Herodion

Biblical Record

Herodion appears only in Romans 16:11. At the close of the letter, Paul sends greetings to a number of believers in Rome, and among them he writes, "Salute Herodion my kinsman" (Romans 16:11). Scripture tells us only that Paul called him a "kinsman" and that he belonged to the community of believers in Rome when Romans was written. His age, occupation, the time of his conversion, and his later life are not recorded.

Significance Within Scripture

The Greek word syngenēs, translated "kinsman," can refer either to a blood relative or to a fellow member of the same people. In Romans 9:3 Paul calls the Israelites "my kinsmen according to the flesh." In Romans 16, besides Herodion, he uses the same word for Andronicus and Junia (16:7) and for Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater (16:21). For this reason, many interpreters consider it likely that Herodion was a believer of Jewish background. This list of greetings is read as evidence that the Roman church included both Jewish and Gentile believers and that Paul remembered each of them by name.

Interpretations and Debates

• Meaning of "kinsman": Some take the term to mean a blood relative, others a fellow Jew. The text alone does not settle the question.
• Connection with the Herodian family: The name "Herodion" resembles Herod. In addition, the immediately preceding verse (16:10) mentions "them which are of Aristobulus' household," and some scholars identify this Aristobulus as a member of the Herodian family. On this basis, some have conjectured that Herodion was a servant or freedman of the house of Herod, but the biblical text does not state this directly.
• Later tradition: Eastern Orthodox tradition reportedly counts him among the seventy disciples of Luke 10 and holds that he later served as a bishop and died a martyr. This is extrabiblical tradition, and Protestant commentaries generally do not treat it as historical fact.

In the Korean Church

In Korean churches, Herodion is rarely the sole subject of a sermon. He is mentioned mainly in sermons or Bible studies on the greetings of Romans 16, as one of several examples of ordinary believers whose names have been preserved.