Urbanus (Bible)

Urbanus (Οὐρβανός; bl. 52–55 AD) was an urban Roman Christian who is mentioned in the New Testament .

In Romans , Paul sends greetings to his “colleague” Urbanus ( Rom 16.9 ZB ). The designation as σύνεργος sýnergos is typical Pauline usage. Wolf-Henning Ollrog interprets the term in his fundamental treatise on the subject as a missionary, work colleague and co-worker: someone who "works with Paul as a representative of God on the common 'work' of the preaching of the mission."

Urbanus is a frequent slave name according to Ulrich Wilckens . Detlef Hecking, on the other hand, thinks that Urbanus, like the other bearers of a Latin name in this greeting list, is a freeborn; that Paul calls Urbanus next to Priska and Aquila as his "co-workers" shows that these three, as freeborns, had more opportunities to get actively involved in missions.

Individual evidence

^ Wolf-Henning Ollrog: Paulus and his co-workers. Investigations into the theory and practice of the Pauline mission , Neukirchen-Vluyn 1979, p. 67, here cited from: Wolfgang Reinbold: Propaganda and Mission in the oldest Christianity: An investigation into the modalities of the expansion of the early church (= research on the religion and literature of the Old and New Testaments . Volume 188), Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2000. p. 136.
^ Ulrich Wilckens: The Letter to the Romans (Rom 12-16) (= Evangelical-Catholic Commentary on the New Testament . Volume VI / 3), Neukirchener Verlag, Neukirchen-Vluyn 1982. ISBN 3-7887-0650-3 . P. 136.
↑ Detlef Hecking: marginal figures among themselves. Paul, the Christians in Rome and the political theology of Romans. In: Max Küchler , Peter Reinl (Ed.): Randfiguren in the middle. In honor of Hermann-Josef Venetz . Paulusverlag, Freiburg (CH) 2003. pp. 102–116, here p. 108 f.

[1] Wolf-Henning Ollrog: Paulus and his co-workers. Investigations into the theory and practice of the Pauline mission , Neukirchen-Vluyn 1979, p. 67, here cited from: Wolfgang Reinbold: Propaganda and Mission in the oldest Christianity: An investigation into the modalities of the expansion of the early church (= research on the religion and literature of the Old and New Testaments . Volume 188), Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2000. p. 136.

[2] Ulrich Wilckens: The Letter to the Romans (Rom 12-16) (= Evangelical-Catholic Commentary on the New Testament . Volume VI / 3), Neukirchener Verlag, Neukirchen-Vluyn 1982. ISBN 3-7887-0650-3 . P. 136.

[3] Detlef Hecking: marginal figures among themselves. Paul, the Christians in Rome and the political theology of Romans. In: Max Küchler , Peter Reinl (Ed.): Randfiguren in the middle. In honor of Hermann-Josef Venetz . Paulusverlag, Freiburg (CH) 2003. pp. 102–116, here p. 108 f.