Romans 16:5-7

Most of the people mentioned in these verses require no explanatory comment. "Asia" (Romans 16:5) was the Roman province of Asia of which Ephesus was the capital. Junias (or Junia, Romans 16:7) was probably the wife of Andronicus (cf. Romans 16:3; Romans 16:15). The term "kinsmen" or "relatives" (Romans 16:7; cf. Romans 16:11; Romans 16:21) seems to refer to relatives of Paul in the sense of being fellow Jews (cf. Romans 9:13; Philippians 1:7; Philippians 4:14). "Apostles" (Romans 16:7) here must have the general sense of representatives (traveling missionaries) rather than being a technical reference to one of the 13 official apostles (cf. Acts 14:4; Acts 14:14; 2 Corinthians 8:23; 1 Thessalonians 2:6; Philippians 2:25).