Modern Interpreters. Dunn says the phrase “well known to the apostles” in Rom 16:7 is best interpreted as “prominent among the apostles” (Dunn, Romans 9–16, 894). Dunn understands Andronicus and Junia to be a married couple (Dunn, Romans 9–16, 895). He counts them among the earliest Palestinian Christians and suggests that they were personally appointed by the risen Christ prior to His ascension, which might include them among the 500 who saw the risen Lord or among the apostles with James (1 Cor 15:7). Dunn remains uncertain about Andronicus and Junia’s connection with Rome; they might have been considered apostles of Rome, or they could have played a role in planting house churches there (Dunn, Romans 9–16, 895).

Sanday and Headlam state that Andronicus and Junias were included among a larger body of apostles than the Twelve, suggesting that they were among the Palestinian Jews who dispersed after Stephen’s execution. They present three primary reasons for accepting Andronicus and Junias as apostles (Sanday and Headlam, Romans, 423–424):

1. the church fathers understood them to be apostles

2. the use of the Greek form of episamos (ἐπίσημοι, episēmoi) literally means “stamped or marked” in a way that made them distinct among the apostles, rather than meaning “well known by the apostles”

3. the wider use of “apostle,” substantiated by the Didache, allows the title to apply to people outside the Twelve (Sanday and Headlam, Romans, 423).

Several scholars emphasize that the term “apostle” could be used in several broader senses.

• According to Palmer, the New Testament describes two categories of apostles: the Twelve, or anyone with apostolic gifts, which Palmer connects with teaching and preaching (Palmer, Romans, 215).

• Mounce proposes that the term “apostle” includes missionaries and evangelists. He also suggests that Andronicus and Junia were Jewish believers and likely among the first Palestinian Christians (Mounce, Romans, 275–76).

• Abernathy suggests that Andronicus and Junia were among the 500 people mentioned in 1 Cor 15:6, and that all 500 were appointed as apostles by the risen Christ. This would explain Paul’s comment that Andronicus and Junia were ahead of him in the faith (Rom 16:7; Abernathy, Romans 9–16, 370).

• Schüssler Fiorenza explores in depth the possibility of a female apostle, concluding that the early Christian movement allowed men as well as women (and married couples) to serve as missionaries. She suggests that Paul uses four titles to describe missionaries: co-worker, brother/sister, deacon, and apostle (Schüssler Fiorenza, In Memory of Her, 169). The last title, she says, corresponds to Junia in Rom 16:7 and indicates her authority to evangelize, teach, and admonish (Schüssler Fiorenza, In Memory of Her, 169; see also 1 Thess 5:12; 1 Tim 4:13).

• Although Murray acknowledges that “apostle” could refer simply to a messenger, he considers it far more likely that Paul uses this term to denote the Twelve. In Murray’s view, neither Andronicus nor Junias were apostles; instead, Paul’s comment in Rom 16:7 indicates that they were well known by the twelve apostles in Judea and Jerusalem (Murray, Romans, 230).