Romans 16:12

Romans 16:12, in plain English

Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, two women who have worked very hard in the Lord's service.

Why it's here

Their names suggest they might have been sisters, and the fact that they worked together in ministry shows you women serving alongside one another, using their gifts, building the church. They didn't just attend church—they worked in it.

Who's speaking

Paul, honoring two hardworking women

Where it sits in the story

The early church depended on women's labor and leadership, and Paul made sure they were recognized for it.

The scholarly reading

Paul greets Tryphena and Tryphosa, women whose labor in the Lord was notably intense.

Language and setting

The names Tryphena and Tryphosa appear to be cognate forms (derived from τρυφή, 'luxury' or 'tenderness'), possibly indicating kinship—sisters, perhaps, or married women from the same household. Both are identified through the identical formulation 'who have worked hard in the Lord' (τὰς κοπιώσας ἐν κυρίῳ), the feminine plural participle of κοπιάω, the same labor-verb applied to Paul himself. Their doubled commendation emphasizes the significance of their ministry and the normality of women's labor in early Christian work.

Voice

Paul, recognizing female laborers.

Significance

Tryphena and Tryphosa represent the systematic exclusion of women from subsequent Christian leadership structures—yet here they appear as recognized laborers whose work required apostolic commendation precisely because it was valuable and public. Their memory preserves what patriarchal developments obscured: women's integral role in Christianity's foundational expansion.

10Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ.

11Greet Herodion, my fellow countryman.

12Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, women who have worked hard in the Lord.

13Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me as well.

14Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers with them.

Read all of Romans 16 — Paul names over two dozen co-workers — men and women, Jews and Gentiles — revealing a movement built on real relationships and shared sacrifice.