Andronicus and Junia
Romans 16:7 greets Andronicus and Junia as Paul's kinspeople or fellow countrymen and fellow prisoners who were in Christ before him. The description translated by the BSB as 'outstanding among the apostles' has also been rendered 'well known to the apostles'. The identity of Junia as a woman has ancient support, notably in John Chrysostom's reading.
Tradition note
Eastern Orthodox commemoration honors Andronicus and Junia as apostles in the wider traditional circle. Their inclusion in a named list of the Seventy belongs to later reception: Luke 10 does not name those disciples.
Key points
- The verse names two people; it supplies no complete itinerary and does not explicitly say that they were married.
- Many current translations print the feminine Junia; some earlier and other translations print a masculine Junias. Name, accentuation, and reception evidence should not be collapsed into one argument.
- The phrase about the apostles is disputed: inclusion among a broader apostolic group and high reputation with the apostles are competing readings.
- Neither reading adds Junia or Andronicus to the canonical lists of the Twelve.
Scripture
- Romans 16:7 — The entire canonical notice should remain visible alongside translation and interpretation questions.
- Acts 14:14 — Barnabas and Paul are both called apostles, showing that the word can refer beyond the Twelve.
- 1 Corinthians 15:5-9 — Paul distinguishes an appearance to the Twelve from later references to all the apostles and to himself.
Primary sources
Commenting on Romans 16:7, he exclaims about:
Chrysostom reads Junia as a woman and praises her as worthy of the designation apostle.
this woman, that she should be even counted worthy of the appellation of apostle!
Passage context and translation
Chrysostom comments on Andronicus and Junia, their shared sufferings, and their distinction among the apostles. This continuous fragment is the end of his exclamation about Junia; it retains his explicit description of a woman and designation as apostle.