Joanna, wife of Chuza

Joanna (Greek: Ἰωάννα γυνὴ Χουζᾶ) is a woman mentioned in the gospels who was healed by Jesus and later supported him and his disciples in their travels, one of the women recorded in the Gospel of Luke as accompanying Jesus and the twelve. She was the wife of Chuza, who managed the household of Herod Antipas, the king of Galilee. Her name means "Yahweh has been gracious",^[1] a variation of the name "Anna" which means "grace" or "favor".

She is recognized as a saint in the Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and Roman Catholic traditions.

Joanna as one of Luke's witnesses

Joanna is shown as the wife of Chuza, steward to Herod Antipas while being listed as one of the women who "had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities" who accompanied Jesus and the Apostles, and "provided for Him from their substance" in Luke 8:2–3. Theologian Adrian Hastings suggested that she could have been one of Luke's sources for information regarding the Herodian court.^[2] As the wife of an important court official, she would have had sufficient means needed to travel and contribute to the support of Jesus and the disciples.

She may be among "the other women" mentioned in Luke 24:10, who, along with Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James, took spices to Jesus' tomb and found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. Though no gospel explicitly names her among the women at the tomb, it is possible that Joanna could have been among the first witnesses to Jesus' Resurrection.

Myrrhbearer

In Orthodox tradition, she is honored as Saint Joanna the Myrrhbearer (Greek Αγία Ιωάννα η Μυροφόρος) and is commemorated among the eight women who carried myrrh on the "Sunday of the Myrrhbearers", two Sundays after Pascha (Orthodox Easter). From this commemoration, in the revised Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod she is commemorated as one of Myrrhbearers on August 3 together with Mary, the Mother of James the less and Jude and Salome.^[3]

Although not mentioned by name, Joanna is most likely counted as one of the women who joined the disciples and Mary, the mother of the Lord, in the upper room in prayer. She was among the group of 120 who chose Matthias to fill the vacancy that was left by Judas, as well as being present on the Day of Pentecost.^[4]

Identification with Junia

Both Richard J. Bauckham and Ben Witherington III conclude that the disciple Joanna is the same woman as the Christian Junia mentioned by Paul in his Epistle to the Romans (Romans 16:7). Most early Greek manuscripts list the name Junia as feminine, with the consensus of New Testament scholarship agreeing that Junia was a woman.^[5]

While this is possible, in Romans 16:7 Junia is mentioned along with Andronicus so they may be a husband and wife team like Priscilla and Aquila.^[6] If that is the case, it would be unlikely that "Junia" is another name for Joanna since Joanna's husband, according to Luke 8:3, was Chuza.

Joanna granddaughter of Theophilus

An ossuary has been discovered bearing the inscription, "Johanna, granddaughter of Theophilus, the High Priest."^[7]

In popular culture

• In the 2015 television miniseries Killing Jesus Rotem Zissman-Cohen plays Joanna.^[8]
• In the 2015 television miniseries A.D. The Bible Continues, Joanna is portrayed by Farzana Dua Elahe.^[8]

See also

• Myrrhbearers
• Women in the Bible

Notes

Further reading

• Lockyer, Herbert. All the Women of the Bible

References

• Bauckham, Richard J., Gospel Women (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2002), pp. 109–202.
• Witherington, Ben, III, "Joanna: Apostle of the Lord — or Jailbait?", Bible Review, Spring 2005, pp. 12–14+

External links

• Character Study of Joanna
• Icon of St. Joanna the Myrrh-Bearer