Romans 16:10

Salute Apelles the approved in Christ. Salute them that are of the household of Aristobulus.

No one can say what test or trial was endured by Apelles that he should have won so favorable an accolade as that here bestowed by an apostle; but, whatever it was, it must have gained wide publicity among the Christians of that age, for it appears here that Paul had heard of Apelles but was not personally acquainted with him. Paul's act of singling him out for such a salutation shows that his faith had distinguished him in Rome.

Of the household of Aristobulus ... Macknight noted that in this verse Aristobulus is definitely not greeted, but only certain of his household, the same being true of Narcissus, mentioned next. He wrote:

He and Narcissus seem to have had, each of them, a numerous family of slaves and others, some of whom were Christians, and the fame of whose virtues had reached the apostle.[20]

Sanday had this word regarding these persons:

Aristobulus, a grandson of Herod the Great, was educated and lived in a private station in Rome. From the friendly terms on which he stood with the Emperor Claudius, it seems not unlikely that, by a somewhat common custom, his household may have been transferred to the emperor upon his death. In that case his slaves would (continue to) be designated by such a term as we find in the Greek (that is, of the household of Aristobulus).[21]

If such opinions of the scholars should be allowed, as it appears they should be, this and the following case of Narcissus go far to identify the Christians said to have been "of Caesar's household" (Philippians 4:22). Moule also accepted this view, saying that:

Aristobulus ... was a grandson of Herod the Great, and the brother of Agrippa of Judaea; a prince who lived and died at Rome. At his death, it would be no improbable thing that his "household" should pass by legacy to the Emperor, while they would still, as a sort of clan, keep their old master's name, Aristobulus' servants, probably many of them Jews (Herodian, St. Paul's kinsman, may have been a retainer of this Herod), would thus now be a part of the "household of Caesar"; and the Christians among them would be thought of by Paul as among the "household saints."[22]

[20] James Macknight, Apostolical Epistles (Nashville: Gospel Advocate Company, 1960), p. 135.

[21] W. Sanday, op. cit., p. 269.

[22] H. C. G. Moule, The Epistle to the Romans (London: Pickering and Inglis, Ltd.), p. 425.