1 Corinthians 16

Galatia was a Roman province in what is now central Turkey.

Macedonia was a Roman province in what is now northern Greece and the Republic of Macedonia. Thessalonica was about 300 miles (480 km) north of Corinth, by land, and about 400 miles (645 km) mainly by sea. The trip by land, at 20 miles a day, may have taken around 15 days. By sea, sailing at about four to five knots, it could have taken about four days.

Pentecost is a springtime harvest festival also known as Festival of Weeks because Jews celebrate it several weeks after Passover, about 50 days later. Christians commemorate Pentecost because it was during this festival in Jerusalem that the Holy Spirit arrived and filled the followers of Jesus (Acts 2:4).

Stephanas may have been one of three couriers, along with Fortunatus and Achaicus (1 Corinthians 16:17), who brought a letter to Paul from Corinth. The letter apparently included questions that Paul answered in his response, which became 1 Corinthians.

Achaia was a Roman province in what is now southern Greece. Corinth and Athens were both in that province.

Asia was an important region in what is now Western Turkey, along the coast. Ephesus was perhaps the most important city in that area.

Paul worked with this couple as tentmakers in Corinth (Acts 18:2-3). They later traveled with him to Ephesus (Acts 18:18). In his letters, Paul addresses Priscilla by her formal name: Prisca (Romans 16:3; 2 Timothy 4:19). “Priscilla” was a nickname used in Acts 18. Since the book of Acts was probably written decades after Paul wrote the letter to Corinth, “Priscilla” is likely the name people best remembered her by.

The Greek word is often translated “holy.” Many Bible experts say this kiss was a greeting unique to Christians, as an expression of unity in spite of differences in race, gender, or social status. This kiss was not intended to be sexually arousing, though church leaders occasionally felt compelled to warn against taking the kiss too far, such as going back for a second helping. A scholar known as Clement of Alexandria (about AD 150-215) warned Christians not to give someone a “shameless” kiss.

Paul apparently used a hired secretary or a scribe to help him with this letter. Many letters were written this way in Bible times, when most folks couldn’t read or write very well, if at all.

This doesn’t sound especially kind. Some Bible scholars say Paul may have been thinking about certain people there in the Corinth church who were stirring up trouble and getting people mad at each other.

Paul wrote this in Aramaic, a Middle Eastern language Jews picked up hundreds of years earlier, during exile in what is now Iraq. The term can be taken any one of several ways: “Come, Lord,” “Our Lord has come,” “Our Lord is here.” It might also mean all of those at once: “The Lord has come, his Spirit is here with us, and our Lord is coming again.”