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The household of the emperor consisted mainly of troops and of slaves who ministered to his wants and caprices as the wealthiest and most luxurious of Roman magnates. But senators and knights were also in close attendance upon him, equally in his hours of business and relaxation. These, indeed, were probably masters of households of their own; thus Seneca, the most intimate of his ministers, enjoyed a private residence in his gardens; Burrus, the prefect of the Praetorians, whose duty brought him, no doubt, daily into the imperial presence, occupied his own lodging in the Praetorian camp. The affairs of government were transacted chiefly by the emperor's freedmen, some of them notorious for their riches and influence, court favourites who had been enfranchised by himself or his predecessors. These also had each his own palace and gardens, in which he vied with the proudest of the ancient aristocracy. Nevertheless these, too, were so closely attached to the emperor's person that they might claim to form a part of Caesar's household, and any one of them may have come in contact with Paul. A man of Paul's power of thought and language, speaking with the academic tone of a scholar of Tarsus, and the natural fervour of a Hebrew prophet, could hardly fail to command the attention of the feverish students of moral truth who abounded in the ranks of the Roman aristocracy. But if such turned away he could not fail to be received among the lower class of the emperor's household attendants, both male and female, who filled a thousand menial offices about his person, and that of his consort. The ministers to the luxury of Poppaea were certainly not less numerous than those who discharged similar functions for Livia before her. Among them were servants of the chamber and the ante-chamber, servants who waited at the doors, who attended at the bath, who assisted at the toilet, who kept the jewels, who read at the empress's couch, who sat at her feet, who followed her in her walks, who lulled her to sleep and watched over her slumbers, who had charge of her purse, and distributed the tasks of the whole household. The persons in waiting on the emperor were probably even more multitudinous, and while many of their functions were merely manual, there were not a few entrusted with affairs which required high intellectual training. The emperor was surrounded with numerous members of the learned classes such as could discharge the duties of secretaries, physicians, professors of every art and accomplishment and teachers in philosophy. To have access to Caesar's household was to be put into communication with the most intelligent people of the day. Over Paul's intercourse with these people a cloud rests, but it so happens that recent excavations have discovered the names of various persons connected with the court of Claudius which are identical with those which the apostle mentions in his Epistle to the Romans. We find among these names those of Amphas, Urbanus, Stachys, Apella, Tryphena, Tryphosa, Rufus, Hermas, Potrobius (Patrobas), Philologus, and Nerens. Some of these, no doubt, are very common appellatives; but the occurrence of so many coincidences can hardly be accidental. And the easy and familiar way in which the apostle introduces the mention of "the saints in Caesar's household," seems to imply that he stood on an easy footing with them. It is the style of one who went in and out among them, of a man who dwelt close at hand; accessible daily as they passed by on their ordinary avocations.

(Dean Merivale.)

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KJV: All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar's household.

WEB: All the saints greet you, especially those who are of Caesar's household.