Junias

Junias (or Junia, the feminine form preferred by modern translators) is a figure greeted by Paul in Romans 16:7 as one who is "outstanding among the apostles" and who was "in Christ before" Paul. The Greek text reads Iounian, which could be either the accusative of the feminine name Junia or the masculine Junias. The overwhelming consensus of ancient commentators through John Chrysostom read the name as feminine — Junia — and understood the greeting as a notable honor. Modern scholarly debate has largely returned to this reading, interpreting Paul's commendation as identifying Junia as a female apostle in the broader sense of "messenger" or "commissioned missionary." She and Andronicus, likely her husband, had shared Paul's imprisonment and belonged to the earliest stratum of Jewish Christianity in Rome. The passage is significant in discussions of women's roles in the earliest church and the range of meanings attached to the term "apostle" in NT usage.