1 Cor 9,5: The Women of the Apostles (*) The women of the apostles that Paul mentions in 1 Cor 9,5 could have played an important role in the growth of earliest Christianity. Although this claim has appeared elsewhere, I will develop an extended argument to strengthen the position. Several old but still present strands in the history of interpretation, Paul’s references to missionary couples, his linguistic usage, and some similar marriages in ancient Greco-Roman culture illuminate the probable function of the women as missionary assistants of the apostles. History of interpretation (or reception) does need an apologia pro vita sua for modern scholars. Instead of moving immediately from Paul’s text to modern research, a short detour through the past can strengthen and enrich scholarly understanding of both the problems and possibilities of the biblical material (1). In the case of 1 Cor 9,5 four major questions have emerged. (1.) Did the women participate in the mission? (2.) Did they follow the apostles to be instructed? (3.) Or were they just for material support (2)? (4.) Were the women wives (3)? The last question is related to the historical issue of Peter’s wife and children (if any). Views on the celibacy of clerics have been closely related to the last two questions (4). With the history of the text’s reception as a resource, 1 Cor 9,5 becomes a rich source instead of a text that the commentator glosses quickly. Below I will briefly consider the question of Cephas’ identity, discuss the text-critical evidence, and then look at the major strands in the past understanding of the women and their marriages (or not) to the (*) I read an earlier version of this paper at the 2006 SNTS meeting in Aberdeen. I am grateful to Profs. Beverly Gaventa, Martin Hengel, Birger Olsson, and many others for their critical comments. For bibliographical help, I thank Profs. Jacques Gres-Gayer, Frank Matera, and Nelson Minnich. (1) Cf the prolific use of interpretive history made by U. LUZ, Das Evangelium nach Matthäus (EKK 1; Zurich 1985-2002). Dates below are primarily from ODCC3. (2) The New Jerusalem Bible’s note to 9,5 remarks that the wives were “for the purpose of attending to their material welfare”. (3) The New Jerusalem Bible, NAB, and New Revised Standard Version all assume they were wives. (4) For a convenient history cf P. DELHAYE, “Celibacy, Clerical, History of”, NCE II, 322-328.