"Elders" Were Not Just Men

As has been shown from the O.T. examples, there were "elders" and "wise women" in just the same manner as male elders and leaders. Indeed, in the New Testament the term used as "elder" merely means "older people" and the same term or its relative is used when referring to both old men and old women. In Acts 2.17 when Peter quotes the prophet Joel, "your old men shall dream dreams..." it is "your presbuteros shall dream....". There is no formal "office" suggested in many of these texts as well..