Dr. Nijay K. Gupta, professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Lisle, Illinois discussed the topic of his book, “Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught, and Ministered in the Early Church” to talk about significant scripture and women. He joined the Pepperdine community at Stauffer Chapel on March 6, to bring attention to important women in the bible.
Gupta’s lecture marked the 19th annual Frank Pack of the Distinguished Christian Scholar Lectures at Pepperdine.
The lecture began with Connie Horton, vice president of Student Affairs, leading the attendees in prayer.
Gupta began his lecture with a story about Deborah Sampson, whom he first learned about through one of his daughter’s school projects. Gupta discussed how Sampson disguised herself as a man so she could fight as a soldier in the Revolutionary War.
“Deborah Sampson was inspired to fight for freedom but knew she could not do so as a woman,” Gupta said.
Gupta related Sampson to highlight an ancient Jewish woman, Junia of Rome, to discuss the importance they both share as leaders.
“Both were bold and courageous,” Gupta said. “Both were willing to sacrifice their lives for what they believed and believed that it mattered.”
Gupta read Romans 16:1-7 and described how Paul acknowledges 30 different people. Gupta said Paul included a variety of women like Phoebe, Priscilla, Tryphena, Tryphosa and more.
“These people are your role models,” Gupta said. “And, did you know about half of the people he mentions are women?”
Gupta continued his lecture by alluding to the confusion in Bible translations about whether Junia was a woman or a man.
“The vast majority of English translations of the late 19th century and early 20th treated this person as a man,” Gupta said.
Through Romans 16, Gupta said that 75% of the early translations had “Junius” instead of the female translation, “Junia.” Gupta said English translations from 1966 to now have changed the translation of this name to be female.
Gupta also discussed Paul’s reference to Junia as an apostle with inclusive and exclusive views of how she is portrayed. He said that men throughout time have tried to strip her of her office and title.
“The inclusive view understands Junia as an apostle,” Gupta said. “The exclusive view says she is not; the apostles admire her, but she is not among them.”
Gupta talked about the darkness and ugliness of ancient criminal custody in Rome and why women like Junia and Andronicus were held in prison.
“The most likely option is that this apostolic duo was put in custody for inciting a public disturbance while preaching the gospel in a public setting,” Gupta said.
Gupta shared the importance Paul gave to Junia preaching the Gospel and suffering the consequences.
“It’s a shame that there have been attempts by Christians over the last two millennia to erase parts of her identity and story,” Gupta said. “But, it’s never too late to give her the commendation she deserves like Paul did.”
Two student attendees at the lecture, juniors Megan La Camera and Catherine Davis, said they both heard about this lecture from their Great Books classes.
La Camera said the lecture was insightful and offered valuable information about Junia.
“The most important thing I took away was recognizing Junia as a woman in the Bible and how she suffered along with Paul,” La Camera said.
Davis said she grew up in a conservative, traditional Church of Christ family, in which her father emphasized the idea of women being submissive to their husbands and the minimal role of women in the church. So, she found it interesting and encouraging to learn about female apostles.
“I thought it was cool to listen to a whole lecture about a prominent female figure in scripture,” Davis said.
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Contact Viviana Diaz via email: viviana.diaz@pepperdine.edu
