Second Corinthians

Ernest Best

Westminster John Knox Press, 1987 - 142 pages

 This commentary, a part of the Interpretation series, explores the book of Second Corinthians.Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching is a distinctive resource for those who interpret the Bible in the church. Planned and written specifically for teaching and preaching needs, this critically acclaimed biblical commentary is a major contribution to scholarship and ministry.

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An End to Enmity: Paul and the "Wrongdoer" of Second Corinthians

L. L. Welborn

De Gruyter, 2011-10-15 - 570 pages

This book casts light upon the shadowy figure of the wrongdoer in Second Corinthians, disclosing the type of offence that was committed and the relationship of the wrongdoer to Paul and to the Corinthians. Drawing upon the social and rhetorical conventions that governed friendship, enmity and reconciliation in the Greco-Roman world, the book offers an hypothesis regarding the identity of the wrongdoer and reconstructs the history of Paul's relationship with an influential convert to Christianity at Corinth.

 

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1 Corinthians

 

Richard A. Horsley

Abingdon Press, 1998 - 240 pages

This commentary highlights both the socio-political context of 1 Corinthians and the clash of significantly different religious viewpoints represented by Paul and the congregation he had founded in Corinth. In particular, Richard Horsley shows that this letter provides a window through which one may view the tension between the Corinthians' interest in cultivating individual spirituality and the apostle's concern for building up a social-religious community devoted to the common advantage, for the flourishing both of personal dignity and a humanizing solidarity.

 

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Baptism on Account of the Dead (1 Cor: 15:29): An Act of Faith in the Resurrection

 

Michael F. Hull

BRILL, 2005 - 327 pages

Although 1 Cor 15:29 ("Otherwise what are they to do, who have themselves baptized on account of the dead? If the dead are not really raised, why are they baptized on account of them?") has received a vast amount of attention in the biblical academy, there is no scholarly consensus as to its meaning. In order to break the current impasse, this volume reviews and critiques the over forty different interpretations of 15:29, then examines the verse anew in terms of its literary, historical, and theological contexts within the writings of Paul. On the basis of this study, Hull concludes that 1 Cor 15:29 is a dual rhetorical question in which Paul holds up one group within the Corinthian community as a laudable example for the entire community. Specifically, those who have themselves baptized are undergoing the rite of baptism because of their steadfast faith in the resurrection of Christ and, concomitantly, of Christians. They undergo the rite of baptism "on account of the dead"-on account of the fact that the dead are destined for life-and thus shame the arrogance and ignorance of those among the Corinthians who deny the resurrection (1 Cor 15:12)

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Keys to First Corinthians: Revisiting the Major Issues

 

Jerome Murphy-O'Connor

Oxford University Press, 2009-05-15  307 pages

 

Jerome Murphy-O'Connor's reputation as a recognized expert on the Corinthian correspondence has been built on the original solutions he has offered to perennial problems. Brought together for the first time in one volume, each of the sixteen articles anthologised here deals with one or more verses in 1 Corinthians that have baffled scholars for generations. Throughout the collection the author dialogues with the opinions of colleagues, responding to and building on their accurate observations, and explaining in detail why certain solutions are viable whilst others are implausible.
A newly written 'reception history' has been appended to each article to bring the collection completely up to date. Although not a commentary on 1 Corinthians, this volume deals thoroughly with all the major problems of the most interesting of the Pauline letters.

 

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Paul on Marriage and Celibacy: The Hellenistic Background of 1 Corinthians 7

 

Will Deming

Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004 - 271 pages

 

Foreword by Raymond F. Collins Paul is traditionally seen as one of the founders of Christian sexual asceticism. As early as the second century C.E. church leaders looked to him as a model for their lives of abstinence. But is this a correct reading of Paul? What exactly did Paul teach on the subjects of marriage and celibacy? Will Deming here answers these questions -- often in provocative new ways.By placing Paul's statements on marriage and celibacy against the backdrop of ancient Hellenistic society, Deming constructs a coherent picture of Paul's views. He shows that the conceptual world in which Paul lived and wrote had substantially vanished by 100 C.E., and terms like "sin," "body," "sex," and "holiness" began to acquire moral implications quite unlike those Paul knew. Paul conceived of marriage as asocial obligation that had the potential of distracting Christians fromChrist. For him, celibacy was the single life, free from such distraction, not a life of saintly denial. Sex, in turn, was not sinful but natural, and sex within marriage was both proper and necessary.

 

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Dangerous Food: I Corinthians 8-10 in its Context

 

Peter David Gooch,

Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press, 1993 -178 pages

Recognizing the social meaning of food and meals in Greco-Roman culture and, in particular, the social meaning of idol-food, is an integral part of understanding the impact of Paul's instructions to the Christian community at Corinth regarding the consumption of idol-food. Shared meals were a central feature of social intercourse in Greco-Roman culture. Meals and food were markers of social status, and participation at meals was the main means of establishing and maintaining social relations. Participation in public rites (and sharing the meals which ensued) was a requirement of holding public office.
The social consequences of refusing to eat idol-food would be extreme. Christians might not attend weddings, funerals, celebrations in honour of birthdays, or even formal banquets without encountering idol-food. In this extended reading of 1 Corinthians 8:1-11:1, Paul's response to the Corinthian Christians' query concerning food offered to idols, Gooch uses a social-historical approach, combining historical methods of source, literary and redaction criticism, and newer applications of anthropological and sociological methods to determine what idol-food was, and what it meant in that place at that time to eat or avoid it. In opposition to a well-entrenched scholarly consensus, Gooch claims that although Paul had abandoned purity rules concerning food, he would not abandon Judaism's cultural and religious understanding concerning idol-food.
On the basis of his reconstruction of Paul's letter in which he urged the Corinthian Christians to avoid any food infected by non-Christian rites, Gooch argues that the Corinthians rejected Paul's instructions to avoid facing significant social liabilities.

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Revealing the Mysterion: The Use of Mystery in Daniel and Second Temple Judaism with its Bearing on First Corinthians

Benjamin L. Gladd

Walter de Gruyter, 2008 - 351 pages

Scholars largely agree that the NT term 'mysterion' is a terminus technicus, originating from Daniel. This project traces the word in the Dead Sea Scrolls and other sectors of Judaism. Like Daniel, the term consistently retains eschatological connotations. The monograph then examines how mystery functions within 1 Corinthians and seeks to explain why the term is often employed. The apocalyptic term concerns the Messiah reigning in the midst of defeat, eschatological revelations and tongues, charismatic exegesis, and the transformation of believers into the image of the last Adam.

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