NT Pod 12: Junia: the First Woman Apostle? Programme Notes

I released the latest NT Pod last night, on the topic Junia: The First Woman Apostle?. I'd like to add a few programme notes here for those who would like to follow up on the discussion.

The two English translations I contrasted were the following:

Romans 16.7 (NRSV): Greet Andronicus and Junia, my relatives who were in prison with me; they are prominent among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.

Romans 16.7 (RSV): Greet Andronicus and Junias, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners; they are men of note among the apostles, and they were in Christ before me.

I might also have added reference to the NET Bible translation, which follows the Wallace / Burer view which I mentioned in the podcast:

Greet Andronicus and Junia, my compatriots and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me.

The Greek text (NA²⁷) is as follows:

ἀσπάσασθε Ἀνδρόνικον καὶ ᾿Ιουνίαν τοὺς συγγενεῖς μου καὶ συναιχμαλώτους μου, οἵτινές εἰσιν ἐπίσημοι ἐν τοῖς ἀποστόλοις, οἳ καὶ πρὸ ἐμοῦ γέγοναν ἐν Χριστῷ.

This NA²⁷ text accents Ιουνιαν such that it appears as a female name, thus ᾿Ιουνίαν rather than ᾿Ιουνιᾶν (the latter the accenting in NA²⁶).

The key recent bibliography is as follows:

Eldon Jay Epp, Junia: The First Woman Apostle (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2005)

This is the major work arguing the case that Junia in Rom. 16.7 is a female apostle. It is short and readable.

Daniel Wallace and Michael Burer, "Was Junia Really an Apostle?: A Re-examination of Romans 16.7", Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood 6/2 (Fall 2001), 4-11.

Online article arguing that the verse should be translated "esteemed by the apostles" and not "prominent among the apostles" (cf. NET Bible above).

Daniel Wallace and Michael Burer, "Was Junia Really an Apostle?: A Re-examination of Romans 16.7", New Testament Studies 47 (2001): 76-91

Academic version of previous article

Linda Belleville, "᾿Ιουνίαν . . . ἐπίσημοι ἐν τοῖς ἀποστόλοις, A Re-Examination of Romans 16:7 in Light of Primary Source Materials", New Testament Studies 51 (2005): 231-24.

Answers Wallace and Burer.

Suzanne McCarthy has commented on the issues extensively in her blog Suzanne's Bookshelf.

Also in the blogosphere: see Pat McCullough, Translation Mischief with Junia, the Female Apostle.