7. The Inscription of the Epistle. Was it indeed inscribed to the Romans?
The Inscription of the Epistle stands thus: Παύλου τοῦ Ἀποστόλου ἡ πρὸς Ῥωμαίους ἐπιστολὴ, the Apostle Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. But also, in the beginning of the Epistle, Paul inscribes it, πᾶσι τοῖς οὖσιν ἐν Ῥώμῃ ἀγαπητοῖς Θεοῦ, κλητοῖς ἁγίοις, to all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints, Romans 1:7. Roman converts, whether of the Jews, or of the Gentiles, are understood, not only those at Rome, but also those in the whole West under obligation to Rome, to which the faith delivered in this Epistle flowed. Josephus notes, Antiquities, book VII, that there were many Jews at Rome. That the same dwelt on the other side of the Tiber, Philo relates, Embassy to Gaius. Although they were driven from Rome by Claudius for a time,[1] it is gathered from Romans 16:3 that they returned to the same.
[1] During his reign (41-54 AD), Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome.