Paul and women (2)

Paul got along well with women. In his understanding of the “new way” of Christ, women deserved respect, wives were to be loved by their husbands, and the ladies were not excluded from roles in ministry. In Romans 16 Paul describes “Phoebe, my sister” as a minister of the church. He sends greetings to the husband and wife team Aquila and Prisca, calling them his co-workers in Christ. He also gives honorable mention to Andronicus and Junia whom he describes as “prominent among the apostles.” Seeming to call Junia an apostle, Paul has caused trouble for many interpreters. Is Paul implying that he considered her an apostle? Some translators were so sure that Junia must be a man that they added an ‘s’ to her name, but historian Garry Wills insists that the name “Junias” cannot be found in ancient literature anywhere.