First Corinthians
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FIRST CORINTHIANS VOLUME 32 The Anchor Yale Bible is a fresh approach to the world’s greatest classic. Its ob- ject is to make the Bible accessible to the modern reader; its method is to arrive at the meaning of biblical literature through exact translation and extended ex- position, and to reconstruct the ancient setting of the biblical story, as well as the circumstances of its transcription and the characteristics of its transcribers. The Anchor Yale Bible is a project of international and interfaith scope: Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish scholars from many countries contribute indi- vidual volumes. The project is not sponsored by any ecclesiastical organization and is not intended to reflect any particular theological doctrine. Prepared under our joint supervision, The Anchor Yale Bible is an effort to make avail- able all the significant historical and linguistic knowledge which bears on the interpretation of the biblical record. The Anchor Yale Bible is aimed at the general reader with no special formal training in biblical studies; yet it is written with the most exacting standards of scholarship, reflecting the highest technical accomplishment. This project marks the beginning of a new era of cooperation among scholars in biblical research, thus forming a common body of knowledge to be shared by all. William Foxwell Albright David Noel Freedman general editors THE ANCHOR YALE BIBLE FIRST CORINTHIANS ◆ A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary JOSEPH A. FITZMYER, S.J. THE ANCHOR YALE BIBLE Yale University Press New Haven and London Disclaimer: Some images in the printed version of this book are not available for inclusion in the eBook. Copyright © 2008 by Yale University. All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publishers. Printed in the United States of America. Library of Congress Control Number: 2007939224 ISBN 978-0-300-14044-6 (cloth : alk. paper) A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To My Confrères of the Jesuit Community at Georgetown University This page intentionally left blank CONTENTS ◆ Preface xi Abbreviations xv Principal Abbreviations xv Grammatical Abbreviations xxiv Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Texts xxiv Other Abbreviations xxv FIRST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS: TRANSLATION Translation 3 INTRODUCTION I. Corinth: The City and Its History 21 II. The People of Corinth 30 III. Paul’s Relation to Corinth and Its Church 37 IV. The First Letter to the Corinthians 48 V. The Form of First Corinthians 54 VI. The Greek Text of First Corinthians 60 VII. Language and Style 64 VIII. Pauline Teaching in First Corinthians 69 A. Christology, Teaching about Christ Jesus 71 B. Theology Proper, Teaching about God 78 C. Pneumatology, Teaching about God’s Spirit 79 D. Ecclesiology, Teaching about the Church 81 E. Anthropology, Teaching about Human Beings 85 F. Eschatology 91 GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY Bibliography 97 viii Contents COMMENTARY AND NOTES I. Introduction (1:1–9) 121 1 Address and Greeting (1:1–3) 121 2 Thanksgiving (1:4–9) 129 II. Scandals Reported Orally to Paul about the Corinthian Church (1:10–6:20) 136 A. Scandal of Preacher-Factions: Its Fact and Roots (1:10–4:21) 136 3 a. Dissensions in the Corinthian Church (1:10–17) 136 4 b. False and Correct Ideas of Wisdom (1:18–31) 151 5 c. Paul Preaches God’s Wisdom Revealed through the Spirit (2:1–3:4) 168 6 d. False Idea of the Role of Preachers Corrected (3:5–17) 191 7 e. Admonition about Preachers and Wisdom (3:18–23) 205 8 f. Think of Paul and Apollos as Lowly Servants of Christ (4:1–21) 209 9 B. Scandal of Incest and Association with Immoral People (5:1–13) 228 10 C. Scandal of Christians Haling One Another into Pagan Courts (6:1–11) 247 11 D. Scandal of Prostitution (6:12–20) 260 III. Answers to Queries about Moral and Liturgical Problems (7:1–14:40) 273 A. Marriage and Celibacy in the Passing World (7:1–40) 273 12 a. Marriage Is Good, Celibacy Is Good: Their Obligations and Place (7:1–9) 273 13 b. The Lord’s Command: No Divorce (7:10–11) 287 14 c. Paul’s Advice: Peaceful Mixed Marriage, but Pauline Concession (7:12–16) 296 15 d. Basic Principle: Remain in the Status in Which You Were Called (7:17–24) 305 16 e. Advantage of Virginity (7:25–35) 312 17 f. Marriage of a Virgin in Certain Conditions (7:36–38) 322 18 g. Marriage of a Widow (7:39–40) 328 B. Freedom and the Eating of Meat Sacrificed to Idols (8:1–11:1) 330 19 a. Idol Meat and the Role of Knowledge and Love in Christian Fellowship (8:1–13) 330 20 b. Freedom and Restraint of an Apostle (9:1–27) 352 Contents ix 21 c. Israel’s Example Warns Christians Not to Partake of Pagan Temple Meals (10:1–22) 376 22 d. Dictates of Conscience about Market and Idol Meat (10:23–11:1) 397 C. Problems about Sacred Assemblies (11:2–34) 404 23 a. Women Worshipping with Uncovered Heads (11:2–16) 404 24 b. Abuses at the Celebration of the Lord’s Supper and Its Meaning (11:17–34) 425 D. Problems Caused by Charismatics in the Body of Christ (12:1–14:40) 453 25 a. Discernment of Spirits (12:1–3) 453 26 b. The Variety of Gifts and the One Spirit (12:4–11) 462 27 c. The Many Members of the One Body (12:12–31) 473 28 d. The More Excellent Way: Hymn to Love (13:1–13) 487 29 e. The Value of Certain Spiritual Gifts: Prophecy and Tongues (14:1–25) 507 30 f. Order in the Use of Gifts (14:26–33) 524 31 g. Women Speaking in Cultic Assemblies (14:34–36) 528 32 h. Due Order in All Things (14:37–40) 536 IV. Instruction about the Kerygma, Gospel, and Resurrection of the Dead (15:1–58) 539 33 A. The Preached Gospel and Kerygma about the Risen Christ (15:1–11) 539 B. Belief in the Resurrection of the Dead Rooted in Christ’s Resurrection (15:12–34) 557 34 a. If Christ Has Not Been Raised (15:12–19) 557 35 b. Christ Has Been Raised as the Firstfruits! (15:20–28) 567 36 c. Ad hominem Arguments for the Resurrection of the Dead (15:29–34) 577 C. How Will the Resurrection of the Dead Take Place? (15:35–49) 585 37 a. Analogies of Seeds, Bodies, and Splendor (15:35–41) 585 38 b. Application of the Analogies (15:42–49) 591 39 D. The Resurrection as Victory over Death through Christ (15:50–58) 601 V. Conclusion (16:1–24) 611 40 A. Collection for God’s Dedicated People (16:1–4) 611 41 B. Paul’s Travel Plans (16:5–9) 616 x Contents 42 C. Commendation of Timothy and Apollos (16:10–12) 621 43 D. Concluding Exhortation (16:13–18) 623 44 E. Greetings and Final Farewell (16:19–24) 626 Index of Commentators and Modern Authors 635 Index of Subjects 654 PREFACE ◆ The First Letter to the Corinthians is not Paul’s most important writing. That de- scription belongs to his letter to the Romans, on which I have already commented in this series of the Anchor Bible. First Corinthians, however, is the letter in the Pauline corpus that reveals the Apostle at his best, for it shows him coping realisti- cally with problems that have arisen in the Christian community that he founded in that important city in the eastern Mediterranean world of his time. It is only part of his correspondence with Corinthian Christians, because he also wrote Second Corinthians, which likewise reveals aspects of his ministry. That letter, however, is much more personal, and it may even be a composite of missives that he sent to the church of Corinth. First Corinthians is less personal and more topi- cally oriented, as Paul comments on scandals that have been reported to him in that Christian community, answers queries sent to him by Corinthian Christians or reacts to problems that he has heard about in moral and liturgical matters, and instructs them about the resurrection of the dead and its relation to the Christian kerygma and gospel. The multiple topics that Paul addresses in this letter that he sends to Corin- thian Christians have produced in recent decades a cascade of commentaries, monographs, and articles dealing with all their details. The excellent commen- tary on First Corinthians by the German New Testament scholar, Wolfgang Schrage, is a tour de force, but its four stout volumes, published in the course of a decade (1991–2001), are an accomplishment that few scholars will ever emulate. By contrast, the aim of this modest commentary on First Corinthians is to discuss the topics with which Paul deals in a less comprehensive way in imitation of many other recent commentators of varying language and background. My intention has been to write a commentary of classic proportions like that on the Letter to the Romans for the modern reader of the twenty-first century.