Dialogismos 3 (2019) 1-26 The Metaphor of Leaven in 1 Corinthians 5 ESTHER G. CEN
[email protected] McMaster Divinity College1 This article uses a combination of metaphorical analytic methods (particularly blending theory) and the sociolinguistic notion of intertextuality to demonstrate that Paul uses not only Hebrew Scriptures and Second Temple Literature allusions but also shared knowledge based on physical experience and cultural contexts to persuade the Corinthian church of the harmful effects of tolerating moral impurity within the community and the necessity of removing it (1 Cor 5). Keywords: Metaphor, Intertextuality, Leaven, Moral Purity, 1 Corinthians Introduction We all use metaphors in one way or another, but as soon as a metaphor becomes the object of study, things become complicated.2 In general, the power of metaphor is to create room for imagination and to stimulate emotion. Compared with metaphor studies in other fields such as communication, biblical metaphor 1 I want to thank Dr. Cynthia L. Westfall, Associate Professor of New Testament at McMaster Divinity College, for her input on this study. This essay was originally presented in the “Intertextuality in the New Testament” program unit session at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in Denver, CO, Nov. 2018. 2 For centuries, metaphor theory was included in the study of rhetoric. Ancient rhetoric contained three components: argumentation, style, and composition. Probably beginning with Aristotle, rhetoric was reduced to a theory of style of persuasion, and in particular, metaphor was reduced to a gifted use of word play. The first paradigm shift in metaphor studies occurred when the study of the use of language became significant.