Junia. — Or, possibly, “Junias” (for Junianus), a man’s name.
My kinsmen. — From the number of persons (six in all, and those not only in Rome but also in Greece and Macedonia) to whom the title is given in this chapter, it would seem as if the word “kinsmen” was to be taken in a wider sense than that which it usually bears. It probably means members of the same nation — Jew like myself.
Fellow-prisoners. — It is not at all known to what this refers. The only imprisonment of St. Paul recorded in the Acts after this date would be that at Philippi, but allusions such as those in 2 Corinthians 6:5; 2 Corinthians 11:23, at once show the defectiveness of the narrative, and point to occasions when the persons mentioned might easily have shared imprisonment with him.
Of note among the apostles. — An ambiguous expression, which might mean, and, judging by the word alone, would perhaps more naturally be taken to mean, “distinguished as Apostles themselves.” This sense is not to be disregarded as absolutely impossible, for the title “Apostles” does not appear to have been limited to the Twelve. It is decidedly more probable that James, the Lord’s brother, who is called an Apostle in Galatians 1:19, and elsewhere, was not identical with James the son of Alphæus. And, however this may be, there can be no question about Barnabas, who is called an Apostle in Acts 14:14. St. Paul himself seems to draw a distinction between “the Twelve” and “all the Apostles,” in 1 Corinthians 15:7. Still, on the whole, it seems best to suppose that the phrase “of note among the Apostles” means, “highly esteemed by the apostolic circle.”
Were in Christ.... — i.e., became Christians.