Women in New Testament Leadership Role
He leads me …
We are no longer Jews or Greeks or slaves or free men or even merely men or women, but we are all the same—we are Christians; we are one in Christ Jesus. And now that we are Christ’s we are the true descendants of Abraham, and all of God’s promises to him belong to us. (Galatians 3:28-29 TLB)
Dr. Ann Nyland spent her time on Faculty at the University of New England, Australia, teaching ancient grammar and ancient history. As a Classical Greek scholar (rather than a theologian) she has written The Source New Testament which is not based on her own opinions, but is presented with a view to having an English translation as close as possible to the original Greek.
As the basis of her work she has researched the information made possible through the ongoing discovering of papyri and various inscriptions found since the Deep Sea Scrolls were located. Dr Nyland has not used any other translations in her work, and she does not include a commentary. She simply translates as close as she can to the Greek while at the same time trying to keep as near as possible to the writer’s style.
Let us look at what the Greek taken from pottery, papyri and other means beyond our standard Bible versions says about some of the women in the New Testament.
Lydia
Acts 16:13 is usually translated, “And on the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate to the riverside where we thought there would be a place of prayer.” However, evidence from inscriptions reveals that the Greek word, which was translated “place of prayer,” was in fact another word for “synagogue.” The reason it was translated “place of prayer” is that Luke uses a different word for “synagogue” throughout Acts, and the fact that only women congregants were mentioned must have affected the translation.
However, Acts 17:4 and 18:26 speak of women attending the synagogue, and there is ample evidence from other findings that women were synagogue leaders, even if Lydia’s leadership of the synagogue was only implied.
New Testament scholar Richard Bauckham tells us that any time we come across the name of someone in the book of Acts or in the apostle’s letters, it is there because that person had become widely known among the Christian churches as teacher and leader.
Phoebe
Dr Nylands translation of Romans 16:1-2 reads –
I recommend to you Phoebe our fellow believer, who is a deacon of the assembly in Kenchreai , so that you will admit her into your company, the Lord’s company, in a manner worthy of the people devoted to God, and stand by her in whatever matters she needs you to help in. For indeed she became a presiding officer over many, and over me also!
In the Greek Phoebe is a diakonos, “minister”/”deacon,” and certainly not a “servant.” The standard lexicon Liddell-Scott-Jones[1] testifies that in the context of religion, the word meant an attendant or official. The word was adopted into Christian vocabulary to mean a church minister or deacon, as the terms were at first synonymous, “deacon” being the transliteration (putting Greek letters into English letters) of the Greek, and “minister” being the translation.[2]
According to Dr Nyland the Greek word for defending officer is used in the context of someone who stands in front of the people and protects them. In the previous scripture Paul is providing Phoebe’s credentials as his representative.
Junia
Romans 16:7 in the NIV states, “Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.”
Andronicus is a male name and Junia is female. Some think they were married, but we are unsure. They have been imprisoned with Paul, but the most amazing truth about them is in the second sentence: “They are outstanding among the apostles”! So the man, Andronicus was an apostle and so was Junia, a woman.
Apostleship is defined differently these days. For some traditions, the apostles were limited to the twelve closest to Jesus; for some, apostles are those who saw the risen Christ; while for others, apostleship is a spiritual gift that continues today. What is clear is that apostles have authority and are sent by God to perform certain tasks. Some churches state that women cannot be apostles. This was easier to support because around the 13th century, Junia was incorrectly translated as Junias, a male.
In order to get around the issue of a woman being an apostle some translations said things like, “They are well known to the apostles,” or “of note among the apostles”.
However, Chrysostrom wrote in the 4th Century, “Indeed, how great the wisdom of this woman [Phoebe] must have been that she was ever deemed worthy of the title of apostle.”
If we ever hope to defeat patriarchy, we need to attack the unbiblical pressure on women to live passively. If we teach our young girls to be passive they will not exercise authority, will not question, and will just go with the flow. We have to stop shaming strong women and encourage confidence and boldness instead.
Boldness is not a just male trait. It’s God expectation for all believers.[3][4]
[1] Liddell–Scott–Jones, or LSJ, is a standard lexicographical work of the Ancient Greek language originally edited by Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, Henry Stuart Jones and Roderick McKenzie and published in 1843 by the Oxford University Press.
[2] Papyri, Women, and Word Meaning in the New Testament, by Ann Nyland, CBE International: https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/article/priscilla-papers-academic-journal/papyri-women-and-word-meaning-new-testament
[3] Acts 4:13, 29, 31: 28:31
[4] Calling All Deborahs, Esthers, and Junias, by Gricel Medina, CBE International: https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/article/mutuality-blog-magazine/calling-all-deborahs-esthers-and-junias
