Journal: Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal
Volume: DBSJ 21:1 (NA 2016)
Article: Female Apostleship In Romans 16:7
Author: Michael W. Harding

DBSJ 21 (2016) p. 59

Female Apostleship In Romans 16:7

Michael W. Harding1

Willow Creek Community Church, one of the nation’s largest and most influential churches, openly enforces egalitarian views on their staff and membership. In a four-page handout entitled, “The Elders’ Response to the Most Frequently Asked Questions about Membership at Willow Creek,” the church asks that all staff and membership “minimally be able to affirm with integrity...that they can joyfully sit under the teaching of women teachers at Willow Creek...submit to the leadership of women in various leadership positions...and refrain from promoting personal views [in regard to the above] in ways that would be divisive or disruptive.”2 One of the numerous arguments used by Willow Creek to justify their egalitarian policy is their interpretation of Romans 16:7. In their position paper the church states, “The name Junia has a feminine ending, and thus refers to a woman whom...Paul numbers among the apostles.”3

Egalitarian scholars such as Linda Belleville and Eldon Epp have published well-documented journal articles on the identity and vocation of Ἰουνιαν (“Junia[s]”) in Romans 16:7.4 Their arguments center primarily on the gender of the name. Belleville devotes eleven out of nineteen pages to the gender issue in her journal article. Epp argues for the feminine gender in fifty-five out of the sixty-four pages in his journal article. The clear implication by the authors is that if one can determine the gender of the hapax Ἰουνιαν, then the entire issue of female apostleship is resolved.5

DBSJ 21 (2016) p. 60

Michael Burer and Daniel Wallace have argued, however, that the gender of the name is not the only point of debate in Romans 16:7.6 Conceding the probability that Ἰουνιαν may indeed be feminine, they suggest as a working hypothesis that the comparative collocation “outstanding among the apostles” would be more accurately rendered with an elative sense, “famous” or “well-known to the apostles.”7

In addition, another issue must be resolved—Paul’s use of the term “apostles”.You must have a subscription and be logged in to read the entire article.
Click here to subscribe