The apostle juniaa woman, new testament hell, churches. Indeed, how great the wisdom of this woman must have been that she was even deemed worthy of the title of apostle. Jun 16, 2017 the same if the translator is open to a woman as an apostle. The apostle junia barbara andersons watchtower documents. The kjvs ambiguity is due to its literal translation of the ambiguous greek which says. First, references to women in pauls writings are unevenly distributed, with. Junia the first woman apostle is the title of a book by lutheran scholar eldon jay epp. The first woman apostle kindle edition by epp, eldon jay. Studies of the named women in the gospels by richard bauckham. Andronicus and junia are called outstanding among the apostles, which places them within the grouping of apostles. Most likely, junia was a female apostle who served alongside her husband. The apostle junia by david tatro were there women apostles in new testament times.
Epp tracks how this happened in new testament manuscripts, scribal traditions, and translations of the bible. He commented on how great this woman must be to be even accorded the title apostle, in such a male dominated society. This would have given her ample time to become acquainted with the apostles. However, scholars are pretty much agreed that paul is talking about a woman in this verse. John chrysostom 344544072 also notable is the case of junias or junio, placed in the rank of the apostles rom. First of all, does the name junia have a feminine ending proving junia was a woman, or does it have a masculine. Like many women, i was surprised when i first heard junias story. Recently i was sent several instagram posts of excerpts from eldon epps book touting junias of romans 16. The july 20 issue of ministry magazine carries the lead article, junia the apostle. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in christ before me. Let me also add that the date that the first recorded date of junia being considered a woman wasnt 1400 as i said eariler but between 0 and 16, the dates of aegidus writings.
Further, junia was a common enough latin name and, since this was pauls letter to the romans, one might expect to see a few latin names on the list. In epps work, he claims that those who reject junias as an apostle are guilty of gender bias which has purportedly been exposed and overcome in recent years. Thus, it should not surprise us too greatly to find a woman deacon phoebe romans 16. Leonard swidler states, to the best of my knowledge, no commentator on the text until aegidus of rome 124516 took the name to be masculine. A female apostlea lexicalsyntactical analysis of romans 16. The same if the translator is open to a woman as an apostle. According to a recent edition of christian news 10305, pp.
I was speaking to a book club about women in the bible when an audience member raised. Culminating in a devastating forensic critique of the allegedly scholarly view that the greek should be translated as known to as opposed to outstanding among the apostles worth the. Junia lepida, another roman noblewoman of 1st century. New testament nt concepts of apostleship evolved between pentecost and the completion of the gospels decades later. This continues until 1927 when the thirteenth nestle edition the first had come out in 1898 inexplicably changed the accent from acute feminine to. The name junia, on the other hand, shows up on many inscriptions and other sources the true name in romans 16. Nevertheless, beginning with erasmus in 1516, all greek new testament translations except one consider junia female. Recently i was sent several instagram posts of excerpts from eldon epps book touting junia s of romans 16. En is a greek preposition, much like our english in. The seventy apostles were chosen and sent forth to preach by christ luke 10. Aug 25, 2014 this is the reading of a blog written by patrick mead and posted at.
Josephus was a firstcentury jewish historian who tried to combine judaism with. The apostle juniaa woman, new testament hell, churches, preacher, scriptures user name. Because later theologians and scribes could not believe or wanted to suppress that paul had numbered a woman among the earliest churches apostles, junias. In this thoroughgoing study, epp restores junia to her rightful place. This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title junia. Sep 27, 20 first church truth of god broadcast recommended for you 2. Reclaiming the church of god heritage of women pastors.
There are two major interpretive problems in this verse, both of which involve the identification of junias. Indeed, at least one early church father thought junia a woman but allowed her the title apostle, john chrysostom 337497. So one translation is that junias a man is outstanding among the apostles and the other says that junia a woman is well known to the apostles. Dec 02, 2005 junia, the first woman apostle by harkness professor of biblical literature emeritus at case western reserve university and president of the society of biblical literature is not so much a text on junia, mentioned in chapter 16. Chrysostom provides credible objective evidence that junia was an apostle. Though this may be a surprise to some, yes, there were. First church truth of god broadcast recommended for you 2. When the genus was a proper name the suffix ia always denoted a feminine gender. Even the first recorded person to call junia a man, aegidius, admitted that he merely preferred that junia be a man.
Culminating in a devastating forensic critique of the allegedly scholarly view that the greek should be translated as known to as opposed to outstanding among the apostles worth the price of the book on its own. Because later theologians and scribes could not believe or wanted to suppress that paul had numbered a woman among the earliest. This claim is based on the apostle pauls description of andronicus and junia as my kinsmen, and my fellowprisoners, who are of note among the. She was also a fellow prisoner for christ, though not necessarily in the same jail cell or jail. However, the addition of an accent mark would specify genderdepending on. I was speaking to a book club about women in the bible when an audience member raised her hand and suggested that junia was a littleknown apostle who ought. When the church recognizes a womans call to ministry, but. The first woman apostle by eldon jay epp goodreads.
Whether or not junia was a prophet or a female, it does seem to be clear that heshe was one of the first christians. Junia, the first woman apostle by harkness professor of biblical literature emeritus at case western reserve university and president of the society of biblical literature is not so much a text on junia, mentioned in chapter 16. The second meaning implies that junia was grouped together with the other apostles, meaning she too was an apostle. Do early commentators record that junia was a female apostle. Junia or junias was a 1stcentury christian highly regarded and complimented by paul the. Any discussion of womens roles in the church must take into account the apostle junia. While in the first millennium, the church was perfectly clear that junia was a woman and her companion andronicus was a man and an apostle, it was ambivalent. The first woman apostle, epp gives a textual critical evaluation of the history of. Perhaps junia is the wife of andronicus, and they were simply referred to as a team. They consider this a universal statement of the way god wants things to be. Since his conversion occurred just a few years after the resurrection of christ, junia must have been one of the earliest converts to christianity and probably was. Based upon evidence, not conjecture, we must conclude that junia, even if a woman, could not have been an apostle. The holy, glorious, alllaudable apostle junia of the seventy is commemorated by the church on may 17 with apostle andronicus, and on january 4 with the seventy. In this important work, epp investigates the mysterious disappearance of junia from the traditions of the church.
Jan 02, 2020 whenever junia first believed, she was likely living in or near jerusalem during the early days of the church. Another argument raised by the egalitarians in support of women being an authority is the case of junia in romans 16. They are outstanding among esteemed by the apostles, and they were in christ before i was romans 16. Some believe the admission that junia was probably a woman and likely an apostle is problematic, because paul told timothy that he doesnt allow a woman to teach or assume authority over a man. Greet andronicus and junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. Chrysostoms statements about these women are particularly convincing especially in light of his misogynist views toward women. Junia became junias simply because a woman could not possibly be an apostle. Proponents of female ordination argue that junia was both a woman and an apostle.
Often times romans 16 is glossed over when reading the bible, being treated like the cast and credits that appear at the end of a film that one quickly. On the one hand, no instances of junias as a mans name have surfaced to date in greek literature, while at least three instances of junia as a womans name have appeared in greek. For junia and andronicus perhaps her husband, being an apostle wasnt a matter of privilege, but prison. Junia was not one of the twelve apostles named by jesus. The fact is, we dont know junias gender, and the ops first post hinged largely on the assumption it was female. The first meaning implies that junia was not necessarily an apostle herself. Since apostles are in place of authority, then junia demonstrates that women can be in authority over men in the church.
Whenever junia first believed, she was likely living in or near jerusalem during the early days of the church. Feb 18, 20 thus, it should not surprise us too greatly to find a woman deacon phoebe romans 16. One of the most thorough and comprehensive treatments available on the subject of the name junia in romans 16. Junia was an apostle and was not the only woman so honored by the early church. Junia new testament person, or junias, a person mentioned. In epps work, he claims that those who reject junia s as an apostle are guilty of gender bias which has purportedly been exposed and overcome in recent years. Three daughters of servilia, mistress of caesar, sisters or half sisters of marcus junius brutus junia prima junia secunda junia tertia. This is the reading of a blog written by patrick mead and posted at.
A controversial reference is that to junia in romans 16. It seems junia is a female apostle, according to paul romans 16. Its greek spelling iounian could point to either a man or a woman. Junia and andronicus were relatives of the holy apostle paul. Eerdmans dictionary of the bible went on to say that junia is the only woman called apostle in the new testament. One of dealing with the problem of a female apostle is to turn the feminine junia into the masculine junias. Much is made by the author of junia being a female apostle. For a detailed critique of complementarian interpretations of romans 16. Greet andronicus and junia, my fellow jews who have been in prison with me. They are well known to or prominent among the apostles, and they were in christ before me. If you click on the links note, the first is a pdf paper, you will find that the first one disagrees with the thesis.
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