Reading Paul's Letter to Romans in Context
The Letter to the Romans emerges from a complicated social world shaped by Roman imperial politics, shifting relationships between Jews and Gentiles, and the trauma of Jewish diaspora being expelled and later readmitted to Rome. Behind Paul’s letter, which teaches deep spiritual principles that stimulate abundant theological reflection, lies a living community whose internal tensions were the very reason the letter had to be written. Jews and non-Jews who followed Yeshua (Jesus) in Rome did not see eye to eye on many issues, and Paul’s letter showed them a path towards unity.
The historical reality often missed is that in 49 CE, the emperor Claudius issued an edict expelling Jews from the city of Rome. The primary source is a Roman writer named Suetonius (Claudius 25.4) who writes that the emperor "expelled the Jews from Rome since they were constantly rioting at the instigation of Chrestus." The puzzling reference to "Chrestus" (presumed to be a name by the uninformed) is usually understood by historians as a garbled recollection of disputes within the Roman Jewish community over Christos (Χριστός), Messiah (Mashiach; מָשִׁיחַ) - Israel’s anointed one (2 Sam 7:12-16, Is 9:5-6; Jer 23:5-6; 33:14-16; Ezek 34:23-24; 37:24-25; Dan 7:13-14).
These intra-Jewish disputes likely grew loud, possibly even tense, to the point of disturbances and concern for Roman authorities, who preferred urban peace above all else. If aristocratic families were involved, that made it even worse. There is some evidence that some Romans from prominent families flirted with embracing Jewish ways. This is enough of a reason for the emperor to get involved. Claudius wanted to purge Rome from foreign religious influence, not Jews alone, but other foreign religious groups as well. Luke indirectly mentions this imperial expulsion in Acts 18:2, when Paul meets Aquila and Priscilla: “because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome.”
Pinchas Shir
Ancient sources document earlier expulsions, such as under emperor Tiberius (reported in Tacitus, Annals 2.85; Josephus, Ant. 18.81-84). It’s hard to be certain if the 49 CE expulsion emptied Rome of Jews entirely. It's possible that a few very connected families received letters of exemption. But the edict significantly weakened the community, displaced leaders, and created a vacuum in the synagogues. The Jewish presence in Rome dated back centuries, and by the first century CE, a vibrant network of synagogues existed in the capital. Now they were empty. Most religious gatherings were held in the homes of prominent community members in those days, and undoubtedly in Rome, non-Jews were interested in Moses' teachings and participated in such gatherings as well. When Jews were forced out, the Gentile believers in Jesus who remained in the Roman congregations inevitably assumed leadership roles in any gatherings of Messiah-followers established in Rome. Their community life must have continued without Jewish presence for several years.
When Claudius died in 54 CE, his stepson Nero became the next emperor. The expulsion order lapsed at this time, but it was not formally revoked; at least, we don’t have any surviving documents to prove that. It seems the edict was not strictly enforced under Nero, and Jews began returning to Rome slowly. This is supported indirectly by the reappearance of Jewish names in Roman inscriptions after mid-century and by the presence of Priscilla and Aquila back in Rome in Romans 16:3, which Paul writes in the late 50s. Thus, by Nero’s early reign, well before the horrors of the Jewish War (66-70 CE), Jewish life in Rome gradually revived.
