The Greek word προστάτις (prostatis) is used in Rom. 16:2 to describe Phoebe as a “help”—probably following Jerome’s influential Latin Vulgate translation,“astiti”meaning one who “assists.” Rom. 16:1, 2 says,“I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any helpshe may need from you, for she has been a great helpto many people, including me”[emphasis added]. A very good argument can be made that “help”at the end of verse 2 should have been translated as “leader, manager,”or even “ruler.”It is a different Greek word than the one translated “help”earlier in the verse (πρᾶγμα, pragma). The second word translated “help”(προστάτις, prostatis) literally means to “stand in front of”or to “stand at the head of.”For example, in 1 Tim. 5:17 the same word, referring to an elder, is translated “direct the church” or“rule.”[1]How can one not strongly suspect gender bias in these very different translations of the same word by the same author apparently based only on whether they refer to a male or a female?
Similarly, with regard to Phoebe, choosing to translate διάκονον(diakonon)as “servant”in 16:1 rather than “deacon”probably reflects gender bias by not portraying her as holding the office of deacon in the Cenchrean church.[2]Only a very few contemporary translations appropriately designate Phoebe as “a deacon”(e.g. The NRSV and NLT). The same Greek word is frequently used in the New Testament regarding the ministry of men including Timothy (Acts 19:22; 1 Thess. 3:2), Erastus (Acts 19:22), Tychicus (Eph. 6:21), and Archippus (Col. 4:17). More significantly the word is used in reference to the apostolic ministry of Jesus’ twelve apostles (Acts 1:17, 25) and of Paul’s ministry as an apostle (Acts 21:19; Rom. 11:13; 2 Cor. 4:1; 6:3; Col. 1:23, 25; and 1 Tim. 1:12).
The word diakonon conveys service on behalf of others ranging from a household servant, one who provides table service, and one who carries out the work of a deacon, all the way to more general and official church ministry and even the office of an apostle. Is it possible that gender bias may play a conscious or subconscious role in deciding whether to translate diakononregarding Phoebe as “a servant” (NIV, ESV, KJV, NKJV, NLT, NASB, ASV), “a helper” (NCV), or as “representative” (The Message). Rarely does an English version call Phoebe “a deacon” (NRSV, GWT), or “deaconess”(RSV). But no English translation refers to her “a minister.” How is it that in the only New Testament passage where diakononis used of a female, no translation renders it as “minister” though such a rendering is common in English translations when referring to at least a half-dozen men? Is it a foregone conclusion that a woman could not be a “minister” like men?
[1]Elizabeth A. McCabe, “A Reexamination of Phoebe as a ‘Diakonas’ and ‘Prostatis’: Exposing the Inaccuracies of English Translations,”Society of Biblical Literature,https://www.sbl-site.org/publications/article.aspx?articleId=830.
[2]Ibid.
