What Does Romans 16:21 Mean in the King James?

Timotheus my workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you.

Romans 16:21 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

THE KEY

The greeting reaches you through named relationships: shared work and kinship make belonging personal.

THE MEANING

You are met by a greeting carried through real bonds: shared labor and kinship make its welcome personal. Belonging reaches across distance through people who remain connected to one another.

THE ROOT

συνεργός

synergos

GROWS FROM

ἔργον

ergon

Work, deed, or activity.

“workfellow” in this verse is synergos. The word carries the sense of someone working alongside another, not simply a colleague named in passing. The greeting arrives through a shared undertaking, where labor itself gives people a bond.

ALSO GROWS

ergazomai: To work or labor.

ἐργάζομαι

It keeps the shared work of the verse connected to active labor.

synergeō: To work together.

συνεργέω

It makes explicit the togetherness carried by “workfellow.”

συγγενεῖς

syngeneis

GROWS FROM

γένος

genos

Family, kind, or stock, a group understood as sharing an origin.

“Kinsmen” carries the sense of people belonging to a shared family or stock. Alongside the word for shared work, it shows two forms of connection bearing this greeting.

ALSO GROWS

genos: Family, kind, or stock.

γένος

It exposes the shared-belonging idea within “kinsmen.”

syngeneia: Kinship or relationship.

συγγένεια

It keeps the verse’s kinship language connected to an ongoing bond.

genesis: Birth or origin.

γένεσις

It echoes the idea of belonging through a common origin.

THE PATTERN

Personal greetings carry belonging through a network of named relationships and shared life.

Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus:

Romans 16:3 · KJVThe greeting names two people through their shared work, just as this verse names a fellow worker.

All the brethren greet you. Greet ye one another with an holy kiss.

1 Corinthians 16:20 · KJVThe greeting moves through a whole community and makes connection visible in the way people meet one another.

But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name.

3 John 1:14 · KJVFriends carry greetings across distance, and the final words make personal names part of that connection.

THE THREAD

Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus:

Romans 16:3 · KJV

Both verses use ⁨συνεργός⁩ (synergos, fellow worker), though the KJV renders it “workfellow” here and “helpers” there. The shared term places this greeting inside an ongoing bond of shared labor.

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