Monday, November 17, 2025

Theophylact of Ohrid (1055-1107) on Romans 16:7 and Recognizing that Junia was a Woman

  

Romans 16:7. Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.

 

That they were Paul’s kinsmen is no great praise, compared to the fact that they were fellow prisoners with him—for they suffered more than most prisoners, being dragged from place to place and plundered. It is also a great thing to be apostles, especially if we consider that Junia was a woman: how much more so to be renowed among the apostles And they were celebrated for their deeds. Paul is not ashamed to say “who also were in Christ before me,” giving them honor for having embraced the blessing before he did. (The New Testament Commentaries of Theophylact of Ohrid, 3 vols. [trans. Dean Marais; Based Book, 2025], 2:174)