Romans 16:7 - Who is Junia[s] and is she/he an Apostle?


In Romans 16:7, Paul says: "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." Most modern translations regard Junias to be a male, however, there is much more evidence to suggest that the name is Junia - a woman's name! In Greek, male and female names are distinguished by placing small marks over them (male names have a "circumflex" and female names have an "accute"). However, these marks were not added to Greek manuscripts until the 9th century so they offer little help. Junia is a relatively common Latin female name (which is significant since Paul is writing to the church in Rome) and is also found in Greek sources. However, the male name Junias is not found anywhere in Greek literature, although it is found in Latin sources. But at present, the lexical evidence tends to suggest the name refers to a woman called Junia. Now the problem here is that this verse appears to suggest that Junia was an Apostle, which seems to go against what other scriptures say, especially in regard to women teaching. But again, the grammar and syntax of the original Greek suggest that Junia[s] and Andronicus were not Apostles at all, but well known TO the Apostles.


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