Footnote 6 – Corinth & Ephesus

Although Acts makes no mention of Mary at Ephesus, some scholars believe Romans 16:6 is a reference to this fact. See Edgar Goodspeed, Paul (Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 1947), p. 233f, or his earlier The Formation of the New Testament (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1926) pp. 28–29. Paul closes his letter to the Romans with various greetings, among them “Great Mary, who has worked hard among you” (Romans 16:6). The argument is that these greetings are addressed to the church at Ephesus, rather than to Rome, and that the “Mary” referred to is Jesus’ mother.