Apostle Junia: Who Was She?

Junia is named as an apostle who was outstanding among the apostles. How did she earn this accolade? Who was the Apostle Junia, and where might she have gone as an apostle? Where might she have been in prison? Was she in prison with Paul? What was her relationship with Andronicus? How might they have been related to Paul?

I imagine answers to these questions in my novel Finding Her Voice, from Broken to Bold: A Novel of the Earliest Female Apostles. The novel imagines Junia, a travelling preacher, and Susannah, mother of four daughters. Set in Acts 11-15, this novel shines a light on several early female apostles: Junia, Susannah, Mary Magdalene, and Mariamne, the sister of Apostle Philip.

Andronicus and Junia: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chiesa_Santissimo_Salvatore_(Cosenza)29.png

This is article 2 of 5 articles on female apostles in the Bible and the early church.

1. Who is an Apostle: Are there Female Apostles?

2. Apostle Junia's Missionary Journeys

3. Apostle Mary Magdalene's Missionary Journeys

4. Apostle Mariamne's Transformation: Equal to the Apostles

5. Apostle Susannah as a Spiritual Spokesperson, Mother and Prophet

   
   

How Did Junia Earn the Descriptions Paul Attributes to her in Romans 16?

Junia is named only once in the Bible. In Romans 16:7, Paul tells us:

1. Junia was a female.

2. She was in Christ before Paul, becoming a follower of Jesus before Paul. Since Paul became a believer shortly after Jesus’s resurrection, Junia may have been among the disciples at Pentecost (Acts 1:14) or a disciple while Jesus was alive.

3. Paul says Junia is “my kindred”, which may mean a relative or a fellow Jew.

4. My fellow captive means Junia was in prison, either with Paul or in the same cause as Paul.

5. Outstanding among the apostles, which likely means she was not only an apostle, but she was notable in the company of the apostles.

Junia: a Female

Orthodox tradition holds that Junia and Andronicus were a female and male missionary team preaching the gospel. They performed miracles, drove out demons, healed the sick, destroyed idols, closed pagan temples, and brought many to Christ. Andronicus became the bishop of Pannonia; he and Junia were martyred there, and their relics were found near Constantinople (Istanbul)[1].

Early church father, John Chrysostom, commented on Romans 16:7 that Junia must have been great as both a woman and an apostle [2. Translators who began with the premise that a woman could not be equal to a man concluded that a woman could not be an Apostle. For this reason, Romans 16:7 was often mistranslated by changing the female name "Junia" to a non-existent male name, "Junias" [3]. This incorrect translation shifted gradually starting in the sixth century. In the 20th century, translators recognized the mistranslation and corrected it to the female name, Junia [4]. Scholars today acknowledge that Paul is greeting a female named Junia [5].

Egalitarians point to Junia as an apostle; Complementarians say Junia may have been a man or may have been well known to the apostles, who were all male

When it was proven that this verse refers to a female, those who continue to deny that there could be female apostles interpret the verse to mean Junia was well-known to the apostles, not an actual apostle herself.

Rationale for Junia being a Male

I have found many women in the Bible who were disciples, patrons, teachers, deacons, prophets, judges, leaders, evangelists, church planters, and apostles. However, there is a resurgence of people who consider women unauthorized to speak or lead. I present these opposing views side by side in my non-fiction book, The Sword: A Fun Way to Engage in Healthy Debate on What the Bible Says About a Woman's Role.

Those who believe in a male hierarchy (Complementarians) have various ways to rationalize the passages that show women in the Bible speaking and leading. As I studied arguments for and against equal freedoms, opportunities, rights, and responsibilities, I found that Complementarians repeated similar denials for each woman leader in the Bible:

Egalitarians point to the ten women leaders in Romans 16; Complementarians discount these women as hostesses or helpers.

• The apostle was not really a woman (Junia, Nympha)

• These women who led a church in their homes were not patrons and speakers; they were simply good hostesses (Nympha, Chloe, Apphia)

• She was really not a church patron and leader (Lydia)

• She was not really Paul's co-worker, called "sister" and at the same level as Timothy, called"brother" (Apphia)

• She was not really an apostle (Junia, Mary Magdalene)

• She was not really a teacher, or she didn't teach men or she didn't teach publicly, or she didn't lead a church in her home (Priscilla)

• She was not really Paul's benefactor, advisor, leader or teacher (Phoebe)

• The women are not really commended as Paul's co-workers who serve as Timothy serves, or encouraged to be like-minded as Timothy is like-minded (Euodia and Syntyche); instead, they say these women were quarrelling and show how unsuited all women are to leadership

• She was not God's first choice (Deborah)

The above are false rationalizations by those who close their eyes to how the Bible portrays women as leaders, with the same authority and freedoms as men.

2. In Christ Before Paul

   
   

Junia is the Latin form of the Hebrew name Joanna, and it is likely that people used Latin names when in Rome. Paul used his Latin name in Roman provinces and his Hebrew name, Saul, when he was pursuing the Jewish Pharisaic faith in Jerusalem. My fiction runs with the tradition that Junia, who is "in Christ before Paul," is Joanna, the disciple and patron (Luke 8:1-3, Matthew 28:8-10).

3. My Kindred

If Junia were the granddaughter of the high priest Theophilus, she would have been a Sadducee, while Paul was a Pharisee of the tribe of Benjamin. They may not have been of the same tribe or bloodlines. My novel portrays Junia/Joanna as biracial, and not Paul's relative. Her Jewish mother died in childbirth, her Greek father was ostracized from the Jewish community, and her Jewish grandfather raised her.

Today's Orthodox and Conservative Judaism observe matrilineal descent, meaning that when one's mother is Jewish, one is born Jewish. Your family or tribe depends on your mother's line. Ancient Judaism was patrilineal, and there are many Old Testament references to inheriting from your father. First-century texts seem to be unaware of the matrilineal principle in Judaism. While the timing of the change is disputed, Shaye Cohen indicates that the change from Patrilineal to matrilineal took place in the first century, likely after the birth of Jesus and before the Temple's destruction in AD 70.

Since Andronicus is a Greek name, I have imagined a backstory where he was a prisoner of war as a child, educated and employed by a member of the Costobarus family in Cilicia. There is a theory that Paul was the great-grandson of Costobarus and Salome I (the sister of Herod the Great). I imagine Andronicus is a freedman with limited Roman citizenship and the ability to travel freely, conduct business, and build wealth.

4. My Fellow Captive

In this novel, I imagine Junia imprisoned in the same cause as Paul, for her faith and her evangelism. Like Paul, Junia may have had more than one mission journey, so for this novel, I imagine an earlier journey, set in the late AD 40s.  She is not with Paul on the mission trip in this novel. She may have also been in prison at the same time as Paul on a later mission trip.

Later, Paul takes additional, longer journeys, and I imagine that Junia later takes additional, longer journeys. Tradition tells us that Junia and Andronicus later had missionary journeys throughout the areas east of the Adriatic Sea, and that Andronicus became the Bishop of Pannonia (modern-day Hungary). They could easily have been in Rome by the late AD 50s when Paul greeted them in his letter to the Romans.

5. Outstanding Among the Apostles

The Orthodox Church preserved records of Junia and Andronicus on mission trips throughout Illyricum, Pannonia, and Dalmatia, Roman provinces east of the Adriatic Sea. Today, this area includes parts of Croatia, Serbia, Hungary, and Bosnia & Herzegovina. They would have completed many years of service together before being in Rome and being greeted in this letter from Paul. Emperor Claudius banned Jews from Rome until his death in AD 54, and Paul likely wrote the letter to the Romans, greeting both Jews and Greeks in the late AD 50s.

In Finding Her Voice, I imagine Junia may have been travelling as an apostle and missionary at the same time as Paul's first mission journey, but to places Paul apparently did not visit. The book of Acts outlines Paul's journeys and Junia is not named as being with Paul. I imagine Andronicus as a trader in spices, taking the Roman roads often used by traders of the day. Andronicus offers to take Junia and her handmaid on his merchant trading trip, along with his driver.

As it happens, four of these important trade route cities are named in John's Book of Revelation. Revelation is based on John's visions and prophecies, and under Roman law, the penalty for prophecy, astrology and magic was banishment. John is said to have lived in Ephesus, establishing the first Christian community there before Paul arrived. John likely lived there until he was banished to the island of Patmos under Roman Emperor Domitian (AD 81 – 96) and later returned to Ephesus and died there.

I imagine Junia's backstory in my new novel, set in the AD 40s, with Junia meeting Andronicus for the first time, advocating to speak, and finally getting the opportunity to go on her first missionary journey. The group goes to cities where there is no record that Paul visited. We know from Paul's letters and from the book of Revelation that some early apostles, other than Paul, evangelized and founded churches in these cities. Why not Junia?

Conclusion

Junia was a woman who was in Christ earlier than Apostle Paul. She may have been the disciple and patron Joanna, and she may have been present at Pentecost. Junia was Paul's kindred and Paul's fellow captive, imprisoned for the cause of Christ. By the late AD 50s, Junia was known as an apostle who was outstanding among the apostles. Early church fathers recognized that Junia must have been amazing as both a woman and an apostle to be greeted as she was in Paul's letter to the Romans.

Imagine her backstory with me! How would she become an apostle? Where might she start? Using the facts we know about Junia, I developed her fictional first mission journey for Finding Her Voice from Broken to Bold: A Novel of the Earliest Female Apostles. It is set in the late AD 40s, in the same timeline as Paul's first missionary journey, which is also shown on the map below.

Finding Her Voice, from Broken to Bold book 3: A Novel of the Earliest Female Apostles

Two women called to speak. The world told them to stay silent.

After being sent to Syria, Joanna must hide her Hebrew heritage and live under her Latin name, Junia. Straddling two worlds, she fears her son will never fully belong if she doesn't convince the early church to accept all races as equals. Junia protects herself by hiding her bi-racial identity, but her message can be convincing only by revealing it.

Susannah knows she is to make God’s word understood by many, but as unrest shakes the streets and new life grows within her, she begins to wonder: Is it possible to raise a family and still raise her voice?

Brimming with adventure, fear, laughter, and love, this inspiring novel shows courage, conviction, and the power of a woman’s voice—both in the home and in the world. Explore faith, identity, and the courage to speak out despite the opposition and upheaval of Acts 11-15. Read it as a standalone or as the powerful conclusion to the feminist and LGBTQ+ affirming historical fiction trilogy: From Broken to Bold.

Can the two women boldly proclaim Jesus’s message of equality before church councils silence them forever?

Coming October 2025.

Contact Me to receive your ebook Advance Reader Copy this summer!

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Elaine Ricker Kelly Author is empowering women with historical fiction about women in the Bible and early church and Christian blogs about women in leadership, church history and doctrine. Her books include:

• Forgotten Followers from Broken to Bold, Book 1, A Novel (2022)

• The Sword: A Fun Way to Engage in Healthy Debate on What the Bible Says About a Woman's Role (2023)

• Because She Was Called from Broken to Bold, Book 2, A Novel of the Early Church (2024)

• Walk with Mara on Her Healing Journey: 21 Steps to Emotional Resilience (2024)

• Finding Her Voice from Broken to Bold, Book 3, A Novel of the Earliest Female Apostles (coming October 2025)

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[1] https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2022/05/17/101405-apostle-andronicus-of-the-seventy-and-his-fellow-laborer-junia

[2] Kimberly Dickson https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/women-in-scripture-and-mission-junia-the-apostle/

[3] Dr. Rob Dixon https://www.faithward.org/women-of-the-bible-study-series/junia-the-hidden-apostle/

[4] Scot McKnight, Junia Is Not Alone, Patheos Press, 2011.

[5] Nijay Gupta, Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught, and Ministered in the Early Church, IVP Academic, 2023,