For junia and andronicus perhaps her husband, being an apostle wasnt a matter of privilege, but prison. Junia was an apostle and was not the only woman so honored by the early church. 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. One of the most thorough and comprehensive treatments available on the subject of the name junia in romans 16. Junia served with andronicus, possibly her husband, in the region of pannonia. For a detailed critique of complementarian interpretations of romans 16. The first woman apostle by eldon jay epp find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate.
Support for junia being a woman part of resolving the first issue is that the name translated junia s appears only once in the greek nt. Perhaps junia is the wife of andronicus, and they were simply referred to as a team. First church truth of god broadcast recommended for you 2. Apr 01, 2010 the epigraphic and literary evidence is overwhelmingly in favour of junia being a woman. They are outstanding among esteemed by the apostles, and they were in christ before i was romans 16. 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. He appreciated any person, woman or man, who shared. Indeed, how great the wisdom of this woman must have been that she was even deemed worthy of the title of apostle. Basically it seems to me that epp has restated the case already made definitively back in 1977 by bernadette brooten in four concise. Paul mentions such a woman in the sixteenth chapter of his letter to the romans. Ace with the prepositional phrase ea ic e oecei facae is well known to the apostles. The orthodox church has never hidden or attempted to alter facts about junia. In this thoroughgoing study, epp restores junia to her rightful place. Several patristic writers regard junia as a female apostle.
This is the reading of a blog written by patrick mead and posted at. This continues until 1927 when the thirteenth nestle edition the first had come out in 1898 inexplicably changed the accent from acute feminine to. En is a greek preposition, much like our english in. In his homilies on the book of romans, fourthcentury church father john chrysostom preached favourably about junia, and acknowledged her as a female apostle. And the reason she comes to our attention in the first place is that saint paul does the same.
Proponents of female ordination argue that junia was both a woman and an apostle. It seems junia is a female apostle, according to paul romans 16. They consider this a universal statement of the way god wants things to be. Request pdf on jan 1, 2007, alicia batten and others published junia. Dennis preato proves that junia was an woman who was an apostle. 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. Epp tracks how this happened in new testament manuscripts, scribal traditions, and translations of the bible. Junia the first woman apostle is the title of a book by lutheran scholar eldon jay epp. The apostle junia, was a woman leader in the early church whose ministry reminds us that gods intention junia. Nov 28, 2012 ill save a discussion of the broader role of women in the church and pauls other epistles for another day. The apostle junia by david tatro were there women apostles in new testament times. Wallace and i published an article on the person of junia in rom 16.
According to a recent edition of christian news 10305, pp. Information is also prevented that points to the fact that. Since apostles are in place of authority, then junia demonstrates that women can be in authority over men in the church. African studies american studies ancient near east and egypt art history asian studies book history and cartography biblical studies classical studies education. Though this may be a surprise to some, yes, there were.
But the fact that there was a female apostle in the first century church is highly relevant to our understanding womens roles in the modern church. Paul praises a woman apostle by rena pederson like many women, i was surprised when i first heard junias story. I have no disagreement whatsoever that, as you say, throughout the new testament the word apostle is placed correctly indicating who the apostles were. 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. Most likely, junia was a female apostle who served alongside her husband. The first woman apostle, epp gives a textual critical evaluation of the. Grenz appeals to the fact first declension nouns are mainly feminine. This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title junia. Sep 27, 20 first church truth of god broadcast recommended for you 2. The first woman apostle kindle edition by epp, eldon jay. In latin writings junia appears as a fairly common womans name while junias, the mans.
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. The apostle junia barbara andersons watchtower documents. Junia became junias simply because a woman could not possibly be an apostle. The gospel of mary in early christianity the jesus. Church fathers support junia as a female apostle john chrysostom ad 347407, bishop of constantinople, wrote a series of homilies that have been preserved.
Andronicus and junia are called outstanding among the apostles, which places them within the grouping of apostles. Junia or junias was a 1stcentury christian highly regarded and complimented by paul the. Another argument raised by the egalitarians in support of women being an authority is the case of junia in romans 16. External examples, though, statistically favor the first option.
Subsequently epp published his arguments anew but essentially unchanged from his 2002 work junia. What links here related changes upload file special pages permanent link page. As we have noted, saint john chrysostom singles her out for praise. Jan 02, 2020 whenever junia first believed, she was likely living in or near jerusalem during the early days of the church. The first is concerned with resolving the gender of the person named iounian. John chrysostom 344544072 also notable is the case of junias or junio, placed in the rank of the apostles rom. See also, epp in textcritical, exegetical, and sociocultural factors affecting the juniajunias variation in romans 16,7, in nt textual criticism and exegesis. Chrysostom provides credible objective evidence that junia was an apostle. Chrysostoms statements about these women are particularly convincing especially in light of his misogynist views toward women.
In this important work, epp investigates the mysterious disappearance of junia from the traditions of the church. 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. She was also a fellow prisoner for christ, though not necessarily in the same jail cell or jail. This evidence is the basis for my assertion that junia in romans 16. 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 to be included. This would have given her ample time to become acquainted with the apostles.