Bible Translators Portray the Woman Stephana as Male



15: I beseech you brethren you know the house of Stephana[1] that it is the firstfruits of Achaia and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints 16: That you submit unto such and to every one that helps with us and labors[2]


[1] The Textus Receptus (Greek Text of Stephens 1550, as seen in the Berry Interlinear) uses the feminine name, Stephana. But Berry deceptively adds an “s” to the end of the name, when he renders it in English See image below, in an attempt to mask the feminine proper noun. James Strong, also exhibits an aversion to the feminine, Stephanas (Original Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, using the Textus Receptus, Elzevir 1624[?])** passing the word off as a proper masculine noun. Strong counters the feminine appearance of the name, by claiming the stand-alone root word is probably a derivative and contraction of the masculine name, Stephanoo (G4737). Among scholars, there is strong consensus on masking the feminine nature of the name  Stephana/Stephanas by claiming it is, "perhaps," merely a nickname for the masculine Stephanoo or Stephanotos. The complementarian editors of the online Blue Letter Bible, go along with the deception. They admit to the etymology of Stephana, as a stand-alone root word, yet include the claim that it is “probably” derived from the name, Stephanoo (G4737). They mis-define the word as a, “proper masculine noun.” Rather than admit that Stephana is a woman, commentators prefer to appear ignorant of the fact that Stephana has always been a known female name. They go falsely claim the word is a mystery, even though it has always been a common name for Greek women. In modern Greece, the name Stephana is still in use. It is the feminine form of Stephanos, just as in English, Stephanie is the feminine of Stephan, Michael is the masculine of Michaela, Roberta is the feminine of Robert, so on and so forth…. The meaning of Greek Names .

**Both Stephens’ and Elzevir’s texts are called, Textus Receptus, because, as Berry wrote, “In the main, they are one and the same.”

[2]
Paul pleads with the Church at Corinth to cooperate with the house of Stephana. Was that necessary because Stephana was a woman? He reminds the Corinthians that she and her family are worthy of honor and cooperation. Despite this, it appears that scholars, both historical and contemporary, simply cannot accept this, and subject the Body of Christ to outright deception and deliberate mistranslation. Additionally, there can be no argument that verse :16 is a clear example of the Greek word, hypotasso (G5293), being used in the sense of mutual submission and cooperation among believers (with emphasis on cooperating with those who were of the house of Stephana). To say the word, hypotasso, is used here to mean a military-like chain of command, with Paul at the head (as something similar to a Pope), would be an exaggeration.


This is an excerpt from the Hungry Hearts Online Bible Commentary HHBC

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