Junia: The First Woman Apostle
Digital Verbum Edition
Overview
The name “Junia” appears in Romans 16:7, and Paul identifies her (along with Andronicus) as “prominent among the apostles.” In this important work, Epp investigates the mysterious disappearance of Junia from the traditions of the church. 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. Despite the fact that the earliest churches met in homes and that other women were clearly leaders in the churches (e.g., Prisca and Lydia), calling Junia an apostle seemed too much for the tradition. Epp tracks how this happened in New Testament manuscripts, scribal traditions, and translations of the Bible. In this thoroughgoing study, Epp restores Junia to her rightful place.
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- Investigates the disappearance of Junia from church traditions.
- Tracks how Junia’s name was changed in New Testament manuscripts, scribal traditions, and Bible translations.
- Restores Junia to her rightful place as a prominent apostle.
Eldon Epp [shows] that the greetings of Romans 16 contain one more woman’s name than those of us educated in the twentieth century were led to believe. Her name is Junia, and Paul applies to her and her partner, Andronicus, the name ‘apostle. ...For those Christians whose concern about women in leadership roles is tied to the question whether women actually served as leaders during the church’s earliest generation, this book is an eye-opener.
— Beverly Roberts Gaventa, from the foreword
Completely persuasive and definitive, Junia rectifies the slighting of women by many exegetes. A real contribution.
— Walter Wink, Auburn Theological Seminary, New York
If anyone could say the 'last word' on a matter of New Testament interpretation, Epp certainly has, Junia covers all bases, including the history of interpretation, lexicography, grammatical analysis, and text criticism.
— Edgar Krentz, Lutheran School of Theology, Chicago