Considering that there were no women that had any kind of leadership role in the religion of Israel at the time of Christ, it is truly radical that there were so many women mentioned in the New Testament that promoted the faith and in fact had leadership roles. Jesus led the way for women to not only find salvation and comfort in him, but to realize what Galatians 3:28 says: “There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” That the latter church chose, for the most part, to forget Jesus’ lifting up of women and change words in the translation of Paul’s writings, is virtually incomprehensible (this subject will be covered in a future article) and makes arguing for the accuracy of many translations more difficult.
But who were Paul’s co-workers, and what level of leadership did they really have? For right now, let’s focus on three: Priscilla, Phoebe, and Junia. Since there is so much that could be covered, information on their roles is presented in list form below.
Priscilla. Apparently well-educated in Rome, and thus from an influential family.
· Priscilla and Aquila, her husband, taught Apollos more about Christianity after they had heard him speak publicly (Act 18:26). Priscilla was the primary teacher, as evidenced by her name given first. Of the six times her and her husband are mentioned in the NT, she is first four times. “The order of names in ancient times indicated priority of role and importance” (Schmidt 178). St. Chrysostom (AD 347-407) confirmed that Paul placed Priscilla first for good reason. Significantly, whether ahead of her husband or not, she taught a man.
· She is acknowledged as being "well known" by the gentile churches (Romans 16:4). She would not have been well known unless she had leadership functions. Paul refers to her as synergos (Romans 16:3), the same word he used for Timothy and Titus, who preached and taught. She was a “fellow worker” (synergos) with Paul, not a silent and passive female.
· One of the oldest and largest catacombs in Rome bears her name, as do several monuments.
· No one really knows who wrote the Book of Hebrews, and the suggestion that Priscilla wrote it is not discounted even in the Archaeological Study Bible (Zondervan); some suggest, too, that she “polished up” Paul’s letter to the Romans.
Phoebe. Carrier of the Roman epistle to Rome from Corinth, a 400 mile journey.
· In Romans 16:1-2, Phoebe is referred to as a diakonos, or deacon. “Deaconess” was not a word at that time and was first used in AD 375. The common word “deacon” is most often translated “minister” in the King James Version, though it is rendered “deacon” three times; however, when that word is used with Phoebe, the KJ translators used “servant” instead. Amazingly, the slightly earlier Miles Coverdale bible had kept the word “minister” for Phoebe, but the recent NIV still used “servant”!
· Paul called himself a deacon in 1 Corinthians 3:5, and it is used for Timothy in Acts 19:22. Deacon is used with “co-worker” (synergos) and commonly meant someone who teaches and preaches; the person would have some authority in the church. Another thing to consider is that the term deacon was masculine and only males functioned as deacons in Greek culture. Paul knew very well what he was doing when he used that term for Phoebe.
· Paul not only said Phoebe was a deacon, but a prostatis as well (Romans 16:2). Prostatis “meant ‘leading officer’ in the literature at the time the [NT] was written” (Schmidt 181). To us it would mean something like “superintendent.”
· Origen (AD 185-254), who was not a feminist, wrote that based on Romans 16:1-2 Phoebe had apostolic authority.
Junia.
· Junia is found in Romans 16:7, where the name is still often mistranslated “Junias.” The name “Junias” was non-existent at that time. The archaeology study bible notes that “the more common” reading in Greek is “Junia.” She probably was the wife of Adronicus, the other person mentioned in that verse. For the greater part of church history—the first 1300 years—all acknowledged that the person was a female! Why did bible translators in the last several hundred years change Adronicus’ companion's name? Because Paul referred to them both as apostles, and outstanding ones at that. St. Chrysostom, St. Jerome, and Peter Abelard all considered the person to be a woman.
· Paul did not restrict the word “apostle” to the twelve only (he called James an apostle and interchanged it with the word diakonos), as is common today. Origen wrote that women had “apostolic authority” in the church based on Romans 16.
This is part four in a series on Christian views and treatment of women. The previous part, reviewing aspects of the Samaritan woman’s story (“the woman at the well”), can be found here. The first two parts cover overviews of how women were treated at the time of Christ, the first covering the cultures affecting Israel, and the second covering views generally held of women inside Israel.
Source: AJ Schmidt, Veiled and Silenced: How Culture Shaped Sexist Theology. Photo source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1171414.
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