rom.16
So this chapter has been neglected. This is a great pity, since it contains several puzzles.Beverly Roberts Garventa in her contribution to the Women's Bible Commentary heads this chapter, "Women in ministry" and whilst Paul greets more men than women here, nine women are singled out for mention and an article might be written on almost all of them individually. However, this piece will focus on verse 7.
Three questions arise from this verse.1. Is Junias male or female? 2. Are the two mentioned here apostles? 3. What does apostleship mean in this context?
The first requires some textual criticism,although it would be true to say that although "Iounian" is somewhat ambiguous,almost all translators regarded it as a feminine name until recently. Without going into a wealth of detail, it should be noted that the early church fathers treated it as feminine.The one exception is Epiphanius, the 4th.c. Bishop of Salamis in Cyprus, but since he thought Prisca was a man too, his evidence my be discounted! Although John Chrysostom, another 4thc. Bishop and writer was generally against women's leadership, he is fulsome in his praise of Junia, "How great the wisdom of this woman must have been that she was even deemed worthy of the title of apostle." (Epistle to the
Romans 31.2) Robert Cervin closes the discussion in his article "A note regarding the name Junia/s in
Romans 16:7"(New Testament Studies 40 1996 466-470) "A proper examination of the lnguistic evidence regarding the name "Junia" show that the name is feminine not masculine."
The problem which adheres to all these questions is that some scholars are desperate to prove that there were no women apostles and others are equally desperate to prove that there were! As Bishop Tom Wright says in his "Paul for Everyone", "Don't be put off by some translations which call her Junias,as if she were a man. There is no reason for this except the anxiety of some about recognising that women could be apostles too".The Authorised (or King James) Version of the Bible has her as a woman. It was not until 1927 that the committee advising the United Bible Society on
the best possible Greek text, decided to change her sex. In 1994 they decided to change it back again. So translations between those dates tend to mae Junia into a man. One notable exception is the New Revised Standard Version of 1989.
It seems therefore, that the answer to question one is that she is female. Note that even if the writer is aganst women's leadership s/he may agree with this conclusion, for the next two questions need positive answers to prove the case.
Next, it is necessary to dig around the Greek of this verse to decide exactly how it should be translated.Again, the anxiety of scholars is evident. The King James Version has, "who are of note among the apostles". This is followed by the majority of translators- "of note" often translated, "prominent among" or "outstanding among". A minority translate,"well known to the apostles".To be fair, it is possible to translate either way. It has been pointed out that if Andronicus and Junia were prominent apostles, then it is strange that this is the only mention of them in the New Testament. A possible reply could be that there are others in the undisputed Apostolic band who receive scant mention in the New Testament.
How this phrase is translated is inextricably tied up with the final question. What is the meaing of apostleship? R.H.C. Lenski, in his "The Interpretation of St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans" 906-7 argues that Paul uses "apostle" in a severely limited way. Paul is very jealous of his own apostleship. Like the 11,he has witnessed the resurrection,making him one of the twelve.
However,there is evidence that the word was used in wider sense. Retaining the meaning of "one commissioned and sent", Luke uses it in Acts of Barnabas (14:4, 14) and of Barnabas and Paul (13:2-4). S.Grenz and D.M. Kjesbo argue that there are four meanings of "apostolos"- 1. Those commissioned by Jesus.2.Those who were witnesses to the resurrection. 3 Those commissioned by a specific congregation to preach the gospel. 4 Those who have been given a special task by a specific church. (Women in the Church: A Biblical Theology of Women in Ministry. 1995, 92-96) They believe that Junia belonged to the third class, which of course would be a powerful argument for women's leadership in the church.
Three questions: a tick in all the boxes would lead to the conclusion that women were apostles in the early church. Most would be compelled to tick the first box, and many the second. However, the vital box is number three. If Junia was merely sent out, with her husband Andronicus to fulfil some special task, then this is an argument that women had some ministry in the early church, which few, if any could deny. A conundrum remains. Strong arguments against women's leadership appear elsewhere in the New Testament. Does Paul affirm women's leadership in
Romans 16? To attack that question, it would be neccesary to unpack other verses, in future studies.
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