female babies.41 It was very common to raise only one daughter per family, which, together with maternal mortality, contributed to a shortage of women during the Roman Empire that created a population crisis. Therefore, when Paul gives honor and recognition to so many female members of the Roman church in Romans 16, it stands out as a significant deviation from the cultural practice and ideal. A woman’s violation of the virtues of modesty and chastity brought great shame on her family and diminished