Bible Questions and Answers

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

Junia was a Christian woman living in Rome to whom Paul sends salutations along with Andronicus. He calls her and Andronicus, kinsmen. That could mean a blood relative or it could mean that they, like him, were also Jews.  That might explain their imprisonment as the Jews were frequently persecuted by Rome. The fact that they had been converted to Christ before Paul indicates that they were originally living in Judea and that notion seems to be confirmed by Paul's statement that Junia and Andronicus were "of note among the apostles." Since the apostles in those early days were confined to Judea/Jerusalem it lends credence to the idea that Junia and Andronicus came from there. The picture is one of "Hellenized" Jews [from their names] who became Christians either at Pentecost or shortly thereafter who were active preachers of the Gospel both in Judea and, eventually, in Rome where they were arrested and imprisoned either for their Jewishness or because of their preaching of the gospel.

I hope you have found this helpful.

God bless,
Mike