SUMMARY PAUL'S TEACHING OF THE LORD'S SUPPER: A SOCIO-HISTORICAL STUDY OF THE PAULINE ACCOUNT OF THE LAST SUPPER AND ITS GRAECO-ROMAN BACKGROUND by P. Coutsoumpos Supervisor: Ralph P. Martin PAUL'S TEACHING OF THE LORDS SUPPER: A SOCIO-HISTORICAL STUDY OF THE PAULINE ACCOUNT OF THE LAST SUPPER AND ITS GRAECO-ROMAN BACKGROUND A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Biblical Studies Faculty of Arts The University of Sheffield By Panayolis Coutsoumpos June 1996 SUMMARY OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH THESIS THE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD Title: Paul's Teaching of the Lord's Supper: A Socio -Historical Study of the Pauline Account of the Last Supper and its Graeco-Roman Background Name of Researcher: Panayotis Coutsoumpos Name and Degree of Faculty: Ralph P. Martin, Ph.D. Date Completed: June 1996 The Lord's Supper was understood as a memorial of Christ's sacrificial death on the basis of a tradition handed down to the Corinthians by Paul, who reminded them of its real significance based on Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples. Paul makes it clear that the Corinthians are not maintaining the Christian tradition associated with the Lord's Supper. The main focus in 1 Corinthians 11 is behaviour that calls for correction. The problem is that socio-cultural customs prevailed over Christian distinctives at the Meal. The Corinthians behaved in accordance with the social norms of the Graeco-Roman society. In I Corinthians 11: 17-26 Paul highlights and summarizes directives to regulate the church's practice. A careful exegesis of these verses provides a basis for the explanation of the whole of chapter 11. The examination of previous works in chapters 2 and 3 indicates that scholars disagree on the influence of mystery religious meals and social meals in the Graeco- Roman world on the Lord's Supper. However, the social customs in the church demonstrate that the Corinthian practice of the Lord's Supper was in tune with the common practice of the Graeco-Roman society. For instance, the eranos meal (a common social meal in the Hellenistic world) at Corinth was a "potluck dinner. " Chapter 4 attempts to reconstruct aspects of the social setting that affected Corinthian attitudes. For both the weak and the strong Christians, eating meat sacrificed to idols created problems (I Cor. 8,10). A gluttony and drunkenness on the part of the richer and socially more powerful members created tension between groups. Paul attempted to correct the problem and promote social integration rather than divisiveness. The exegesis in chapters 5 and 6 suggests that the Lord's Supper as a rite was not intended to be a personal or social meal only for a special group, but a meal for the benefit and fellowship of the whole church. As it has been proposed in this thesis, the tension at the Lord's Supper in the Corinthian Church was mainly caused by the difficulty of some of the members' adapting to their new social and religious community. by Panayotis Coutsoumpos, 1996 All Rights Reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ABBREVIATIONS CHAPrERS 1. INTRODUCTION TO AND OVERVIEW OF THIS STUDY Statementof the Problem I The Significanceof the Problem 4 General Introduction to this Study 5 The Limits of the Study: Materials to Be Considered 8 The Purposeof this Section 8 1 Corinthians 11:17-26 9 1 Corinthians 10:14-22 11 1 Corinthians 8: 1-13 13 Other Texts Relevantto This Thesis 15 2. SACRED MEALS IN THE GRAECO-ROMAN WORLD AND THEIR POSSIBLE INFLUENCE ON THE PAULINE LORD'S SUPPER 16 Introduction 16 The Sacrificial Meal 20 The Sionificanceof the Cultic Meals 24 The "Table of the Lord" or-Fable of Demons" 27 Pa(yanSacred Meals in the Graeco-RomanWorld 31 The Mystery Cult at Eleusis 31 The Mystery Cult of Dionysus 33 The Mystery Cult of Mithras 38 The Mystery Cult of Isis and Serapis 41 Mystery-Religions as Part of Paul's Environment 49 Other Backgroundsfrom Hellenistic Jewish Sources 52 Introduction: A Note on Jewish Meals 52 Story Joseph Asenath of and -56 Philo and the Therapeutae 62 The Christian SacredMeal 67 Alleged Similarities Betweenthe Paul'sLord's Supperand PaganMeals 67 Summary 72 3. SOCIAL MEALS IN THE GRAECO-ROMAN WORLD 77 Introduction 77 The Greek Meal: Deipnon Symposia 78 The Roman Meal: Cena or (ýonvivium 87 The Graeco-Roman Eranos Meal 92 The Christian Eranos Meal at Corinth 98 Social Stratification and Rank in Graeco-Roman Society 103 Summary 107 4. THE SOCIAL SETTING IN THE CORINTHIAN CHURCH Ito Introduction to Sociology and the Study of Early Christianity 110 Social Status of the Early Christians 113 The Older Viewpoint Regarding the Christian Social Status 115 The Newer Viewpoint Regarding the Christian Social Status 117 Social Stratification of the Corinthian Community and Church 124 Social Structure of the City of Corinth 124 Evidence of the Social Status of the Corinthian Church 127 Social Context of Paul's Ministry and Mission 132 Social Significance of the House Churches 139 The Social Dilemma of the "Stronc," and the "Weak" in the Church at Corinth 144 Summary 153 5. THE PROBLEM OF THE MEAT SACRIFICED TO IDOLS AND PAUL'S TREATMENT OF THE FELLOWSHIP MEAL IN I COR. 10:14-22 157 Introduction to the Problem in Corinth 157 Idolatry in the Jewish and Christian Context 161 Social Interpretation of the Cultic Meals and the "Parties" at Corinth 170 Social Cultic Meals 170 The "Parties" at Corinth 174 Paul's Ethical Response 181 Paul's Treatment of the Fellowship Meal: I Cor. 10: 14-22 186 Summary 198 6. PAUL'S ACCOUNT OF THE LAST SUPPER IN I COR. 11: 17-26: THE SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MEAL 200 Introduction and Aim of This Chapter 200 The Lord's Supper at Corinth 201 The Church Meal and Its Social Context 203 Two Different Types of Eucharistic Meals? 207 Paul's Account of the Last Supper in I Cor. 11: 17-26 212 The Divisions at Corinth 214 The Social Private Meal 220 Paul's Tradition of the Last Supper 226 The Saying over the Bread 235 The Saying over the Cup 238 The Proclamation and the Parousia 243 Christological Nature of the Lord's Supper 255 Willi Marxsen's Theory 256 The Lord's Supper and Its Christological Meaning 261 Summary 270 CONCLUSION 27.3 BIBLIOGRAPHY 284 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to expressmy deepappreciation to all of those who have helped me in the preparation of this thesis. I am especially indebted to ProfessorRalph P. Martin under whosedirection and patiencethe researchwas conducted. He not only provided me with the initial idea for this study, but also with invaluableinsights in the courseof its preparation; no one could have a better Doktorvater. I want also to express my appreciation to ProfessorHerold Weiss, who was never too busy to help me, and to Drs. Leona G. Running, W. Whidden and IsaacJ. Canalesfor their special efforts in the proofreadingof the thesis. Further thanks are due to the staff of Sheffield University Library and to the Interloan Departmentfor their customaryefficiency in the areaof interlibrary loan. I am especially grateful to Mr. M. H. Soper, the director of the library at Andrews University, and Mr. Warren Johns, the Seminary Librarian, for allowing me to use the facilities. I wish to acknowledge the tremendous debt owed to Elder Manuel Vasquez who has encouraged me in more ways than one throughout the preparation of this thesis. I thank my children, Otis and Alex, for their patience. And my wife, Naomi, who was my typist and without whose help this project could not have succeeded. Above all, I solely dedicate this thesis to God: SOLI DEO GLORIA. i ABBREVIATIONS Abbreviations of biblical, archaeological and early patristic writings follow those listed in the "Instructions for Contributors, " JBL 107 (1988): 584-587. Reference to Philo texts follow the ones given in R. Radice and D. T. Runia, Philo of Alexandria: An Annotated Bibliography, 1937-1986 (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1988), xxxi. Reference to classical texts follow the list in the Oxford Classical Dictionary (Oxford: Clarendon, 1949), ix-xix. Below are abbreviations of journal, series, and refercnce-book titles. AB Anchor Bible ABD Anchor Bible Dictionary ABR Australian Biblical Review Affirmation Affirmation AnBib Analecta biblica ANRW Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt BA Biblical Archaeologist BAGD W. Bauer, W. F. Amdt, F. W. Gingrich, and F. W. Danker, A Greek-Lexicon of New Testament and Otlwr Early Christian Literature Bib Biblica BR Biblical Research BZ Biblische Zeitschrift CBQ CatIzolicBiblical Quarterly DPL R. P. Martin, G. Hawthorne and D. Reid (eds.), Dictionary of Paul and His Letters EDNT H. Balz and G. Schneider(eds. ), Exegetical Dictiomry of the New Testament Exp Tim Expository Times ii Hesp Hesperia HfbJ Hibbert Journal Hist. eccl. Historia ecclesiastica HTR Harvard 71eological Review IBD J. D. Douglas and N. Hillyer (eds.), Illustrated Bible Dictionary Int Interpretation JA Joseph and Asenath JBC R. E. Brown et al. (eds.), The Jerome Biblical Commentary JBL Journal of Biblical Literature JEA Journal of Egyptian Archaeology JHS Journal of Hellenic Studies Jis Journal of Jewish Studies JRH Journal of Religious History JSNT Journalfor the Study of the New Testament JTS Journal of 7heological Studies LCL Loeb Classical Library NBD New Bible Dictionary NewDocs G. H. R. Horsley (ed. ), New Documents Illustrating Early Christianity NIDNTT C. Brown (ed. ), The New International Dictionary of New Testament 77teology -Nov T Novum Testamentum NT New Testament NTS New Testament Studies iii OCD Oxford ClassicalDictionary CT Old Testament POXY Oxyrhynchus Papyri RA Revue d'assyriologie et d'arch&logie orientale RB Revue Biblique ReISRev Religious Studies Review RevExp Review and Erpositor RevistB Revista Biblica RevQ Revue de Qumrdn SBLDS Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series SBLSP Society of Biblical Literature Seminar Papers SCHNT Studia ad Corpus Hellenisticum Novi Testamenti SE Studia Evangelica SJT Scottish Journal of Theology Str-B (H.