I have a scripture in Colossians 4: 15ESV
English Standard Version
Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.
Some commentarians (Wescott & Hort) says matter of factly that the name in the Greek is Nympha (feminine).
The KJV says 'Nymphas' but that is incorrect. Several scholars have searched ancient Greek texts, books, histories, etc., But have never found the name Nymphas, but have found Nympha.
We can check historical context and prove this to be true.
The word 'nymph' has a special meaning all its own.
From Wikipedia:
Nympha may refer to:
- another term for a chrysalis
- the labia minora (often in plural, nymphae)
- Nympha (Ninfa), a 5th-century virgin Christian martyr from Palermo
In Merriam webster's it says:
Definition of nympha
1
: NYMPH sense 3
2nymphae plural [New Latin, from Latin, plural of
nympha nymph]
: LABIA MINORA
3[New Latin, from
nymphae labia minora]
: one of the thickened marginal processes behind the beak of many bivalves where the ligament is attached (the ladies know what this is)
Definition of nymph
1
: any of the minor divinities of nature in classical mythology represented as beautiful maidens dwelling in the mountains, forests, trees, and waters
2
: GIRLFair nymphs, and well-dressed youths around her shone …— Alexander Pope
3
: any of various immature insectsespecially
: a
larva of an insect (such as a grasshopper, true bug, or mayfly) with incomplete (see
INCOMPLETE sense 3) metamorphosis (see
METAMORPHOSIS sense 2) that differs from the imago (see
IMAGO sense 1) especially in size and in its incompletely developed wings and
genitalia
The word nymph as we know it, from Wikipedia: A
nymph (Greek: νύμφη, nýmphē; Ancient: [nýmpʰɛː], Modern: [nímfi]) in ancient Greek folklore is a
minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses,
nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are typically tied to a specific place or landform, and are
usually depicted as beautiful maidens.
So, nearly 95% of definitions declare that anything with 'nymph' in it to be female.
My question is HOW or WHY would a man in ancient Greece name his son 'Nymphas'?
Paul named her separately because she had church in her house. It didn't name a man pastor, otherwise Paul would have said, "Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Joe Smith, the minister of the church in Nypha's house".
Nypha was the pastor.