Well-filled Corinthians and Sated Israel: Overlooked Echoes of Hosea in 1 Corinthians 4:8

Two weeks from today I am scheduled to present a paper in the Intertextuality in the New Testament section at the Society of Biblical Literature annual meeting in San Diego. Here is the abstract:

Paul's sarcastic description of the Corinthians as wealthy, reigning kings in 1 Cor 4:8 is often regarded as a reference to popular Stoic philosophy (e.g., Conzelmann, Hays, Thiselton). With “kings” as the point of comparison to the ideal Stoic wise man, Paul’s initial reference to the Corinthians’ satiety amounts to little more than a rhetorical flourish. In this paper I will argue that all three descriptions of the Corinthians—their wealth, their reign, and their satiety—draw on Hosea’s prophetic denunciation of rebellious Israel. “Already you have become rich” (ἤδη ἐπλουτήσατε) in 1 Cor 4:8 recalls Ephraim's claim, "I have become rich" (πεπλούτηκα) (Hos 12:9]); “apart from us you have begun to reign” (χωρὶς ἡμῶν ἐβασιλεύσατε) echoes Hosea's reference to those who “ruled for themselves and not through me" (ἑαυτοῖς ἐβασίλευσαν καὶ οὐ δἰ ἐμοῦ) (Hos 8:4); and the sated (κεκορεσμένοι), arrogant (φυσιοῦσθε) Corinthians of 1 Cor 4:6 and 8 resemble the sated (ἐνεπλήσθησαν), proud (ὑψώθησαν αἱ καρδίαι αὐτῶν) Israel of Hos 13:6. These close verbal and conceptual links are supported by the direct citation from Hos 13:14 in 1 Cor 15:55, other proposed echoes of Hosea in 1 Cor 6:18 and 1 Cor 15:8, and by more general thematic parallels between the biblical prophet and the apost
le. Like Hosea, Paul is concerned about the problem of covenant unfaithfulness that finds expression in idolatry and immorality. Identifying Hosea’s influence on Paul’s thought places into starker relief the prophetic threat of divine judgement that undergirds Paul’s address to the Corinthians.

Now for one good weekend to finish writing the paper! 

Unrelated Photo: Buffalo Pound (20 Oct 2024)

Why study 1 Corinthians

As I mentioned back in October, I will be teaching a 300-level course on Paul's first letter to the Corinthians this semester. In the syllabus, I make a case for studying the letter this way:

Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians is a valuable resource for readers who wish to recover evidence for day-to-day church life in the mid-first-century CE, but the relative abundance of historical data in 1 Corinthians also poses a challenge. Of all Paul’s letters, 1 Corinthians may strike modern readers as the most firmly embedded in an alien historical setting. Reading 1 Corinthians well as a historical document demands more than tracing Paul’s argument; readers must also learn about the archaeology of ancient Corinth, the social and religious beliefs and practices of first-century Jews, Greeks and Romans, and the conventions of ancient rhetoric.

The challenge of reconstructing the letter’s context is matched by the demands of its contents. Paul’s instructions are sometimes challenging because they seem obviously and uncomfortably relevant. They address issues—like church unity, sexual morality and the practice of spiritual gifts—with which the twenty-first-century church continues to struggle. Sometimes they are challenging because the topics, such as head coverings and food sacrificed to idols, seem foreign to contemporary concerns and cultural norms; sometimes they seem equally familiar and foreign at the same time.

Readers who seek to read 1 Corinthians faithfully as Christian Scripture must be alert to the ways in which their own horizons of experience and their own preferences shape and constrain their interpretations. They must also face the hermeneutical challenge of applying what Paul says to their own twenty-first-century contexts. These challenges make 1 Corinthians a fascinating and rewarding subject of study.

In this class we will draw on all the interpretive resources at our disposal to read 1 Corinthians carefully in its historical context, and to consider its implications for contemporary readers.

By the end of this course, students will be able to articulate an understanding of the letter’s purpose, summarize its content, trace its flow of thought, and explain how Paul responds theologically to practical questions. They will be familiar with a range of options in the interpretation of key texts and be able to illustrate how knowledge of the socio-historical context of the letter affects its interpretation. They will also be able to describe hermeneutical challenges posed by the text, and be better prepared to engage it seriously as Christian Scripture.

A copy of the full syllabus is available online here.

Requesting a 1 Corinthians Reading List

Erastus Inscription, Corinth

The lot fell to me to design a new upper level biblical studies elective this year, and I (probably foolishly) decided on Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth. I reasoned that the letter would be closer to my current teaching and research interests than the book of Revelation (my other main option). 1 Corinthians also follows the Gospels, Acts, and Romans--all courses that have formed part of my regular teaching assignment. Why not work sequentially through the New Testament?

I taught 1 Corinthians once before, twenty years ago at a Bible school in Kenya, fresh out of college, with the first edition of Gordon Fee's NICNT commentary as a lifeline. In seminary I took a course on the Corinthian Correspondence from Murray J. Harris, who assigned C.K. Barrett's BNTC commentaries as textbooks. That is, more or less, my last serious academic engagement with the book.

Needless to say, I have some catching up to do. One of the reasons for the blog silence this semester is that I have been trying to read ahead for next semester. I am not as far along as I'd like, however, and a textbook deadline looms. I could use some help:


Primary Textbook: For courses like this, I typically look for an excellent, relatively short, and readable commentary, as a primary textbook. For 1 Corinthians, I haven't found anything better than Richard Hays's 1999 contribution to the Interpretation series.

Secondary Textbook/Articles: To fill in the secondary readings, I'm casting about for one or more of the following:

• A shorter, accessible book that introduces the text from a more practical or theological level (though Hays does both exceptionally well), or an introduction to the historical context.
• *A set of paired articles introducing diverse perspectives on major issues in 1 Corinthians.

Any reading recommendations, particularly of seminal essays on 1 Corinthians, will be appreciated!

Victor Paul Furnish on 1 Corinthians 16:14

"'Let everything you do be done in love' .... One can imagine contexts in which this very general appeal would amount to little more than an encouragement to be kind to others. But here it is invested with the full weight of Paul's gospel as that comes to expression in 1 Corinthians. The love he has in view is the agape that is proper to God's own being, which both graces and claims the whole of creation and has been revealed in the saving power of the cross. In their belonging to the resurrected-crucified Christ, believers are formed into a community that lives from the cross and are called to be agents of God's love, both individually and corporately, within the particularities of their own time and place." - Victor Paul Furnish, The Theology of the First Letter to the Corinthians (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), 121.