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.
With this return of Jews came understandable cultural tensions, both subtle and overt. Jewish believers in Jesus returned to communities now headed up by Gentile Christ-followers. Non-Jews, having grown accustomed to their own leadership and local customs, did not always know how to live and re-integrate peacefully with Jews who followed Torah and their ancestral ways. As a result, the returning Jews who followed Jesus as Messiah now were unwelcome within the very assemblies and networks they themselves had established years ago. Paul’s letter undeniably addresses these very real and nuanced tensions.
It is in this setting that Paul writes his message, most likely around 57 CE, during his three-month stay in Greece (Acts 20:2-3), probably in Corinth. Knowing that Jews who followed Jesus had recently begun returning to Rome and that Roman non-Jewish Christ-followers now formed a substantial majority, Paul sought to heal the divisions that could fracture the multicultural unity he taught. His repeated emphasis on God’s impartiality, that “there is no distinction between Jew and Greek” (Rom 10:12), addresses a real social problem manifesting in the house assemblies of Rome.
The Romans exercised political control and complete military authority over the land of Israel. The Romans assisted Herod the Great in taking over Judea in 37 BCE. After his death in 6 CE, Rome annexed Judea and established its own governance (Josephus, Ant. 17.13.5; War 2.8). Judea was a Roman province in the first century. Roman Christians were in a difficult position due to the political tensions and periodic uprisings of Jews in Judea. They were Romans who were supposed to be loyal to Israel's God. Jews were seen more and more as troublemakers, revolutionaries, those who despised taxation, rejected the stability of Roman rule, and constantly objected to Roman involvement in Jewish internal affairs. They were subjected to those who clearly did not want to govern them. This was the case not merely in Jerusalem or Rome, but all over the Mediterranean.
Pinchas Shir
Tensions between Jews and Romans were intensifying at that moment in history, and Roman citizens who professed loyalty to Israel's God were tied to Jews and naturally associated with them. One could see how that could not be very desirable or popular. There was a conflict between being good and loyal citizens of Rome and embracing the ethics and teachings of Israel's God. Spirituality was never separate from one's national belonging in the ancient world. Religion was an ancestral way of life, and thus, the loyalties were split.
Shaul’s long argument in chapters 9-11 is the core of his message to the Romans, who did not fully understand Israel’s covenant and the role of Jews as a people in their faith. This was not as a theoretical or theological matter, because some Romans probably interpreted Jews falling into disfavor as a sign of their own rising influence and even as divine rejection of the Jewish people. Paul insisted that “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Rom 11:29).
The social context behind Paul’s Letter to Romans is a living drama that shaped his message of unity despite diversity. A Jewish apostle and a rabbi writing to a primarily Gentile congregation urged unity, humility, and called for mutual respect precisely because the Roman expulsion of Jews was a painful experience in a social and honor-shame perspective. Paul wrote at a moment when the community needed a unifying vision that honored Israel’s election, affirmed Gentile inclusion, and preserved peace in a city with a long history of societal competition and conflict. His letter is therefore both theologically profound and practically exigent, crafted in the shadow of imperial politics, fragile multi-cultural relations, and a hope that unwavering trust in one God who called both Israel and the nations could forge the bond of unity in Rome.
Pinchas Shir
The Annotated Jewish New Testament (NRSV)
This New Testament was not designed for an average reader. Edited by Amy-Jill Levine and published by Oxford University Press, this intriguing edition contains academic notes and verse-by-verse commentary on the New Testament by scholars of religion who happen to be Jews. This unique volume contains many helpful and concise topical articles that delve into cultural and historical issues that a student of the first-century Jewish context might encounter.