Getting "Romans" To The Right Romans: Phoebe And The Delivery Of Paul’s Letter -- By: Allan Chapple

Journal: Tyndale Bulletin
Volume: TYNBUL 62:2 (NA 2011)
Article: Getting "Romans" To The Right Romans: Phoebe And The Delivery Of Paul’s Letter
Author: Allan Chapple


Getting Romans To The Right Romans:
Phoebe And The Delivery Of Paul’s Letter

Allan Chapple

Summary

How did Romans reach the people for whom it was intended? There is widespread agreement that Phoebe was the bearer of the letter (Rom. 16:1-2), but little investigation of or agreement about the exact nature of her responsibilities. By exploring the data available to us, especially tha found in Romans 16, this essay provides a reconstruction of the events surrounding the transport and delivery of the letter to the Roman Christians. In particular, it proposes the following:

*Phoebe conveyed the letter to Rome, probably by sea;
*the church in Rome at this time consisted of house-churches;
*Phoebe was to deliver the letter first to Prisca and Aquila and their house-church;
*Prisca and Aquila were to convene an assembly of the whole Christian community, the first for some time, at which Romans was to be received and read;
*Prisca and Aquila were to be asked to arrange for copies of Romans to be made;
*Phoebe was to deliver these copies to other house-churches; and
*Phoebe was to read Romans in the way that Paul had coached her at each of the gatherings to which she took it.

1. Introduction

It is the spring of AD 56 or 57, and Paul has just spent the winter in Corinth.1 Now he is on his way to Jerusalem with the collection

(15:25-322). Under the circumstances, he is bound to be focused on what lies ahead, preoccupied with what kind of reception awaits him in Jerusalem. Yet part of him is looking westwards, wondering about the letter he has sent to Rome. The production of this letter was one of his principal projects during the winter months, and so he is also preoccupied with what kind of reception awaits the letter in Rome. It is no less important for the progress of his mission that Romans be well received than that his collection is welcomed by the Jerusalem church. As a result, he will have taken as much care arranging for the delivery of the letter as he took in its composition—why invest so much time, energy and money in the production of a letter that is unlikely to reach its destination? But what exactly was that destination? And what steps has Paul taken to ensure that Romans reaches it? And how was the letter to be delivered and received once it reached its goal?

What follows attempts to answer such questions, often...

You must have a subscription and be logged in to read the entire article.
Click here to subscribe
visitor : : uid: ()