4:22

the household of Caesar: At this time (c. 61 C.E.), the Roman Caesar, or emperor, was Nero. (See Glossary, “Caesar.”) Caesar’s household does not necessarily refer to the emperor’s immediate family. It would have included a wide array of servants numbering perhaps into the thousands. Among them were slaves, freedmen, even those in various branches of government service in Rome and in the provinces, along with their wives and children. Jewish writer Philo of Alexandria used the same Greek expression in referring to this vast group of people. (Flaccus, 35) Paul does not state how he was connected with Christians in Caesar’s household while he was imprisoned in Rome; nor does he say whether he had played a role in their conversion. How the Philippian Christians were connected with those of Caesar’s household is also unknown. It is possible that some Christians in Philippi were relatives or friends of some Christians in the emperor’s service, or household. Some may have been among the faithful ones whom Paul sent greetings to at the end of his letter to the Romans.​—Ro 16:3-16.