1I commend to you Phoebe, our sister, who is a servant of the assembly that is at Cenchreae, 2that you receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and that you assist her in whatever matter she may need from you, for she herself also has been a helper of many, and of my own self.
3Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the assemblies of the Gentiles. 5Greet the assembly that is in their house. Greet Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the first fruits of Achaia to Christ. 6Greet Mary, who labored much for us. 7Greet Andronicus and Junia, my relatives and my fellow prisoners, who are notable among the apostles, who were also in Christ before me. 8Greet Amplias, my beloved in the Lord. 9Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and Stachys, my beloved. 10Greet Apelles, the approved in Christ. Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus. 11Greet Herodion, my kinsman. Greet them of the household of Narcissus, who are in the Lord. 12Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who labor in the Lord. Greet Persis, the beloved, who labored much in the Lord. 13Greet Rufus, the chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine. 14Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them. 15Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. 16Greet one another with a holy kiss. The assemblies of Christ greet you.
17Now I beg you, brothers, look out for those who are causing the divisions and occasions of stumbling, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and turn away from them. 18For those who are such don’t serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the innocent. 19For your obedience has become known to all. I rejoice therefore over you. But I desire to have you wise in that which is good, but innocent in that which is evil. 20And the God of peace will quickly crush Satan under your feet.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
21Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you, as do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my relatives. 22I, Tertius, who write the letter, greet you in the Lord. 23Gaius, my host and host of the whole assembly, greets you. Erastus, the treasurer of the city, greets you, as does Quartus, the brother. 24The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all! Amen. 25
A person by the name of Junia is mentioned in a closing greeting by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans. What is important about this greeting is three-fold, first the argument that Junia is a woman, and second, that this person is a Jewish relative of Paul, and third that Junia was an apostle, like Paul.
The word Junias (Ἰουνιᾶν Junian), in the Greek language may be either masculine or feminine, so one cannot be dogmatic that it refers to a man rather than a woman, but since all other parties in the passage are men, the lexical form speaks of (Junias, Ἰουνιᾶς, ᾶ, ὁ) rather than Junia (Junia, Ἰουνία, ας,) (BAG, Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, trans. William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich, p. 381. But it is also possible according to several modern commentators that the person is a woman, and possibly the wife of Andronicus, similar to Aquila and Priscilla. See Thomas R. Schreiner, Romans, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, pp. 795-796.
What is certain is that Junia was a Jew who was a relative of the apostle, along with Andronicus, and probably closely related to him as were Lucius, Jason and Sosipater in verse 21. At some time in the past the former had shared imprisonment with Paul. See John Murray, The Epistle to the Romans, p. 229.
Last of all is the matter of whether Junias or Junia is within the apostolic ranks. This is highly unlikely, and Paul uses the term apostle for those not designated as apostles by the Lord such as the twelve and himself, and the pair were probably evangelists or missionaries, according to Schreiner, p. 796.