Junia, Among the Apostles

For the first thousand years of the church, no one doubted that Junia was a woman, and no one doubted that Paul called her outstanding among the apostles. The early fathers said so plainly.

Then, somewhere in the long middle, a translator added a stroke to a name. Junia became "Junias" — a man's name that, as far as the records show, no one in the ancient world ever actually bore.

"Greet Andronicus and Junia… they are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was."

— Romans 16:7

Why a name matters

Here is what the text actually says — and why it matters for your daughter. When we let a verse be edited to fit our expectations, we lose more than a name. We lose the witness of a woman the apostle Paul was proud to call his own.