I Peter 5:1-14
She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings… (v. 13a) I’ve always wondered who the “she” was who was with Peter in Rome (Babylon). My first thoughts go to Peter’s wife, but then one asks more fully about his wife. Scripture never says that Peter was married; none of the gospels mention his wife, although all three Synoptic gospels mention his mother-in-law. So one asks if his wife had died before he was called by Jesus or was she still living while Peter traveled with Jesus? Going further, if Peter was still married, did he abandon his family to follow Jesus? An early Christian writer, Clement of Alexandria, said that “Peter was married, had children and witnessed his wife’s martyrdom in Rome”. (https://catholicstraightanswers.com/was-saint-peter-married/) The same article says that “…Peter’s wife died before he had been called as an apostle”. Note that this is a Catholic Church website, consistent in the Church’s position of unmarried priests, naturally suggesting that Peter was not married when he was called. Bottom line, the original question – we’ll never know who “she” was.
See also: October 27 / I Peter 5:1-5; October 28 / I Peter 5:6-14
Although there is nothing in I Peter that spells this out, I think the most common interpretation of “she who is at Babylon” is that “she” refers to the church (i.e., congregation) and that “Babylon” is code for “Rome”. Since Peter does not spell it out, such an interpretation is just that: interpretation — but it is an old one, with some ancient translations even inserting the word “church” to bring it home. It is, of course, possible that “she” refers to an individual woman like Peter’s wife or even to some other grammatically feminine noun. We’ll probably never know for sure, but I’d go with the ancient interpretation: the church in Rome.
I like that interpretation, John! Thanks!
As for Peter being married — and for being married while an Apostle, not just before he was called — see I Corinthians 9:5, which suggests very strongly that Cephas (i.e., Peter) brings his wife along on his travels.