diff --git a/build.gradle b/build.gradle
index e52732e8a82..5a034e054aa 100644
--- a/build.gradle
+++ b/build.gradle
@@ -132,6 +132,11 @@ subprojects {
 
     dependencies {
         testImplementation 'ch.qos.logback:logback-classic:1.3.14'
+        if (project != project(':testcontainers')) {
+            // in order to compile classes which extend GenericContainer, etc
+            compileOnly libs.junit4
+            testImplementation libs.junit4
+        }
     }
 
     checkstyle {
diff --git a/core/build.gradle b/core/build.gradle
index 4dad6c61131..5b71788dadd 100644
--- a/core/build.gradle
+++ b/core/build.gradle
@@ -69,7 +69,8 @@ configurations.all {
 }
 
 dependencies {
-    api 'junit:junit:4.13.2'
+    // originally was api scope, but that's problematic for projects using junit 5
+    implementation libs.junit4
     api 'org.slf4j:slf4j-api:1.7.36'
     compileOnly 'org.jetbrains:annotations:24.1.0'
     testCompileOnly 'org.jetbrains:annotations:24.1.0'
diff --git a/gradle/libs.versions.toml b/gradle/libs.versions.toml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..fbb4468639f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gradle/libs.versions.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+[libraries]
+junit4 = { group = "junit", name = "junit", version = "4.13.2" }
diff --git a/gradle/publishing.gradle b/gradle/publishing.gradle
index 618ada345cc..bede01b3661 100644
--- a/gradle/publishing.gradle
+++ b/gradle/publishing.gradle
@@ -60,6 +60,8 @@ publishing {
                 def apiDeps= project.configurations.api.resolvedConfiguration.firstLevelModuleDependencies
                 def providedDeps = project.configurations.provided.resolvedConfiguration.firstLevelModuleDependencies
                 def newApiDeps = apiDeps - providedDeps
+                def shaded = project.configurations.shaded.resolvedConfiguration.firstLevelModuleDependencies
+                def runtimeDeps = project.configurations.runtimeClasspath.resolvedConfiguration.firstLevelModuleDependencies - apiDeps - providedDeps - shaded
 
                 def addDependencies = { Set<ResolvedDependency> resolvedDependencies, scope ->
                     for (dependency in resolvedDependencies) {
@@ -90,6 +92,7 @@ publishing {
                 }
                 addDependencies(newApiDeps, 'compile')
                 addDependencies(providedDeps, 'provided')
+                addDependencies(runtimeDeps, 'runtime')
             }
         }
     }