Apostle Junia--Female Apostle

[Sheila]

Romans 16:7--Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the Apostles, who also were in Christ before me.

The story of Junia is a sad one. Beginning in the 13th century, her memory was not only diluted, but the fact that she was an “outstanding” female apostle was hidden by medieval copyists who changed her name to the more male-sounding “Junias.” Since the truth has been recovered that Junia was clearly a woman, modern-complementarian translators and scholars now try to strip Junia of the title “apostle,” by concluding that she was merely known by the apostles or favored by the apostles, but could never have been deemed an apostle herself. This is a NEW interpretation. The fact that Paul was commending two apostles was never debated, only whether Junia was female or male, and even that debate did not start until the 13th century. The historical reading of this verse has always been that Junia was both a woman and an apostle. It’s important to note that the early church fathers who conceded to these facts were by no stretch of the imagination “egalitarians.” Many held degrading beliefs about women and their “divinely designated” position in life. But even they could not deny that Paul deemed this woman Junia to be an apostle, and an outstanding one at that.

[MarieA27]

.............

[Praxeas]

Originally Posted by Sheila

Romans 16:7--Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the Apostles, who also were in Christ before me.

The story of Junia is a sad one. Beginning in the 13th century, her memory was not only diluted, but the fact that she was an “outstanding” female apostle was hidden by medieval copyists who changed her name to the more male-sounding “Junias.” .

Please support this assertion

[Sheila]

Romans 16:7
"Greet Andronicus and Junia my relatives who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was."

In commenting on Romans 16:7, early Church father John Chrysostom (347-407) states:

"Greet Andronicus and Junia...who are outstanding among the apostles: To be an apostle is something great! But to be outstanding among the apostles - just think what a wonderful song of praise that is! They were outstanding on the basis of their works and virtuous actions. Indeed, how great the wisdom of this woman must have been that she was even deemed worthy of the title of apostle."

-Other early church fathers referred to Junia as a female.

-Junias is not found anywhere as a male name in the first century however Junia and Julia were common.

-The name was understood as feminine until the 13th century.

-Ἰουνίαν (Junia) is found in ALL the greek manuscripts except 5, which have it as Ἰουλίαv (Julia)


Junia: The First Woman Apostle:

Transmission and Reception: New Testament Text-critical And Exegetical Studies - Jeff W. Childers

[Sheila]

As well as John Chrysostom, Jerome (340-419) and Origen of Alexandria (185-254) and also mention Junia as a female.

Chrysostom also mentions Phoebe and Priscilla, “These were noble women, hindered in no way by their sex...and this is as might be expected for in Christ Jesus there is neither male nor female.”

Origen of Alexandria (185-254) also commented on Phoebe:
“This text teaches with the authority of the Apostle that even women are instituted deacons in the Church. This is the function that was exercised in the church of Cenchreae by Phoebe, who was the object of high praise and recommendation by Paul...And thus this text teaches at the same time two things: that there are, as we have already said, women deacons in the church, and that women, who by their good works deserve to be praised by the apostle, ought to be accepted in the diaconate"

[Esaias]

Oh, the Junia trick, again?

Will wonders never cease?

lol

[Esaias]

Originally Posted by Sheila

As well as John Chrysostom, Jerome (340-419) and Origen of Alexandria (185-254) and also mention Junia as a female.

Chrysostom also mentions Phoebe and Priscilla, “These were noble women, hindered in no way by their sex...and this is as might be expected for in Christ Jesus there is neither male nor female.”

Origen of Alexandria (185-254) also commented on Phoebe:
“This text teaches with the authority of the Apostle that even women are instituted deacons in the Church. This is the function that was exercised in the church of Cenchreae by Phoebe, who was the object of high praise and recommendation by Paul...And thus this text teaches at the same time two things: that there are, as we have already said, women deacons in the church, and that women, who by their good works deserve to be praised by the apostle, ought to be accepted in the diaconate"

Chrysostom? Origen? As 'authorities' in support of feminist 'apostlettes'?

[Esaias]

Okay, here we go (again)...

"Thus, while the clear majority of the Church Fathers adopt a feminine reading of Rom 16:7, I remain unconvinced that the text should be read that way. First, most of the patristic exegetes wrote in Latin many centuries after Paul penned the epistle to the Romans. Since they borrowed from earlier commentators, they do not constitute separate witnesses to the meaning of Rom 16:7, but rather serve as witnesses to the commentator from whom they borrowed, which in this instance is almost certainly Chrysostom.51 Thus, the testimonies of Origen, Epiphanius and Chrysostom must be weighed most heavily: Origen, because he is the earliest of the three exegetes, and the latter two because they are the first ones in extant Greek literature to refer to the name after Romans was written.52 According to Rufinus' translation, Origen held that the name Junias lies behind the form in Rom 16:7.53 Likewise, Epiphanius holds that it was a man named Junias who eventually became a bishop in Syria. Chrysostom does not seem to know anything about Iounian apart from what is written in Romans, and even registers surprise that a woman might be given the title "apostle." Since he was writing some 350 years after Paul put the pen to the paper, at a time when the knowledge of Greek was on the decline in the West, Chrysostom may have simply mistaken Iounian for a feminine name. If so, he influenced all commentators after him to read "Junia" until about the thirteen or fourteenth centuries.

Second, Greek minuscule manuscripts, which began having accents in the 9th century, all accent the name as though it were masculine — without exception.54 It is interesting that Cervin catalogs so many modern editions of the Greek text, including the modern Greek translation, and shows how most support the feminine reading, and yet fails to mention the accentuation found in the older Greek minuscules dating from the ninth and tenth centuries, which support unanimously the masculine reading.55 The latter are certainly closer to the source and thus constitute more weighty evidence than modern editions. The fact that all of the manuscripts accented it the same no matter what part of the world they were found in suggests that the gender issue had been settled some time before. Thus, Tucker's tongue-in-cheek statement about the gender of Iounian being held unanimously as feminine up until her "sex change" around the 14th century is thus made at the expense of this evidence, which suggests otherwise."[/quote] from http://cbmw.org/uncategorized/a-female-apostle/

The facts are these:

1. The test itself does not declare whether the name is masculine or feminine.
2. The earliest commentators regarded the name as masculine.
3. The oldest miniscule manuscripts accent it as though it were masculine.
4. Even if the name is feminine, it does not indicate the woman (!) was an apostle, only that she 'was of note among the apostles'. This can be taken to mean that she was held in high esteem by the apostles.
5. Paul was unmistakably an apostle.
6. Paul taught the same thing everywhere in all churches.
7. Paul taught apostles had authority over the churches they founded.
8. Paul taught it was wrong for a woman to have authority over a man.
9. Paul taught that apostles taught doctrine in churches.
10. Paul taught that no woman was to teach in the church.

[Praxeas]

Originally Posted by Sheila

Romans 16:7
"Greet Andronicus and Junia my relatives who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was."

In commenting on Romans 16:7, early Church father John Chrysostom (347-407) states:

"Greet Andronicus and Junia...who are outstanding among the apostles: To be an apostle is something great! But to be outstanding among the apostles - just think what a wonderful song of praise that is! They were outstanding on the basis of their works and virtuous actions. Indeed, how great the wisdom of this woman must have been that she was even deemed worthy of the title of apostle."

-Other early church fathers referred to Junia as a female.

-Junias is not found anywhere as a male name in the first century however Junia and Julia were common.

-The name was understood as feminine until the 13th century.

-Ἰουνίαν (Junia) is found in ALL the greek manuscripts except 5, which have it as Ἰουλίαv (Julia)


Junia: The First Woman Apostle:

Transmission and Reception: New Testament Text-critical And Exegetical Studies - Jeff W. Childers

are you getting ALL of the above from Jeff Childers? He says it was "understood as feminine until the 13th century."

Can you please give direct quotes?

sn The feminine name Junia, though common in Latin, is quite rare in Greek (apparently only three instances of it occur in Greek literature outside Rom 16:7, according to the data in the TLG [D. Moo, Romans [NICNT], 922]). The masculine Junias (as a contraction for Junianas), however, is rarer still: Only one instance of the masculine name is known in extant Greek literature (Epiphanius mentions Junias in his Index discipulorum 125). Further, since there are apparently other husband-wife teams mentioned in this salutation (Prisca and Aquila [v. 3], Philologus and Julia [v. 15]), it might be natural to think of Junia as a feminine name. (This ought not be pressed too far, however, for in v. 12 all three individuals are women [though the first two are linked together], and in vv. 9–11 all the individuals are men.) In Greek only a difference of accent distinguishes between Junias (male) and Junia (female). If it refers to a woman, it is possible (1) that she had the gift of apostleship (not the office), or (2) that she was not an apostle but along with Andronicus was esteemed by (or among) the apostles. As well, the term “prominent” probably means “well known,” suggesting that Andronicus and Junia(s) were well known to the apostles (see note on the phrase “well known” which follows).

Biblical Studies Press. (2006). The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Ro 16:7). Biblical Studies Press.

16:7 Ἰουνίαν {A}

On the basis of the weight of manuscript evidence the Committee was unanimous in rejecting Ἰουλίαν (see also the next variant in ver. 15) in favor of Ἰουνιαν, but was divided as to how the latter should be accented. Some members, considering it unlikely that a woman would be among those styled “apostles,” understood the name to be masculine Ἰουνιᾶν (“Junias”), thought to be a shortened form of Junianus (see Bauer-Aland, Wörterbuch, pp. 770 f.). Others, however, were impressed by the facts that (1) the female Latin name Junia occurs more than 250 times in Greek and Latin inscriptions found in Rome alone, whereas the male name Junias is unattested anywhere, and (2) when Greek manuscripts began to be accented, scribes wrote the feminine Ἰουνίαν (“Junia”). (For recent discussions, see R. R. Schulz in Expository Times, IIC (1986–87), pp. 108–110; J. A. Fitzmyer, Romans (Anchor Bible Commentary, 1993), pp. 737 f.; and R. S. Cervin in New Testament Studies, XL (1994), pp. 464–470.)
The “A” decision of the Committee must be understood as applicable only as to the spelling of the name Ἰουνιαν, not the accentuation.

Metzger, B. M., & United Bible Societies. (1994). A textual commentary on the Greek New Testament, second edition a companion volume to the United Bible Societies' Greek New Testament (4th rev. ed.) (475–476). London; New York: United Bible Societies.

[thaddaeus417]

Originally Posted by Sheila

Romans 16:7--Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the Apostles, who also were in Christ before me.

The story of Junia is a sad one. Beginning in the 13th century, her memory was not only diluted, but the fact that she was an “outstanding” female apostle was hidden by medieval copyists who changed her name to the more male-sounding “Junias.” Since the truth has been recovered that Junia was clearly a woman, modern-complementarian translators and scholars now try to strip Junia of the title “apostle,” by concluding that she was merely known by the apostles or favored by the apostles, but could never have been deemed an apostle herself. This is a NEW interpretation. The fact that Paul was commending two apostles was never debated, only whether Junia was female or male, and even that debate did not start until the 13th century. The historical reading of this verse has always been that Junia was both a woman and an apostle. It’s important to note that the early church fathers who conceded to these facts were by no stretch of the imagination “egalitarians.” Many held degrading beliefs about women and their “divinely designated” position in life. But even they could not deny that Paul deemed this woman Junia to be an apostle, and an outstanding one at that.

Sheila, the writer is simple noting that the Apostles had taken note of Junias. For example, Say hello to Shelia, me and the other Pastor were talking about her, they have really noticed the good job she is doing. This does not imply you are a Pastor.