Junia - Esteemed Among the Apostles

In Romans 16:7, Paul greets Andronicus and Junia as “esteemed among the apostles.” Andronicus and Junia are described by Paul as having been in prison with him and that they had come to faith in Jesus before he did. The Biblical role of apostle represents someone who had a first hand encounter with the risen Christ.[1] From this verse, it is clear that Junia is someone who fulfilled the criteria for apostleship (1 Corinthians 9:1). It is possible, because Junia’s leadership role as an apostle corresponds with female leadership roles within ancient Judaism (and as the head of the synagogue or elder) and within other Greco-Roman religions), that Junia was already carrying out leadership functions within the Jewish community before becoming an apostle of Christ.[2] Historically, there has been some question about the gender of Junia, because some Scripture translators interpreted the name as “Junias” (the male version of the name) instead of Junia. Early church writers almost explicitly interpreted Junia as a female name. John Chrysostom praised Junia among the apostles. In addition, extra-biblical sources prove that the name Junias is as of yet unattested in ancient inscriptions. The female name, Junia, however, appears over 250 times among inscriptions from ancient Rome alone.[3] Critical scholars today increasingly interpret the name as the feminine Junia. Her identification as “esteemed among the apostles” is valuable evidence that women were empowered in positions of leadership within the early church.[4] The mention of Junia among the apostles does not indicate whether or not any type of ordination was common practice in the Acts church and whether or not she participated in any such ceremonious act.[5] Nonetheless, she is an example to all of us that women played a critical role in the spreading of the Good News of Christ after his death and resurrection.

[1] Meyers, Carol (General Editor). Women in Scripture. Eerdmans Publishing. Grand Rapids, MI: 2000.
[2] Ibid. Meyers, p. 107.
[3] Ibid. Meyers, p. 107.
[4] Apostleship, as mentioned, was the highest position of leadership and authority, because it was directly linked to ones personal encounter with the risen Christ.
[5] It is important to note that the Apostles experienced some type of commissioning from Jesus (Acts 1:8) but were not necessarily ordained within the church. This is probably similar to any commissioning that Junia may have received.