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Bible Dictionaries
Patrobas
Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament
or (Πατρόβας, a Greek name, contracted from Patrobius)
Patrobas is the fourth of a group of five names (all Greek) of persons ‘and the brethren with them’ saluted by St. Paul in Romans 16:14. Nothing is known of any member of this group. It is suggested that together they formed an ἐκκλησία or household church, the locality of which we shall suppose to have been Rome or Ephesus, according to our view of the destination of these salutations. This is more probable than that they were slaves belonging to some great establishment, or members of a civic gild. Cf. the salutation to another group of five persons ‘and all the saints that are with them’ in the verse following. In each case the names mentioned probably represent ‘the first nucleus, the leading individuals,’ of the congregation (see C. von Weizsäcker, Apostolic Age, Eng. tr._, i. [1894] 398f.), and perhaps the first mentioned (Asyncritus, Romans 16:14, Philologus, Romans 16:15) was the recognized leader. All, however, may have been heads of separate Christian households. For the occurrence of the name Patrobas on inscriptions of the Imperial household see J. B. Lightfoot, Philippians4, 1878, p. 176.
T. B. Allworthy.
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Patrobas'. Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdn/p/patrobas.html. 1906-1918.
