For too long have women been prevented to take any office in the church other than admin and being prayer warriors because of. Three daughters of servilia, mistress of caesar, sisters or half sisters of marcus junius brutus junia prima junia secunda junia tertia. In this important work, epp investigates the mysterious disappearance of junia from the traditions of the church. Part of resolving the first issue is that the name translated junias the 1970 roman catholic. Like many women, i was surprised when i first heard junias story. The kjvs ambiguity is due to its literal translation of the ambiguous greek which says.
Proponents of female ordination argue that junia was both a woman and an apostle. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. The apostle junia, was a woman leader in the early church whose ministry reminds us that gods intention junia. The book is intended to introduce general readership to the technical arguments for the conclusion that the person spoken of in this verse was a woman apostle. New testament offices held by women include apostle, prophet, pastor, deacon, eldress, widow and virgin. Perhaps junia is the wife of andronicus, and they were simply referred to as a team. In different translations of the bible, the spelling of junia is where the. In addition, paul names a number of women as well as men whom he called. Eldon epp is quite convincing that junia was indeed a prominent woman apostle of the 1st century. Greet andronicus and junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to or prominent among the apostles, and they were in christ before me. Often times romans 16 is glossed over when reading the bible, being treated like the cast and credits that appear at the end of a film that one quickly glances over while.
Thus, it should not surprise us too greatly to find a woman deacon phoebe romans 16. Smiths life should be inspiration for us all smith wigglesworth was called the apostle of faith. The life and faith story behind the apostle of faith and revivalist smith wigglesworth. The highlighted scripture texts on this page use the nasb and it has the masculine junias. Junia lepida, another roman noblewoman of 1st century. A bit repetitive and indepth on the language studies, but it does exactly what it sets out to do. Every leading scholar during the first thousand years of the christian church confirmed that paul referred to a female apostle in romans 16, including origen of. Heiser study from the bible and be encouraged to grow your faith. Beginning around 1900, the idea that the name was junia, a woman, esteemed by the apostles, was circulated in commentaries by several authors. It seems junia is a female apostle, according to paul romans 16. Though this may be a surprise to some, yes, there were. The female name junia was used in the tyndale and king james bible.
First, we should consider the accents on the greek. If should have the circumflex over the ultima then it is a mans name. Eldon jay epp is harkness professor of biblical literature emeritus and dean of humanities and social sciences emeritus at case western reserve university. Dennis preato proves that junia was an woman who was an apostle.
The second meaning implies that junia was grouped together with the other apostles, meaning she too was an apostle. Chrysostom provides credible objective evidence that junia was an apostle. 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. The first is concerned with resolving the gender of the person named iounian. It is not settled among the fathers and actually evidence would lead away from junia being a woman. This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title junia. First of all, does the name junia have a feminine ending proving junia was a woman, or does it have a masculine. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in christ before me. The lost apostle unfolds like a wellwritten detective story, presenting pedersons lively search for insight and information about a woman some say was the first female apostle. Despite the fact that the earliest churches met in homes and that other women were clearly leaders in the churches e. There are two major interpretive problems in this verse, both of which involve the identification of junias.
Junia, a woman, an apostle by david williams is a thorough examination of romans 16. The apostle junia barbara andersons watchtower documents. Nevertheless, beginning with erasmus in 1516, all greek new testament translations except one consider junia female. Junia the first woman apostle is the title of a book by lutheran scholar eldon jay epp. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
The first woman apostle by eldon jay epp request pdf. Because later theologians and scribes could not believe or wanted to suppress that paul had numbered a woman among the earliest churches apostles, junia s name was changed in romans to a masculine form. 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 price of the book on its own. In this thoroughgoing study, epp restores junia to her rightful place. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading junia. Oct 01, 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. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in christ before i was niv2011. Her ministry in partnership with andronicus and paul reminds us that gods intention is for men and women to partner together as equals in the home, the church, and the community. Junia, though, is probably the first woman to have her name listed in scripture as an apostle.
Since the truth has been recovered that junia was clearly a woman, moderncomplementarian 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. The apostle junia by david tatro were there women apostles in new testament times. Another argument raised by the egalitarians in support of women being an authority is the case of junia in romans 16. I would recommend junia a woman an apostle to those people who only have the time and inclination to read books by authors who thoroughly research their subject and are passionate about it. The first meaning implies that junia was not necessarily an apostle herself. Chrysostoms statements about these women are particularly convincing especially in light of his misogynist views toward women. So one translation is that junias a man is outstanding among the apostles and the other says that junia a woman is well known to the apostles. He commented on how great this woman must be to be even accorded the title apostle, in such a male dominated society. Jul 24, 2003 at any rate, to say with dogmaticism that junia is female is foolish.
The lost apostle unfolds like a wellwritten detective story, presenting pedersons. Whether or not junia was a prophet or a female, it does seem to be clear that heshe was one of the first christians. One of the most thorough and comprehensive treatments available on the subject of the name junia in romans 16. Any discussion of womens roles in the church must take into account the apostle junia.
What i find so surprising and probably i shouldnt, is that some are trying to not only say junia was a woman, but that he was an apostle which the text does not say. First, disagreement exists as to whether junia was a male or female and second, was junia a female apostle, a position of authority and leadership. En is a greek preposition, much like our english in. Most likely, junia was a female apostle who served alongside her husband. Based upon evidence, not conjecture, we must conclude that junia, even if a woman, could not have been an apostle. The first woman apostle kindle edition by epp, eldon jay. The first woman apostle and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. Please enter your name, your email and your question regarding the product in the fields below, and well answer you in the next 2448 hours. Since apostles are in place of authority, then junia demonstrates that women can be in authority over men in the church. Paul mentions such a woman in the sixteenth chapter of his letter to the romans. As this junia the first woman apostle revised edition, it ends up inborn one of. Junia have a feminine ending proving junia was a woman. The pleasing book, fiction, history, novel, scientific research, as skillfully as various extra sorts of books are readily userfriendly here.
Greet andronicus and junia, my fellow jews who have been in prison with me. The apostle juniaa woman, new testament hell, churches. In the lost apostle awardwinning journalist rena pederson investigates a little known subject in early christian historythe life and times of the female apostle junia. Request pdf on jan 1, 2007, alicia batten and others published junia. Epp tracks how this happened in new testament manuscripts, scribal traditions, and translations of the bible.
Second, although it is an argument from silence, we have to wonder how some can assert that andronicus and iounian were prominent, authoritative apostles when they never appear again in any other verse in scripture. Junia became junias simply because a woman could not possibly be an apostle. The first woman apostle, eldon jay epp, fortress press, 2005 isbn 0. 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. The view among most modern new testament scholars is that this person was a woman named junia, but a common view in the past was that it was a man named junias. 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 first woman apostle by eldon jay epp in 2005, the article provides. According to a recent edition of christian news 10305, pp. A woman an apostle one of the most thorough and comprehensive treatments available on the subject of the name junia in romans 16. The first woman apostle, epp gives a textual critical evaluation of the history of junia in the greek text and also the search in nonbiblical greek literature for junias the alleged masculine form of the name which has not been found in writings from new testament times and only rarely thereafter. They are outstanding among esteemed by the apostles, and they were in christ before i was romans 16. Read online junia the first woman apostle revised editionvariant types and then type of the books to browse. Paul mentions such a woman in the sixteenth chapter of. Receiving my july copy, seeing the cover with its title, then reading the article and evidences provided, i could only react with astonishment. The first woman apostle by eldon jay epp find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. Junia was an apostle and was not the only woman so honored by the early church. Junia was an early convert and leading missionary whose story was lost when her name was masculinized to junias in later centuries.
At any rate, to say with dogmaticism that junia is female is foolish. What you can do to help get the feast of a woman apostle. Indeed, at least one early church father thought junia a woman but allowed her the title apostle, john chrysostom 337497. 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. 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. She was also a fellow prisoner for christ, though not necessarily in the same jail cell or jail. Aug 05, 2019 the apostle junia, was a woman leader in the early church whose ministry reminds us that gods intention junia.
At the end of the book of romans, paul greets many individuals by name. But the woman in the audience insisted that paul praised junia in the book of romans and. This continues until 1927 when the thirteenth nestle edition the first had come out in 1898 inexplicably changed the accent from acute feminine to. Apostle is listed first by paul as one of the most important of the spiritual gifts because these individuals are responsible for evangelizing, setting up churches, organizing them, handling the problems that arose, ordaining elders for each church and generally coordinating. Part of resolving the first issue is that the name translated junias appears only once in the greek nt. She was told by the risen christ to tell his apostles that he has risen from the dead. Posted on december 3, 2007 by claude mariottini junia was the name of a christian in rome, a person whose name is mentioned in the letter to the romans in connection with andronicus, as being pauls relatives, who were in prison with him. This provocatively titled book is a wellwritten detailed look at romans 16. Kathryn riss proves that the junia was a woman and an apostle.
For too long have women been prevented to take any office in the church other than admin and being prayer warriors because of misinterpretation of scriptures. Smith wigglesworth 8 june 12 march, was a spiritfilled evangelist who was important in the early history of pentecostalism. The lost apostle unfolds like a wellwritten detective story, presenting pedersons lively search for insight and information about a. Junia new testament person, or junias, a person mentioned by paul in the epistle to the romans.