16:1 Phebe. Phebe is the first of thirty-five personal names mentioned in this last chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans, most of whom are mentioned nowhere else in Scripture. The reason why so much apparently personal information was included in the Scriptures by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is probably to illustrate the Spirit’s concern with individuals. The names of all the redeemed are written in God’s book in heaven (Luke 10:20; Philippians 4:3); as a token of this fact, the names of some of these saints are written in God’s book on earth.

16:1 servant. The Greek here is diakonos, usually translated as “deacon.” Evidently, Phebe was a deaconess of the Cenchrean church. Almost certainly it was she who carried Paul’s epistle from Cenchrea, the seaport of Corinth, to Rome, for Paul.