or to be eminent preachers of the Gospel, than to be fellow prisoners with him; and it was more to be in Christ than them all, than to be Paul’s kinsmen, fellow prisoners with him, or to be known and approved of by the apostles, to be messengers of churches, preachers of the word, or even to be apostles themselves, and the chiefest of them; for such are blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ, are complete and perfect in him, are safe and secure, and can never perish; and being once in Christ, are always in him, and will be found in him living and dying, and at judgment.
o Epist. ad Corinth. p. 14.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Andronicus and Junias ( ). The first is a Greek name found even in the imperial household. The second name can be either masculine or feminine.
Kinsmen (). Probably only fellow-countrymen as in 9:13.
Fellow-prisoners (). Late word and rare (in Lucian). One of Paul’s frequent compounds with . Literally, fellow captives in war. Perhaps they had shared one of Paul’s numerous imprisonments (2Co 11:23). In N.T. only here, Phlm 1:23; Col 4:10.
Of note (). Stamped, marked ( ). Old word, only here and Mt 27:16 (bad sense) in N.T.
Among the apostles ( ). Naturally this means that they are counted among the apostles in the general sense true of Barnabas, James, the brother of Christ, Silas, and others. But it can mean simply that they were famous in the circle of the apostles in the technical sense.
Who have been in Christ before me ( ). Andronicus and Junias were converted before Paul was. Note (Koine form by analogy) instead of the usual second perfect active indicative form , which some MSS. have. The perfect tense notes that they are still in Christ.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Andronicus and Junia. The latter name may be either masculine or feminine. If the latter, the person was probably the wife of Andronicus. If the former, the name is to be rendered Junias, as Rev. The following words point to this conclusion.
Kinsmen [] . The primary meaning is related by blood; but it is used in the wider sense of fellow – countrymen. So ch. 9 3.
Of note [] . A good rendering etymologically, the word meaning, literally, bearing a mark [, ] .
Fellow prisoners [] . See on captives, Luk 4:18.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen,” (aspassathe Andronikon kai loudian tous sungeneis mou) “Greet also Adronicus and Julia, my near kinsmen,” relatives of me.
2) “And my fellowprisoners,” (kai sunaichmalotus mou) “And my fellow-captives;” for whom his heart had yearned until they found the Christ, Rom 9:1-3. These friends of Christ, relatives of Paul, were or had also been prisoners of war or “Salvation Army People;”
3) “Who are of note among the apostles,” (oitines eisin episemoi en tois apostolois) “Who are notable or well-known and of good reputation among the apostles.” Paul was not the only apostle or missionary laborer who spent hours in lonely prisons for the gospel’s sake, to wit; Peter, John., Silas, etc., Act 5:1-42; Act 16:1-40; Joh 15:20.
4) “Who also were in Christ before me,” (hoi kai pro emou gegonan en Christo) “Who were in Christ, even before me,” 1Co 15:8; Gal 1:21-24. That one person may be “in Christ,” in time, prior to another, is strong evidence that one is saved, receives eternal life in time, when he believes, not in eternity, before time began, before one ever even existed, as erroneously held by some. Joh 1:11-12; Gal 3:26; Rom 6:23. The twelve apostles also were all “in Christ” before Paul was, see? 1Co 15:7-8.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
7. Salute Andronicus Though Paul is not wont to make much of kindred, and of other things belonging to the flesh, yet as the relationship which Junia and Andronicus bore to him, might avail somewhat to make them more fully known, he neglected not this commendation. There is more weight in the second eulogy, when he calls them his fellow-prisoners; (476) for among the honors belonging to the warfare of Christ, bonds are not to be counted the least. In the third place, he calls them Apostles: he uses not this word in its proper and common meaning, but extends it wider, even to all those who not only teach in one Church, but also spend their labor in promulgating the gospel everywhere. He then, in a general way, calls those in this place Apostles, who planted Churches by carrying here and there the doctrine of salvation; for elsewhere he confines this title to that first order which Christ at the beginning established, when he appointed the twelve disciples. It would have been otherwise strange, that this dignity should be only ascribed to them, and to a few others. But as they had embraced the gospel by faith before Paul, he hesitates not to set them on this account before himself. (477)
(476) It is not certain to what the Apostle refers; for we have no particular account of him hitherto as a prisoner, except for a short time at Philippi, Act 16:23; and it is probable, that it was on that occasion that they had been his fellow-prisoners; for it appears from the narrative, that there were more prisoners than Paul and Silas, as it is said that the “prisoners” heard them singing, Act 16:25; and Paul’s saying to the jailer, in Act 16:28, “we are all here,” clearly implies that he had some with him besides Silas. — Ed.
(477) The words ἐπίσημοι ἐν τοῖς ἀποστόλοις, noted among the Apostles, can hardly admit of a meaning different from what is here given, though some have explained the sense to be, that they were much esteemed by Apostles, or that they were “distinguished in the Apostles’ judgment,” or that they were well known to the Apostles. But as “Apostles” in some other instances mean teachers, as Barnabas was, (Act 14:14,) the explanation here given is most to be approved. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(7) Junia.Or, possibly, Junias (for Junianus), a mans name.
My kinsmen.From the number of persons (six in all, and those not only in Rome but also in Greece and Macedonia) to whom the title is given in this chapter, it would seem as if the word kinsmen was to be taken in a wider sense than that which it usually bears. It probably means members of the same nationJew like myself.
Fellow-prisoners.It is not at all known to what this refers. The only imprisonment of St. Paul recorded in the Acts after this date would be that at Philippi, but allusions such as those in 2Co. 6:5; 2Co. 11:23, at once show the defectiveness of the narrative, and point to occasions when the persons mentioned might easily have shared imprisonment with him.
Of note among the apostles.An ambiguous expression, which might mean, and, judging by the word alone, would perhaps more naturally be taken to mean, distinguished as Apostles themselves. This sense is not to be disregarded as absolutely impossible, for the title Apostles does not appear to have been limited to the Twelve. It is decidedly more probable that James, the Lords brother, who is called an Apostle in Gal. 1:19, and elsewhere, was not identical with James the son of Alphus. And, however this may be, there can be no question about Barnabas, who is called an Apostle in Act. 14:14. St. Paul himself seems to draw a distinction between the Twelve and all the Apostles, in 1Co. 15:7. Still, on the whole, it seems best to suppose that the phrase of note among the Apostles means, highly esteemed by the apostolic circle.
Were in Christ. . . .i.e., became Christians.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
7. Junia Is, doubtless, the name of a female, wife or sister of Andronicus. This appears from their names being coupled like Priscilla and Aquila, (Rom 16:3.) Tryphena and Tryphosa, (Rom 16:12,) perhaps, are sisters, or are coupled from the alliteration. There are four remarkable points regarding the couple of this verse. They were Paul’s kinsmen, they had been his fellow prisoners, they were converted to Christianity before him, and they were honoured by the apostles. It is clear that these facts are not given in their historical order. That they were his kinsmen points back to Jerusalem, where they must have early become Christians, and dear to the apostles when Paul was a persecutor. In Act 23:16-21, we find that Paul’s sister’s son interposed to rescue him from imprisonment. Were this couple additional relatives of Paul who suffered unmentioned durance on account of Paul? But as there are no less than six persons who are called kinsmen, the term is probably an affectionate epithet like mother. It seems inadmissible to render apostles any otherwise than as designating the twelve, or to make it an appellation of the couple: first, because such a use of the word is rare; second, because Junia is probably female; and, third, because it is extremely improbable that these two comparatively obscure persons should have been eminent apostles.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Salute Andronicus and Junias, my kinsmen, and my fellow-prisoners, who are outstanding among the apostles, who also have been in Christ before me.’
Andronicus was a common Greek name. Junia may have been his wife. Or it may be a man’s name, Junias. Either way they were possibly Paul’s relatives, (whilst ‘my kinsmen’ could simply indicate that they were Jews (Rom 9:3) Paul here separates some Jews out from others as ‘my kinsmen’, and would thus seem to be indicating a closer relationship. Perhaps they were Benjamites) and interestingly they had become Christians before he did. They were seemingly converted during the first wave of Apostolic ministry, or even possibly through the teaching of Jesus Himself. They may have been Galileans, and among the 120 mentioned in Act 1:15.
‘Outstanding, of note’ among the Apostles’ may simply signify that they were well known by the Apostles (possibly translating en as ‘in the eyes of’) and held in high esteem by the Apostles as a whole (for a similar use of en which differentiates the one spoken of from those that he is ‘among’ compare Rom 15:9; Luk 2:44; Joh 1:14; 1Co 2:2; Gal 3:1 (in D; G); etc).
‘The Apostles’, when used by Paul without qualification, usually refers to the twelve, plus James, the Lord’s brother, and himself. Whilst Paul occasionally speaks of messengers to the churches as being ‘apostles’ (those sent) in a general way (2Co 8:23; Php 2:25; 1Th 2:6), he nowhere speaks of Apostles as a group except when he is signifying the twelve plus James, and he, of course, included himself as an Apostle (see, however, 1Th 2:6 where the significance of ‘we — apostles’ is debatable). This verse is thus very flimsy evidence for actually making them ‘apostles’, even with its lesser meaning of ‘official messengers’. There is no reason for thinking of the position in 2Co 8:23; Php 2:25 as being more than temporary. Andronicus and Junia(s) had clearly been in prison for Christ’s sake, possibly, although not necessarily, at the same time as, and along with, Paul.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Rom 16:7. Andronicus and Junia Or, Junias. Diodati thinks that by apostles in this verse are meant the evangelists; and that the meaning is, that these persons were noted messengers of the churches; but it is more probable that they were some early converts, who had been known and much esteemed by the apostles before the dispersion occasioned by the death of Stephen: and if so, St. Paul perhaps might once have been active in persecuting them, and have learned their names at first with an hostile intent of hunting them down to destruction. See Craddock’s Apostol. Hist. Diodati, and Doddridge.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Rom 16:7 . ] is taken by Chrysostom, Grotius, and others, including Reiche, as feminine ( Junia , who is then to be regarded probably as the wife or sister of Andronicus); but by most of the more recent expositors as a masculine name, Junias, equivalent to Junianus (therefore to be accented ). No decision can be arrived at, although the following description, Rom 16:7 (in opposition to Fritzsche), commends the latter supposition.
] is explained by many (including Reiche, de Wette, Hofmann) as member of the same race or people (according to Rom 9:3 ). But the explanation kinsmen is to be preferred, partly because the word itself, without other definition in the context, immediately points to this (Mar 6:4 ; Act 10:24 , et al .); partly because it is only in this sense that it has a significance of special commendation; especially as in Rome there were many Jewish-Christians, and hence one does not see how the epithet was to be something characteristic in the particular case of those named , if it signified only kindred in the sense of belonging to the same people . We know too little of the apostle’s kindred (comp. also Act 23:16 ), to reject this explanation on account of Rom 16:11 ; Rom 16:21 , or to venture to employ it in throwing suspicion on the genuineness of the chapter (Baur). But Reiche’s reason that Andronicus and Junias are expressly designated as Jews, because it would just be non-Jews who were saluted is quite futile, since the nationality of those previously saluted is unknown to us, and Aquila and Prisca were likewise Jews. [42] Just as groundlessly, Hofmann thinks that in an epistle to the Gentile -Christian church the kinsmen of the apostle would be Jews . This is purely arbitrary, and yields, besides, for the designation of the persons intended an element, which, in the case of the actual relatives of the Jewish-Christian apostle, is quite obvious of itself , and the mention of which, moreover, in presence of the Gentile-Christians, would have been somewhat indelicate.
Where and in what manner they had been imprisoned with Paul , [43] is, owing to the incompleteness of the information in the book of Acts (comp. on 2Co 6:5 ), entirely unknown. Clement, 1Co 5 , states that Paul had seven times borne fetters. Ewald, in connection with his view that we have here a fragment of an epistle to the Ephesians, assumes that Andronicus and Junias, while Paul was imprisoned in Rome , lay at the same time confined in Ephesus; and Lucht perceives only the anachronism of a forger.
. .] , like insignis , a vox media (comp. Mat 27:16 ), here in the good sense: distinguished, i.e. most honourably known by the apostles . Comp. Eur. Hec . 379: , Hippol . 103; Polyb. x. 3. 3, xv. 34. 3; Lucian, merc. cond . 28. So Beza, Grotius, and others, including Koppe, Flatt, Reiche, de Wette, Fritzsche, Philippi, van Hengel, Hofmann, and rightly; for is used by Paul only in 1Co 15:7 in the wider sense (comp. Act 14:4 ; Act 14:14 ), nevertheless even there with such restriction that James and the twelve are included in the reference. Hence we must not, especially considering our entire ignorance of the two persons, explain, with Origen, Chrysostom, Luther, Calvin, Estius, Wolf, and many others, including Tholuck, Kllner, Rckert, Reithmayr, Ewald: distinguished among the apostles (in other words, distinguished apostles). That Andronicus and Junias were held in peculiar honour by the apostles, does not exclude their repute with the Christians generally, but rather points, for their especial commendation, to closer relations which they had with the apostles. Lucht misinterprets the expression . of the original apostles in contrast to Paul.
] That they had been converted exactly at Pentecost (Grotius, Koppe), is just as little capable of proof, as that they had been the first preachers of the gospel in Rome (Wolf).
.] not: became apostles in Christ (Reithmayr, following Origen), but: became Christians, entered the fellowship of Christ , attained to the . They were thus (Act 21:16 ). “Venerabiles facit aetas, in Christo maxime,” Bengel. On , see Ngelsbach, z. Ilias , p. 295, Exo 3 ; comp. on Phi 2:7 .
[42] Probably Mary also the name already points to this was a Jewess; indeed, Epaenetus himself appears to have been a Jew (against Hofmann), since he is characterized generally as the first-fruits of Asia , not as of this country, and according to history, the Christian first-fruits of a country inhabited also by Jews were, as a rule, Jews. Comp. Act 18:6 ; Act 28:24 ff.
[43] The expression itself places the relation of their captivity under the figurative conception of captivity in war (Rom 7:23 ; 2Co 10:5 ; Eph 4:8 ). Comp. Lucian, Asin . 27; Photius, Bibl . p. 133, 8. As the Christians, and peculiarly the teachers and overseers in the service of Christ, their commander-in-chief, are amongst one another (see on Phi 2:30 , Phm 1:2 ), so also are they, in captivity with one another, (see on Col 4:10 , Phm 1:23 ). An arbitrary play of interpretation occurs in Hofmann: those whom Christ has won from the world and made His own , just as the apostle himself. Aptly Chrysostom points out the fellowship of suffering with Paul, implied in ., as the most glorious crown of these men.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
Prisoners of War
“Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ.” Phm 1:1 .
“There salute thee Epaphras, my fellow-prisoner in Christ Jesus.” Phm 1:23 “Aristarchus my fellow-prisoner saluteth you.” Col 4:10 “Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellow-prisoners.” Rom 16:7
WE have only one word where Paul had two. In all these cases we say “prisoner”; Paul did not use the same word in all cases. Paul used two perfectly distinct words; he had therefore two perfectly distinct meanings. “Paul, a prisoner, a of Jesus Christ”: this was literal. There was not any doubt that Paul was oftentimes in the most literal sense a prisoner, a man locked up, a bondsman in chains, and his address was the city gaol. “My fellow-prisoner,” “my fellow-prisoners”: the word which he used in the first instance is not used in these later examples; it is a larger, tenderer, sweeter word, fuller altogether as to thought and music and blessedness of experience. This is the infirmity of language: we speak roughly, we lose much for want of critical discrimination. There are persons, we are told, who are colour-blind, to whom, therefore, the rainbow is nothing; there are others who are indeed word-blind or word-deaf, they do not distinguish between terms, and all voices are alike to them; if they hear the mere sound it is enough, without studying its quality and its suggestiveness. Let there be no doubt about the literal imprisonment of Paul. As a simple matter of fact he was often in gaol. There is no need to disguise that fact. Paul rather magnified it, dwelt upon it with singular complacency, and got out of its bitterness something sweeter than the honeycomb. But Paul never consented to live within the literal meaning of the word “prison.” To that term he added others, and thus he glorified it. It is not “Paul, a prisoner,” it is “Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ” where is the gaol now? “My fellow-prisoner in Jesus Christ”; “I Paul, the prisoner of the Lord.” How much richer we might be, if we drew more heavily upon the bank of the riches of Christ! There would be those who called themselves mere prisoners; they saw nothing but the prison walls, they felt nothing but the prison chains, they spoke of nothing but the prison diet and deprivation of companionship and many of the advantages of civilisation. Paul never talked in a whining tone. He enlarged the gaol by taking Christ into it, and when they were both together, though in prison, they were in heaven. The Apostle Paul always looked beyond the gaoler; he said to him in effect, You are but an instrument; you carry the keys, and yet you are only a key yourself; you do not know what you are doing; I bear you no resentment or animosity, you are in the hands of the king. Men do not come to that high estate of spiritual interpretation and spiritual comfort without undergoing many a drilling process, many a stripping and laceration, many a disappointment, and without much experience of the subtlety and strength of the vanquished enemy. Young Christians need not suppose that they can leap into this high and ennobling ecstasy; it is only to be attained by patience, suffering, sanctified disappointment, and battle.
What was the effect of this magnifying of the prison by associating it with the name of Jesus Christ? It gave Paul all strength. Even his weakness became an element of power. Turning over his chains in the prison, he said, I can do all things through Christ which strengthened me: these are not chains, they are feathers in wings; these are not bonds when properly interpreted; these outside people, Csars and kings and rulers and procurators and magistrates, they are only so many pieces which the King himself is moving: all this is educational, it is to have an effect upon myself, and it is to have an effect upon after ages: I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me: I even sang at Philippi, and sang, not in the morning dawn, but at the midnight hour. It filled the Apostle with joy. On one occasion his rapture was so great that he said, Yea, we exceedingly glory in tribulations also: we would not be without them; those elements of blackness greatly help the picture: we could not have a complete year without the winter: we have gone so far in the spiritual life that even tribulation itself is one of the black servants in our Father’s household.
Then Paul never looked at anything in its simple individuality and solitariness. He did not deal in bonds but in horizons; he said, All things work together for good to them that love God: this prison is one of the “all things”; without this prison experience my education would not be complete: this will sweeten me, this will soften me, this will give me mellowness: I am conscious of a kind of rude strength to be obtained in the schools, but I did want the suppleness, the exquisiteness of humility, and the beauty of chastening which such afflictions alone can give, and now my education is being perfected. No man’s education is perfected who has not been stripped naked and left in the wilderness to do the best he could for himself. You cannot pamper a man up to the completeness of his education; he must be left out all night among the rocks, and in the morning you will discover a new tone in the gamut of his utterance. “I have learned,” said Paul, making long emphasis upon the word “learned,” as if it were a seventy years school-time, “in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” It was not an inspiration, it was a learning; it was not a triumph of genius, it was a result of experience. This is the royal road to contentment, repose, and triumph.
But this is not the only meaning of the word “prisoner.” There is a larger word. Paul, by dwelling in the larger prison, made no account of the smaller gaol. What then, is the higher and wider meaning? See a Roman general going forth to war: are his victories counted only by his slain? By no means. His victories are also counted by his prisoners of war. Watch him returning home: see how vast a procession is formed with himself at the head. Who are these men constituting this procession? They are prisoners of war, men who have been taken at the point of the spear. That is the literal meaning: they are not slain men, they are not necessarily wounded men, but they are men who have felt the point of the spear, and have said, We yield: the battle, the victory, is yours. Watch them marching after the great conqueror: he is proud of them, he exhibits them in the city as trophies of war, spoils of a mighty hand. Thus we come to the larger meaning of the term prisoner. Always remember the first and vulgar meaning of a man being haled to prison and shut up with criminals, and chained as if he were a wild beast; that fact must never be lost sight of as one element in the experience of the apostles: but sometimes Paul calls himself a man taken at the point of the spear. Saul was breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the Lord, and the Lord held his lightning spear to his breast, and he said, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” He was a prisoner of war, he was captured by the Lord.
Jesus Christ is represented as going forth to war and bringing back his spoils. Imagine the scene: Paul was mad against the Lord, and he went forth to war; there was a tremendous shock of battle, but the Lord conquered at the gate of Damascus, and he who but yesternight was full of storm and fury and tumult was led to-day by the hand into the city, a prisoner of war, one who had fallen beneath the spear of the Saviour. Paul therefore delighted to speak about his fellow-prisoners, not men and women who had necessarily been in gaol with him; they might have been in the literal prison with him, but he uses a totally different word in speaking about this imprisonment, and he says to his fellow-pilgrims on this journey, Brethren, we are fellow-prisoners, we were taken at the point of the spear, we were rebelling against Christ, and defying him, and he conquered. We are fond of speaking about our fellow-students, and our fellow-passengers, and our fellow-travellers: Paul was fond of speaking about his fellow-prisoners, and they went on behind the triumphant Christ, calling him Lord and Master; for in fair fight he had vanquished them, and they were now prisoners of war, spoils of battle. Unless we take in this element we shall lose a great deal of instruction, and shall fall far short of the right conception of Christian relationship and Christian responsibility. Where are the prisoners of war now? Men walk into church supposedly through the gay, brightly coloured door of reason, custom, hereditary habit; men now in a conceited intellectuality accept the Cross. We do not want such acceptance, and the Cross will not take it; it is a battle question, it is a question of man against God, creature against the Creator, self against sacrifice; and every man who is in the right church, and, by right of Christ’s sovereignty and permission, was captured at the point of the spear. Here is the heroic element in Christian experience. True Christians are conquered men. They do not walk in with high port and patronising dignity, as who should say, We are willing to accept certain propositions, and to sustain certain relationships. They come in broken-down, captured bound hand and foot, not a limb their own, not a breath their own, spoils of war. If you could have conquered Christ, why did you not carry on the fight to the point of victory? No man can overwhelm omnipotence: everything goes down before the weakness of the Cross, for it is the power of God. So we must relieve the Church of an infinite pile of patronage, and intellectual assent, and respectable endorsement; we must strengthen the Church by thinning its numbers; by reducing the quantity we must get at the reality of the true nature of the Church: quality will conquer. If we have not been conquered by Christ we are not Christians: if we have one pulsation of our own will left in us we are as bad as we ever were. We never can tell whether we are Christ’s or not until we have come to the point of absolute bankruptcy of self-trust. If we can utter one wish or will, or signal of desire, and make a point of it, as who should say, Beyond that we cannot go, we know nothing about the Cross. If a man should say to Christ, “I accept the Cross because it is the way to heaven,” he does not accept the Cross. There is no bribery in this holy sanctuary of truth. If a man should say, “I will be a Christian, because, if the worst should come to the worst, I have nothing to lose, and if Christianity should be true, I have all to gain,” he knows nothing about Christianity: what he says is a fact, but must not be used as a reason; this is trading with heaven, this is proceeding upon the principle of equivalents. A man who says, “I will give you my heart if you will give me your heaven,” has no right to speak, and his vain words are not heard, his abominable prayer either dies among the clouds or falls back into his own heart as a burden that will distress him.
If we are prisoners of the Lord in the true sense of the term we are prisoners of love. That is to say, we want to be the Lord’s bondsmen, we say, This captivity is freedom; we never knew what it was to be free until we were the slaves of Christ; this is glorious liberty; we have been introduced into the realm and music of the Divine movement; we are now no longer outcast, and alien, and rebellious, and self-idolatrous, we are part of the great scheme of God, let him put us in our places that we may fulfil his decree, and his sovereignty. He who is a prisoner against his will will suffer night and day; the darkness will be oppressive to him, the silence will be an added punishment, his withdrawment from social routine will weigh heavily upon his soul, but he who takes Christ with him into the innermost prison into which Paul and Silas were thrust will sing at midnight. Any man can sing at noonday; he who sings with the soul at midnight is always in summer noontide.
If we are prisoners of the Lord we are no longer our own. The cry of Saul must be the cry of man to the end of his experience “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” The very utterance was a sign of conversion; such words were not natural to such lips. Saul was not the man to give himself over to any other man in heaven or in earth: Saul was a man who relied upon himself; he issued fiats, he did not obey them; he gave orders; when he breathed he breathed out threatenings and slaughter. We must contrast the two utterances if we would know the reality, the depth, and the grandeur of the change: Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter Saul, who said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? When the spear of this Infinite Csar was pointed at his heart, when the next stroke meant death, Saul said Lord, Thou hast conquered, I am thine. There is so little of this conquest-experience now; let me repeat, there is far too much intellectual assent, and acceptance of propositions, and endorsements of written orthodoxies: what we should desire is that we should be overwhelmed, overpowered, conquered, and one print of that spear should be the only order of dignity we ask for. Our prisonership in Christ is attested by our scars, and not by our opinions; by our wounds, and not by our intellectual conceits.
Prisoners taken by the great Roman generals had no will of their own which they dared express: prisoners taken by Jesus Christ have no will of their own; it is not a suppression wrought by fear, but a suppression, an annihilation, wrought by supremest, sublimest love. We must in all things consult the Captain of our salvation. He has written his law “He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me, and he shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself unto him.” What are the commands of the Captain? What does the conquering Captain want us to be, and to do? Read his Book, study his spirit, invoke his inspiration, and then go forth and fight on the side we once opposed. This is what Saul did; he was no sooner taken captive by Christ and instructed in the Divine way than he began to fight on the other side, and people heard only this about him, that he who once persecuted the Church was now preaching the gospel. A glorious inconsistency! Not an inconsistency representative of intellectual pedantry, but inconsistency equivalent to transformation, conversion, resurrection. There will be great inconsistency between the risen body and the flesh that was laid in the ground, but we must accept some inconsistencies as necessary developments in education, and in spiritual progress. Are we fighting for Christ? Not, Are we talking over him? Are we disputing about him? but, Are we really fighters? Are our blows battles half-won? Do we strike timidly? Do we whisper where we ought to speak in thunder? We are called upon to be soldiers of Christ “Endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ”; “Take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye should be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” The image is military “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world,” wherefore God’s panoply be yours. Go out in no leathern armour of your own, but in the solid steel of heaven. The world would then soon become aware of the higher military element that never yet was vanquished, but ever yet came home at night laden with spoil. Christ has never been worsted. He has been in gaol, he has been in hunger and thirst and nakedness, in cold, and weariness; he has not had where to lay his head; he has been houseless when the foxes went home, and the bird nestled in its little house in the tree: but he has never been conquered, he never gave in. Not once did he say, The world is stronger than I am, and I must be overwhelmed by it, and I resign my trust as infinitely beyond my strength. He must reign till he hath put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. The one great voice that brake upon the attentive ear of the listening seer was a voice of thunder and tempest, whirlwinds, and oceans pouring out their thunder-music, crying, Hallelujah! the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth; the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ. There is no craven tone in all the Christian statement. When Christianity has gone back it was but the refluence of the wave that it might return in prouder strength, and assert the sovereignty of God.
Prayer
Almighty God, we thank thee that thou hast spoken unto us a little at a time. Thou hast given us portions of thy Word in different ways, as we have been able to bear them. Thus hast thou broken bread for our souls, and thus hast thou prevented or satisfied the hunger of our Divinity. We thank thee for all thy music; it is all thine, the great solemnity and the tender whisper are both the Lord’s. Give us the listening heart; forbid that thy music should die in our ears; may that music find its way into the soul, and redouble itself according to our necessity and growth. We bless thee for thy Word, a lamp, a glory round about us, a sweet voice within us, a friend, a companion, a counsellor, an angel; all blessings in one great benefaction. May we read thy Word eagerly, may we fix our eyes upon it intently, looking steadfastly, pryingly, penetratingly, into the law of liberty, lest anything should escape our attention. May ours be the steadfast look, the eager expectant glance; then thou wilt show us thy goodness, and that shall be in itself meanwhile as thy glory, thy mercy shall be the pledge of thy majesty. We thank thee that since we have known thy Word we have cared for none other; thou dost fill our souls, yea thy presence doth overflow the vessel of our life, so that we have no more room to contain thee: Lord, withdraw not thyself; increase our capacity. We gather always at the Cross, for there alone may men pray the great prayer of confession and sorrow and self-renunciation and expectancy of redemption. At the Cross we have liberty in our prayer; at the Cross the heart may make its greatest speeches; at the Cross thou didst never deny pardon to any broken heart. We have done the things we ought not to have done; we ask thee to forgive our lawlessness: we have left undone the things that we ought to have done; we ask thee to forgive our neglect. We have sinned against thee thus with both hands: we have broken thy law and we have left it a dead letter: the Lord pity us, the Lord behold us at the Cross, and by the power of the priesthood of Christ come to us and say to each contrite soul, Thy sins which are many are all forgiven thee. Thus shall we have new childhood, new youth, a new glad summer morning, alive with light and music, and we shall run life’s race hopefully and successfully. Teach us the meaning of thy providences: we are always misunderstanding God; we affix our interpretations to thy providences and mistake the one for the other: save us from annotating the way of God; may we wait for it, rest in it, be thankful for it, commit ourselves wholly unto it, and save ourselves from the destructiveness of our own opinion. Thou hast done great things for us whereof we are glad. Thou knowest the treachery of the heart; it would count the little things, the adversaries, the disappointments, and add them up to a great charge against the love of God: may we beware of the enemy when he would thus tempt us, and may we turn ourselves to the bright things of life our reason, our health, our friendship, the rivers of life that flow through the meadows of our experience: and thus may we say the Lord hath done great things for us whereof we are glad. Teach us that gratitude is the secret of joy; show us that if we be trustful we shall be successful; teach us that disappointment is an angel of God sent to bring the soul into closer friendship with heaven. Thus give us dominion over the things that should be under our feet; may we keep them there, when our heads are lifted up in the modesty of perfect faith, whilst we see the dawning light which is the beginning of heaven. Amen.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
7 Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellowprisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.
Ver. 7. Who are of note ] , noble, notable Christians, old, experienced, gray-headed disciples. Christianity finds or makes us honourable.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
7 .] may be fem. ( ), from (Junia), in which case she is probably the wife of Andronicus, or masc., from (Junianus, contr. Junias). It is uncertain also whether means fellow-countrymen , or relations . Aquila and Priscilla were Jews: so would Maria be, and probably Epnetus, being an early believer. If so, the word may have its strict meaning of ‘ relations .’ But it seems to occur Rom 16:11 ; Rom 16:21 in a wider sense.
.] When and where, uncertain.
. .] Two renderings are given: (1) ‘ of note among the Apostles ,’ so that they themselves are counted among the Apostles: thus the Greek ff. ( , , , Chrys.), Calv., Est., Wolf, Thol., Klln., Olsh., al.: or (2) ‘ noted among the Apostles ,’ i.e. well known and spoken of by the Apostles. Thus Beza, Grot., Koppe, Reiche, Meyer, Fritz., De W.
But, as Thol. remarks, had this latter been the meaning, we should have expected some expression like ( 2Co 8:18 ). I may besides remark, that for Paul to speak of any persons as celebrated among the Apostles in sense (2), would imply that he had more frequent intercourse with the other Apostles, than we know that he had; and would besides be improbable on any supposition. The whole question seems to have sprung up in modern times from the idea that must mean the Twelve only . If the wider sense found in Act 14:4 ; Act 14:14 ; 2Co 8:23 ; 1Th 2:6 (compare Rom 1:1 ) be taken, there need be no doubt concerning the meaning.
] refers to Andr [125] and Jun., not to the Apostles. In the use of , there is a mixed construction “who have been longer than me,” and “who were before me.”
[125] Andreas of Crete, 635
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Rom 16:7 . Andronicus is a Greek name, which, like most names in this chapter, can be illustrated from inscriptions. may be masculine (from , or contraction of Junianus), or feminine (from ): probably the former. : i.e. , Jews. Cf. Rom 9:3 . It is hardly possible that so many people in the Church addressed (see Rom 16:2 ; Rom 16:21 ) should be more closely connected with Paul than by the bond of nationality. But it was natural for him, in writing to a mainly Gentile Church, to distinguish those with whom he had this point of contact. Cf. Col 4:11 . : this naturally means that on some occasion they had shared Paul’s imprisonment: it is doubtful whether it would be satisfied by the idea that they, like him, had also been imprisoned for Christ’s sake. The is a prisoner of war: Paul and his friends were all Salvation Army men. The phrase , men of mark among the Apostles, has the same ambiguity in Greek as in English. It might mean, well-known to the apostolic circle, or distinguished as Apostles. The latter sense is that in which it is taken by “all patristic commentators” (Sanday and Headlam), whose instinct for what words meant in a case of this kind must have been surer than that of a modern reader. It implies, of course, a wide sense of the word Apostle: for justification of which reference may be made to Lightfoot’s essay on the name and office of an Apostle ( Galatians , 92 ff.) and Harnack, Lehre der zwlf Apostel , . 111 118. On the other hand, Paul’s use of the word Apostle is not such as to make it easy to believe that he thought of a large class of persons who might be so designated, a class so large that two otherwise unknown persons like Andronicus and Junias might be conspicuous in it. Hence scholars like Weiss and Gifford hold that what is meant here is that Andronicus and Junias were honourably known to the Twelve. : they had evidently been converted very early, and, like Mnason the Cypriot, were , Act 21:16 . On see Burton, Moods and Tenses , 82. The English idiom does not allow of a perfect translation, but “were” is more idiomatic than “have been”.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Andronicus. Only here.
Junia. The accusative case case may indicate either masculine Juntas, or feminine Junia.
kinsmen. Greek. sungenes. Literal here; in Rom 9:3 it is figurative. Benjamites and probably near relatives. Here. Rom 16:11, and Act 23:16, are the only references to Paul’s relatives.
fellowprisoners. Greek. sunaichmalotos; literally a war-captive. Only here; Co Rom 1:4, Rom 1:10. Phm 1:23.
of note = eminent. Greek. episemos. Only here and Mat 27:16.
among. App-104.
apostles. App-189.
who . . . me. Read “who before me also were in Christ”.
before. App-104.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
7.] may be fem. (), from (Junia), in which case she is probably the wife of Andronicus,-or masc., from (Junianus, contr. Junias). It is uncertain also whether means fellow-countrymen, or relations. Aquila and Priscilla were Jews: so would Maria be, and probably Epnetus, being an early believer. If so, the word may have its strict meaning of relations. But it seems to occur Rom 16:11; Rom 16:21 in a wider sense.
.] When and where, uncertain.
. .] Two renderings are given: (1) of note among the Apostles, so that they themselves are counted among the Apostles: thus the Greek ff. ( , , , Chrys.), Calv., Est., Wolf, Thol., Klln., Olsh., al.: or (2) noted among the Apostles, i.e. well known and spoken of by the Apostles. Thus Beza, Grot., Koppe, Reiche, Meyer, Fritz., De W.
But, as Thol. remarks, had this latter been the meaning, we should have expected some expression like (2Co 8:18). I may besides remark, that for Paul to speak of any persons as celebrated among the Apostles in sense (2), would imply that he had more frequent intercourse with the other Apostles, than we know that he had; and would besides be improbable on any supposition. The whole question seems to have sprung up in modern times from the idea that must mean the Twelve only. If the wider sense found in Act 14:4; Act 14:14; 2Co 8:23; 1Th 2:6 (compare Rom 1:1) be taken, there need be no doubt concerning the meaning.
] refers to Andr[125] and Jun., not to the Apostles. In the use of , there is a mixed construction-who have been longer than me, and who were before me.
[125] Andreas of Crete, 635
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Rom 16:7. , kinsmen) So Rom 16:11; Rom 16:21. They were Jews, ch. Rom 9:3.-, among the apostles) They had seen the Lord, 1Co 15:6; hence they are called apostles, using the word in a wider meaning, although some of them perhaps after the ascension of the Lord turned to the faith by means of the first sermons of Peter. Others might be veterans, and I acknowledge as such the brethren, who numbered more than five hundred. The passage quoted from 1 Cor. implies, that there was a multitude of those, who had seen Christ and were from that fact capable of giving the apostolic testimony.- , before me) Age makes men venerable, especially in Christ. Among the men of old, it was a mark of veneration to have the precedence by four years.[167]- , ,) they began to be in Christ.
[167] A quotation from Juvenal Sat. xiii. 58-
Tam venerabile erat prcedere quatuor annis.-ED.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Rom 16:7
Rom 16:7
Salute Andronicus and Junias, my kinsmen,-It is most likely that they were his actual kinsmen, members of his family, not merely that they were Jews.
and my fellow-prisoners,-On some occasion they had been imprisoned with him. [This is not at all improbable, for twice (2Co 6:5; 2Co 11:23) he speaks of imprisonments as if they were common with him.]
who are of note among the apostles,-They were well and favorably known by the apostles, and regarded as worthy of their affection and confidence.
who also have been in Christ before me.-They preceded him in their obedience to the gospel.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
kinsmen: Rom 16:11, Rom 16:21, fellow prisoners, 2Co 11:23, Col 4:10, Phm 1:23, Rev 1:9
who: Gal 2:2, Gal 2:6
were: Rom 8:1, Isa 45:17, Isa 45:25, Joh 6:56, Joh 14:20, Joh 15:2, 1Co 1:30, 2Co 5:17, 2Co 5:21, Gal 1:22, Gal 5:6, Gal 6:15, Eph 2:10, 1Jo 4:13, 1Jo 5:20
Reciprocal: Act 21:16 – an old 2Co 12:2 – in Christ Phi 3:9 – in
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
6:7
Rom 16:7. In the King James Version, the terms “greet” and “salute” aide used interchangeably as they well may be, since they both come from the word ASPAZOMAI, which means a gesture of good will in whatever form it may be performed. Who also were in Christ before me. This statement is against the theory of unconditional predestination, which claims that God determined “from all eternity” Just who was to be saved. If that were true, it would be impossible for any person to be in Christ before another, since all would have been placed in Him by divine decree at the same time.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rom 16:7. Andronicus and Junias, or Junia. It is impossible to decide which form of the latter name is correct; if the feminine form (Junia) be accepted, then the wife or sister of Andronicus is meant. But the description is supposed by many commentators to favor the reference to a man.
My kinsman. This may mean fellow-countrymen, here and in Rom 16:11; Rom 16:21; but all the persons thus termed may have been actual kinsmen. It cannot be affirmed that they were not.
My fellow prisoners. When and where is unknown.
Who are of note among the Apostles; honorably known by the Apostles. The phrase does not imply that they were Apostles. So loose a sense of the term cannot be accepted: see Schaff, Apostolic Church, pp. 512, etc.
Who also (i.e.., the two persons named, not the Apostles) have been in Christ before me. Became Christians before the conversion of Paul; probably in Judea, since they were known to the Apostles. Paul had a nephew at Jerusalem, we learn from Act 23:16.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Rom 16:7-8. Salute Andronicus and Junia Or, Junias rather, it being evidently the name of a man, as appears from the apostles terming them both his kinsmen And saying, that they were of note among the apostles. My fellow-prisoners That is, imprisoned for the gospel as I was. At the time when this epistle was written, Paul had been in prison often, 2Co 11:23. On some of these occasions, the persons here named had been imprisoned with him; but where or when that happened, is not known. Who also were in Christ before me Converted to the faith of Christ before I was. From these two persons being Christians before Paul, joined with their being of note among the apostles, Origen infers that they were of the number of the seventy disciples: but that is quite uncertain. Their being called the apostles kinsmen, does not necessarily imply that they were his relations: he might term them so, as well as several others, mentioned in this chapter, merely because they were of the same nation with himself. The names, however, of many here saluted, show them to have been Greeks, or of Greek extraction. We may therefore conjecture, that they had formerly settled themselves at Rome, for the sake of commerce, or of exercising their particular trades; but, being afterward banished, by the Emperor Claudius, under the denomination of Jews, they had retired, some of them into Greece, others into the Lesser Asia, and others into Judea, where, it is supposed, they became known to the apostle in the course of his travels through these countries. These, with many others, returned to Rome in consequence of the death of Claudius, and re-established the church in its former lustre. See on chap. Rom 1:7-8.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Vv. 7, 8. Salute Andronicus and Junias, my countrymen and my fellowprisoners, who are of note among the apostles, and who also have been in Christ before me.Salute Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord.
The word Junian might be taken as the accusative of a female name, Junia, to denote the sister or wife of Andronicus. But the end of the verse leads us rather to think of a man of the name of Junias.
The expression may signify: my kinsmen, or my countrymen (Rom 9:3). The first meaning seems, in itself, the more natural; but in Rom 16:11; Rom 16:21 this term is applied to other persons, two of whom (Jason and Sosipater) appear to be Macedonians (Act 17:5; Act 20:4). The wider meaning, that of countrymen, thus becomes the more probable. Even Schultz finds a proof in these words that Paul wrote these lines to a church of Gentile origin (my countrymen). Hence it has been concluded that these salutations could not be addressed to the church of Rome. From the same circumstance we, for our part, on the contrary, conclude that the church of Rome was not Jewish-Christian. It has been asked when these two Christians of Jewish origin could have been imprisoned with St. Paul? Neither the Acts nor the previous Epistles furnish an answer to this question. But the descriptions in 2Co 6:5 et seq., and Rom 11:23 et seq., allude to so many unknown circumstances in the apostle’s life, that this ignorance ought not to excite our surprise. In chap. 15 of his Epistle to the Corinthians, Clement of Rome enumerates seven captivities of the apostle, and we know of only four (Philippi, Jerusalem, Caesarea, Rome). Probably the event in question belongs to a period anterior to his missionary journeys (comp. the end of the verse).
Most critics of the present day agree in explaining the following words in this sense: well known by the apostles (the Twelve). But what a strange title of honor: the apostles know them! And can the , in, have such a meaning: illustrious with, that is to say, in the opinion of the apostles. Meyer quotes the phrase of Euripides: , illustrious with mortals, or in their eyes. But why not translate quite simply: illustrious amidst or among mortals? And similarly, and with still more reason, here: illustrious among those numerous evangelists who, by their missionary labors in the countries of the East, have merited the name of apostles. This title, indeed, could in certain cases have a wider sense than it has in our Gospels; thus, Act 14:4; Act 14:14, it is applied to Barnabas, as it is indirectly, 1Co 9:5. So we call the missionary Brainerd, the apostle of the Indians. Such another, the apostle of China or of the Indies.
A last title of honor: these two men preceded Paul himself in the faith. They belong, therefore, to that primitive church of Jerusalem whose members, as years elapse, take ever a more venerable character in the eyes of all the churches. The Greco-Latin reading: the apostles who were before me, is an evident corruption of the text.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
Salute Andronicus and Junias, my kinsmen [my fellow-countrymen–Jews– Rom 9:3], and my fellow-prisoners [When or where we do not know. Scripture tells of four imprisonments of Paul, but Clement of Rome enumerates seven. There may have been even more– 2Co 11:23], who are of note among the apostles, who also have been in Christ before me. [Meaning that these were converted to Christ before he was–early enough to be well known to the apostles and to be honored by them before that body was scattered by persecution, it being slow to depart from Jerusalem– Act 8:1; Act 12:1-3]
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
Verse 7
My kinsmen; meaning, perhaps his fellow-countrymen.–Fellow-prisoners. They had been joined with him at some one of the numerous occasions on which Paul had been imprisoned.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
16:7 Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellowprisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in {d} Christ before me.
(d) Ingrafted by faith.