Hebrews 13:24

Salute all them that have the rule over you This salutation to alltheir spiritual leaders implies the condition of Churches, which was normal at that period namely, little communities, sometimes composed separately of Jews and Gentiles, who in default of one large central building, met for worship in each other's houses.

They of Italy This merely means "the Italians in the place from which I write," just as "they of Asia" means Asiatic Jews (Acts 21:27. Comp. Acts 17:13; Hebrews 6:9, &c.). The phrase therefore gives no clue whatever to the place from which, or the persons to whom, the Epistle was written. It merely shews that some Christians from Italy perhaps Christians who had fled from Italy during the Neronian persecution formed a part of the writer's community; but it suggests a not unnatural inference that it was written tosome Italian community from some other town out ofItaly. Had he been writing fromItaly he would perhaps have been more likely to write "those inItaly" (comp. 1 Peter 5:13).