Life Ain’t Easy for an Apostle Named Junia

If our interpretation of a scripture contradicts the history of the Bible, then I would conclude that that interpretation is wrong. This becomes useful in a number of areas. Today I will talk about 1 Corinthians 14.

³⁴ Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says.

I have written on this before.

What historical documents am I referring to that disprove the idea that women could not speak in church? Romans 16 tells us of two people related to Paul:

7 Greet Andronicus and Junias, my relatives who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was. 

This is the King James translation. Note that the King James decided to use the extremely rare Junias. Most modern translations say this:

Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.

The reason that the KJV used Junias is that it is a masculine name. The idea of a female apostle seemed almost blasphemy. The KJV used Erasmus’ Textus Receptus as the basis for their translation, which has this as a feminine name. The translators overruled Erasmus. 

(Note that the original manuscripts were written in all capital letters. It would not be possible to know if the common name Junia was used, or the rare name Junias because of the fact that the word is in the accusative case. When accent marks were added later to clarify the written word, accent marks that show this name was feminine were added.) 

Wikipedia talks about this issue: 

Only one record of the male name “Junias” has been discovered in extra-biblical Greek literature, which names him as the bishop of Apameia of Syria. Three clear occurrences of “Junia” have been found. While earlier searches for “Junias” in Latin also yielded no evidence, it is reported that “Junias” has been found as a Latin nickname or diminutive for the name “Junianas”, which was not uncommon both in Greek and Latin. While this is a possibility, historical studies on the name “Junia” as a contracted form of “Junianas” has shown there are over 250 citations of the name Junia in antiquity all of which have been found to refer to women, with not one single case proven to be the abbreviated form of Junianus to Junia. Meanwhile the name Junia is attested multiple times on inscriptions, tombstones and records; most notably, General Brutus’ half sister, Junia.

It is not impossible that the name here is masculine, but very unlikely. See the NIV:

⁷ Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.

One blogger put it this way:

Icon of Junia and AndronicusThe Feminine Theory --- Most biblical scholars are of the conviction, as am I, that the second named individual in verse 7 is a female. Junia, after all, was a very common feminine name at that time. “All early sources attest Junia as female, especially Jerome (340-420 A.D.) and John Chrysostom (345-407 A.D.). Although the name often appears in masculine forms in English translations, they are unattested in ancient times. Junia is the only woman called an ‘apostle’ in the NT” (Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, p. 756). Andronicus and Junia are believed by the vast majority of these biblical scholars to be yet another husband and wife team (like Priscilla and Aquila), or possibly a brother and sister team. “It is surely not at all impossible that St. Paul should include a woman among the apostles in the wider sense of accredited missionaries or messengers, a position to which their seniority in the faith may well have called this pair” (Dr. James Hastings, Dictionary of the Apostolic Church, vol. 1, p. 665). 

This is my view as well. She was a woman (note that the KJV knew what the Greek said and made her a man even though the man’s name Junias is rare). The implications of this passage for the KJV translators was such that they felt that Junia must have been a man, even though throughout history she was known to be a woman.

The same source continues:

The Greek word episemos means “eminent, prominent, distinguished, outstanding, renowned.” The word is used only twice in all the NT writings. The other occurrence is with reference to Barabbas (Matt. 27:16). Thus, Andronicus and Junia were a very prominent, distinguished couple -- but in what sense?! That is the central question. There are two major theories as to how best to interpret this statement:

 Modern Women?1. They were regarded as outstanding apostles. In other words, they were numbered “among” the apostles, and in that group had distinguished themselves in some way. The primary meaning of the Greek preposition en, which is employed in this phrase, is “within, among” (Dana & Mantey, A Manual Grammar of the Greek NT). If indeed this preposition is given its most common meaning, then these two were quite likely of renown within the group of apostles in the early church. In other words, they were “outstanding apostles,” which is exactly how some versions of the Bible render this passage, and which was the view held by such renowned scholars and early church fathers as Origen, Chrysostom, Theodoret, Martin Luther, John Calvin, to name just a few.

2. They were regarded favorably by the apostles. According to this view, Andronicus and Junia were not actually apostles, but were simply highly esteemed by those persons who were apostles. Although a few scholars do indeed advocate this position, it is most definitely the minority view, and is regarded as highly unlikely by most reputable Greek and biblical scholars. “To interpret the statement as meaning that these were outstanding in the estimation of the apostles scarcely does justice to the construction in the Greek” (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 10, p. 164). 

The view expounded by those insisting “the apostles” esteemed Junia is very unlikely in Greek grammar and one has to ask an interesting question.

What biases are causing them to advance it? We all have these biases. 

Apparently This Is Apple PandowdyBut let’s say that this second view above is right and Junia was highly regarded by the apostles. Was she so regarded for her apple pandowdy at church potlucks? I do not think so. Clearly she was a worker in the church. Also clearly she did things that many conservative churches would not allow. Until we allow women to do what the New Testament allows them to do we are not fitting within the Biblical patterns. It seems unlikely to me that an apostle had to sit meekly or walk three steps behind her husband. 

As one prominent evangelist in my religious tradition, and self-styled Apostle, might have put it, “Do not believe me, believe your Bible.”