What does Romans 16:3 mean?

Beginning with this verse, Paul reels off a list of 16 sentences that begin with the word "greet." Though Paul has not yet been to Rome, he clearly knows quite a few of the believers there. He instructs his readers to greet these people on his behalf and, likely, so that each of them can represent him to the larger church in Rome.

He begins with a married couple called Prisca—or Priscilla—and Aquila, referring to them as his fellow workers in Christ. Compared to some of the other references given here, we know quite a bit about this faithful couple. From Acts 18:1–3, we learn how Paul first met them in Corinth and worked with them for a time in the trade of making tents. The couple had previously lived in Italy, but they were forced to leave when the emperor Claudius commanded all the Jews out of Rome.

In addition to partnering with Paul in tent-making, the pair came to Christ and worked with him in ministry. They traveled with him to Ephesus, where he left them to establish a church that ended up meeting in their large home (Acts 18:18–19; 1 Corinthians 16:19). Apparently knowledgeable in the things of God, they graciously taught a passionate young evangelist named Apollos a better understanding of the gospel (Acts 18:26). Paul eventually returned to Ephesus and served with them there for quite a while.

Now Aquilla and Priscilla were back in Rome, likely having returned after the death of Claudius and the end of his ban on Jews in AD 54. Paul had a long and close relationship with this couple.