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{{Books of the New Testament}}
{{Paul}}
The '''First Epistle to the Corinthians'''{{Efn|The book is sometimes called the '''First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians''', or simply '''1 Corinthians'''.<ref>{{Cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=HiPouAEACAAJ |title= ESV Pew Bible |publisher = Crossway |year=2018 |isbn= 978-1-4335-6343-0 |location= Wheaton, IL |page =952 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210603093159/https://www.google.com/books/edition/ESV_Pew_Bible_Black/HiPouAEACAAJ |archive-date=June 3, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> It is most commonly abbreviated as "1 Cor."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bible Book Abbreviations |url= https://www.logos.com/bible-book-abbreviations |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421100743/https://www.logos.com/bible-book-abbreviations |archive-date= April 21, 2022 |access-date= April 21, 2022 |website= Logos Bible Software}}</ref>}} ({{lang-grc|Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους}}) is one of the [[Pauline epistles]], part of the [[New Testament]] of the [[Christian Bible]]. The [[epistle]] is attributed to [[Paul the Apostle]] and a co-author, [[Sosthenes]], and is addressed to the Christian church in [[Ancient Corinth|Corinth]].<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|1:1–2}}</ref> Despite the name, it is not believed to be the first such letter. Scholars believe that Sosthenes was the [[amanuensis]] who wrote down the text of the letter at Paul's direction.<ref>Meyer [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/meyer/1_corinthians/1.htm 1 Corinthians], NT Commentary, Bible hub, accessed May 17, 2022</ref> It addresses various issues that had arisen in the Christian community at Corinth and is composed in a form of [[Koine Greek]].<ref>Kurt Aland, Barbara Aland 1995 The text of the New Testament: an introduction to the critical p. 52 "The New Testament was written in Koine Greek, the Greek of daily conversation. The fact that from the first all the New Testament writings were written in Greek is conclusively demonstrated by their citations from the Old Testament..."</ref>
==Authorship==
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{{blockquote|As in all the churches of the saints, women should be silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as the law also says. If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.|1 Corinthians 14:34–35, [[New Revised Standard Version]]<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|14:34–35|NRSV}}</ref>}}
Verses 34–35 are included in all extant manuscripts. Part of the reason for suspecting that this passage is an interpolation is that in several manuscripts in the Western tradition, it is placed at the end of chapter 14 instead of at its canonical location. This kind of variability is generally considered by textual critics to be a sign that a note, initially placed in the margins of the document, has been copied into the body of the text by a scribe.<ref name=barton>{{cite book |editor1=[[John Barton (theologian)|John Barton]] |editor2=[[John Muddiman]] |title= The Oxford Bible Commentary |year= 2001 |publisher= Oxford University Press |location= New York |isbn= 978-0-19-875500-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordbiblecomme0000unse/page/1130 1130] |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordbiblecomme0000unse |url-access=registration}}</ref> As E. Earle Ellis and Daniel B. Wallace note, however, a marginal note may well have been written by Paul himself. The loss of marginal arrows or other directional devices could explain why the scribe of the Western ''[[Vorlage]]'' placed it at the end of the chapter. The absence of an asterisk or obelisk in the margin of any manuscript – a common way of indicating doubt of authenticity – they argue, a strong argument that Paul wrote the passage and intended it in its traditional place.<ref name=":0">Daniel B. Wallace: [https://bible.org/article/textual-problem-1-corinthians-1434-35 The Textual Problem of 1 Corinthians 14:34-35] Bible.org, June 26th 2004.</ref> The passage has also been taken to contradict 11:5, where [[Women in the New Testament|women]] are described as praying and prophesying in church.<ref name=barton />
Furthermore, some scholars believe that the passage 1 Corinthians 10:1–22<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|10:1–22}}</ref> constitutes a separate letter fragment or scribal interpolation because it equates the consumption of meat sacrificed to idols with idolatry, while Paul seems to be more lenient on this issue in 8:1–13<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|8:1–13|KJV}}</ref> and 10:23–11:1.<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|10:23–11:1|KJV}}</ref><ref>Walter Schmithals, ''Gnosticism in Corinth'' (Nashville: Abingdon, 1971), 14, 92–95; Lamar Cope, "First Corinthians 8–10: Continuity or Contradiction?" ''Anglican Theological Review: Supplementary Series II.'' Christ and His Communities (Mar. 1990) 114–23.</ref> Such views are rejected by other scholars who give arguments for the unity of 8:1–11:1.<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|8:1–11:1}}</ref><ref>Joop F. M. Smit, ''About the Idol Offerings'' (Leuven: Peeters, 2000); B. J. Oropeza, "Laying to Rest the Midrash," ''Biblica'' 79 (1998) 57–68.</ref>
==Composition==
About the year AD 50, towards the end of his second missionary journey, Paul founded the church in Corinth before moving on to [[Ephesus]], a city on the west coast of today's Turkey, about {{convert|
By comparing [[Acts of the Apostles]] 18:1–17<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|18:1–17}}</ref> and mentions of Ephesus in the Corinthian correspondence, scholars suggest that the letter was written during Paul's stay in Ephesus, which is usually dated as being in the range of AD 53–57.<ref>[http://www.studylight.org/enc/isb/view.cgi?number=T2324 Corinthians, First Epistle to the], "The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia", Ed. James Orr, 1915.</ref><ref>[http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/Pauline_Chronology.htm Pauline Chronology: His Life and Missionary Work], from [http://catholic-resources.org Catholic Resources] by Felix Just, S.J.</ref>
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Anthony C. Thiselton suggests that it is possible that 1 Corinthians was written during Paul's first (brief) stay in Ephesus, at the end of his second journey, usually dated to early AD 54.<ref>Anthony C. Thiselton, ''The First Epistle to the Corinthians'' (Eerdmans, 2000), 31.</ref> However, it is more likely that it was written during his extended stay in Ephesus, where he refers to sending Timothy to them.<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|19:22}}, {{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|4:17}}</ref><ref name=usccb/>
Despite the attributed title "1 Corinthians
== Surviving early manuscripts ==
The original manuscript of this book is lost, and the [[Textual variants in the First Epistle to the Corinthians|text of surviving manuscripts varies]]. The oldest manuscripts containing some or all of the text of this book include:
* [[Papyrus 46]] (AD 175–225)
* [[Codex Vaticanus]] (AD 325–350)
* [[Codex Sinaiticus]] (330–360)
* [[Papyrus 123]] (4th century)<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://intf.uni-muenster.de/vmr/NTVMR/ListeHandschriften.php?ObjID=10123 | title= P123 (P. Oxy. 4844). Liste Handschriften DocID: 10123 |publisher=Institute for New Testament Textual Research|access-date=29 March 2019|location=Münster}}</ref>
* [[Codex Alexandrinus]] (400–440)
* [[Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus]] (~450)
* [[Codex Freerianus]] (~450)<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://ntvmr.uni-muenster.de/manuscript-workspace/?docID=20016 |title= 016 (Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art F1906.275). Liste Handschriften DocID: 20016 |publisher=Institute for New Testament Textual Research|access-date=29 March 2019|location=Münster}}</ref>
* [[Codex Claromontanus]] (~550)
* [[Codex Coislinianus]] (~550)
* [[Papyrus 14]] (6th century)
* [[Papyrus 11]] (7th century;)<ref>{{Cite book
| last = Gregory
| first = Caspar René
| author-link = Caspar René Gregory
| title = Die griechischen Handschriften des Neuen Testament
| publisher = J.C. Hinrichs'sche Buchhandlung
| year = 1908
| location = Leipzig
| page = 46
| url = https://archive.org/stream/diegriechischen00greggoog#page/n57/mode/2up
}}</ref>
==Structure==
[[File:Codex Amiatinus (1 Cor 1,1-21).jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|1 Corinthians 1:1–21 in [[Codex Amiatinus]] from the 8th century
[[File:Minuscule 223 (GA) f150v.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|1 Corinthians 1:1–2a in [[Minuscule 223]] from the 14th century
The epistle may be divided into seven parts:<ref>Outline from [http://www.bible.org/page.asp?page_id=1200#P95_28390 NET Bible.org]</ref>
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In general, divisions within the church at Corinth seem to be a problem, and Paul makes it a point to mention these conflicts in the beginning. Specifically, [[Paganism|pagan]] roots still hold sway within their community. Paul wants to bring them back to what he sees as correct doctrine, stating that God has given him the opportunity to be a "skilled master builder" to lay the foundation and let others build upon it.<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|3:10}}</ref>
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 contains a notable [[Homosexuality in the New Testament#1 Corinthians 6:9-10|condemnation of homosexuality]], idolatry, thievery, drunkenness, slandering, swindling, adultery, and other acts the authors consider sexually immoral.
The majority of early manuscripts end chapter 6 with the words {{lang-grc|δοξάσατε δὴ τὸν Θεὸν ἐν τῷ σώματι ὑμῶν|doxasate de ton theon en tō sōmati humōn|therefore glorify God in your body|label=none}}. The [[Textus Receptus]] adds {{lang-grc|καὶ ἐν τῷ πνεύματι ὑμῶν, ἅτινά ἐστι τοῦ Θεοῦ|kai en to pneumati humōn, hatina esti tou theou|label=none}}, which the [[New King James Version]] translates as "and in your spirit, which are (i.e. body and spirit) God's".<ref name="1Cor6_20">{{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|6:20|NKJV}} NKJV</ref> The [[Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges]] notes that "these words are not found in many of the best MSS. and versions, and they somewhat weaken the force of the argument, which is intended to assert the dignity of the body. They were perhaps [[Biblical gloss#New Testament|inserted]] by some who, missing the point of the Apostle's argument, thought that the worship of the spirit was unduly passed over."<ref name=cambridgebible>[http://biblehub.com/commentaries/cambridge/1_corinthians/6.htm Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges on 1 Corinthians 6], accessed 26 March 2017</ref>
Later, Paul wrote about immorality in Corinth by discussing an immoral brother, how to resolve personal disputes, and sexual purity. Regarding marriage, Paul states that it is better for Christians to remain unmarried, but that if they lacked self-control, it is better to marry than "burn" ({{lang|grc|πυροῦσθαι}}). The epistle may include marriage as an apostolic practice in 1 Corinthians 9:5, "Do we not have the right to be accompanied by a believing wife, as do the other [[Apostles in the New Testament|apostles]] and the [[Desposyni|brothers of the Lord]] and [[Saint Peter|Cephas]] (Peter)?" (In the last case, the letter concurs with [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 8:14, which mentions Peter having a mother-in-law and thus, by inference, a wife.) However, the Greek word for 'wife' is the same word for 'woman'. The Early Church Fathers, including [[Tertullian]], [[Jerome]], and [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]] state the Greek word is ambiguous and the women in 1 Corinthians 9:5 were women ministering to the Apostles as women ministered to Christ,<ref>cf. [[Matthew 27:55]], Luke 8:1–3</ref> and were not wives,<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0406.htm Tertullian, On Monogamy] "For have we not the power of eating and drinking?" he does not demonstrate that "wives" were led about by the apostles, whom even such as have not still have the power of eating and drinking; but simply "women", who used to minister to them in the stone way (as they did) when accompanying the Lord."</ref> and assert they left their "offices of marriage" to follow Christ.<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/30091.htm Jerome, Against Jovinianus, Book I] "In accordance with this rule Peter and the other Apostles (I must give Jovinianus something now and then out of my abundance) had indeed wives, but those which they had taken before they knew the Gospel. But once they were received into the Apostolate, they forsook the offices of marriage."</ref> Paul also argues that married people must please their spouses, just as every Christian must please [[God]].
Throughout the letter, Paul presents issues that are troubling the community in Corinth and offers ways to fix them. Paul states that this letter is to "admonish" them as beloved children. They are expected to become [[Imitation of Christ|imitators of Jesus]] and follow the ways in Christ as he, Paul, teaches in all his churches.<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|4:14–16}}</ref>
This epistle contains some well-known phrases, including: "all things to all men",<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Corinthians|9:22|DRA}}</ref>
{{quote|When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.|1 Corinthians 13:11, King James Version.<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|13:11|KJV}}</ref>}}
==="Through a glass, darkly"===
1 Corinthians 13:12 contains the phrase {{lang-grc|βλέπομεν γὰρ ἄρτι δι' ἐσόπτρου ἐν αἰνίγματι|blepomen gar arti di esoptrou en ainigmati|label=none}}, which was translated in the 1560 [[Geneva Bible]] as "For now we see through a glass darkly" (without a comma). This wording was used in the 1611 [[King James Version of the Bible|KJV]], which added a comma before "darkly".<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|13:12|KJV}} KJV</ref> This passage has inspired [[Through a Glass Darkly (disambiguation)|the titles of many works]], with and without the comma.
The Greek word {{lang-grc|ἐσόπτρου|esoptrou|label=none}} ([[Genitive case|genitive]]; [[Nominative case|nominative]]: {{lang-grc|ἔσοπτρον|esoptron|label=none}}), here translated "glass", is ambiguous, possibly referring to a [[mirror]] or a [[Lens (optics)|lens]]. Influenced by [[Strong's Concordance]], many modern translations conclude that this word refers specifically to a mirror.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=G2072&t=KJV |title=εσοπτρον |trans-title=espotron |encyclopedia=Strong's Greek Lexicon |via=Blue Letter Bible}}</ref> Example English language translations include:
* "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror" ([[New International Version]])
* "What we see now is like a dim image in a mirror" ([[Good News Bible]])
Paul's usage is in keeping with rabbinic use of the term {{lang-hbo|אספקלריה|aspaklaria|label=none}}, a borrowing from the Latin {{lang|la|specularia}}. This has the same ambiguous meaning, although [[Adam Clarke]] concluded that it was a reference to {{lang|la|specularibus lapidibus}}, clear polished stones used as lenses or windows.<ref>{{cite book |first=Adam |last=Clarke |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YakGAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA1-PA13 |title=Commentary on the New Testament |volume=II |publisher=J. Butterworth & Son |location=London |year=1817 |chapter=Commentary on 1 Corinthians 12}}</ref> One way to preserve this ambiguity is to use the English cognate, ''speculum''.<ref>Gordon Tucker, translator's footnote to [[Abraham Joshua Heschel]], 'Heavenly Torah as Refracted Through the Generations,' Continuum, New York, 2008; page 308.</ref> Rabbi [[Judah ben Ilai]] (2nd century) was quoted as saying "All the prophets had a vision of God as He appeared through nine specula" while "Moses saw God through one speculum."<ref>[[Leviticus Rabbah]] 1:14.</ref> The [[Babylonian Talmud]] states similarly "All the prophets gazed through a speculum that does not shine, while Moses our teacher gazed through a speculum that shines."<ref>B.T. Yevamot 49B</ref>
===Women must remain silent===
The letter is also notable for mentioning the [[Paul the Apostle and women|role of women in churches]], that for instance they must remain silent,<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|14:34–35}}</ref> and yet they have a role of prophecy and apparently [[glossolalia|speaking tongues]] in churches.<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|11:2–16}}</ref> If verse 14:34–35 is not an interpolation, certain scholars resolve the tension between these texts by positing that wives were either contesting their husband's inspired speeches at church, or the wives/women were chatting and asking questions in a disorderly manner when others were giving inspired utterances. Their silence was unique to the particular situation in the Corinthian gatherings at that time, and on this reading, Paul did not intend his words to be universalized for all women of all churches of all eras.<ref>B. J. Oropeza, ''1 Corinthians.'' New Covenant Commentary (Eugene: Cascade, 2017), 187–94; Philip B. Payne, ''Man and Woman: One in Christ'' (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009); Ben Witherington, ''Women in the Earliest Churches'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988);</ref>
=== Head covering ===
{{main|Christian headcovering}}
[[File:Hanging veil.jpg|thumb|right|An [[hanging veil|opaque hanging veil]] worn by a [[Conservative Anabaptist]] woman belonging to the [[Charity Christian Fellowship]]]]
1 Corinthians 11:2–16 contains an admonishment that Christian women cover their hair while praying and that Christian men leave their heads uncovered while praying. These practices were [[countercultural]]; the surrounding pagan Greek women prayed unveiled and Jewish men prayed with their heads covered.<ref name="Payne2015">{{cite book |last1=Payne |first1=Philip Barton |title=Man and Woman, One in Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Study of Paul's Letters |date=5 May 2015 |publisher=Zondervan Academic |isbn=978-0-310-52532-5 |language=English |quote=Furthermore, Greek women, including women in prayer, were usually depicted without a garment covering the head. It does not make sense that Paul would assert something was disgraceful that in their culture was not considered disgraceful. Concerning Greek customs A. Oepke observes: [...] It is quite wrong [to assert] that Greek women were under some kind of compulsion to wear a veil. [...] Passages to the contrary are so numerous and unequivocally that they cannot be offset. [...] Empresses and goddesses, even those who maintain their dignity, like Hera and Demeter, are portrayed without veils.}}</ref><ref name="Shank1992">{{cite book |first=Tom|last=Shank |year=1992 |title="...Let Her Be Veiled.": An in-depth study of 1 Corinthians 11:1–16 |publisher=Torch Publications|quote=The [male] Jews of this era worshipped and prayed with a covering called a tallith on their heads.|location=[[Eureka, Montana|Eureka]]|page=8}}</ref>
The [[King James Version]] of 1 Corinthians 11:10 reads "For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels." Other versions translate "power" as "authority". In many early biblical manuscripts (such as certain [[Vulgate]], [[Bible translations into Coptic|Coptic]], and [[Bible translations into Armenian|Armenian]] manuscripts), is rendered with the word "veil" ({{lang-grc|κάλυμμα|kalumma|label=none}}) rather than the word "authority" ({{lang-grc|ἐξουσία|exousia|label=none}}); the [[Revised Standard Version]] reflects this, displaying 1 Corinthians 11:10<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|11:10|RSV}}</ref> as follows: "That is why a woman ought to have a veil on her head, because of the angels."<ref name="Garland2003">{{cite book |last1=Garland |first1=David E. |title=1 Corinthians (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament) |date=1 November 2003 |publisher=[[Baker Academic]] |isbn=978-1-58558-322-5 |language=English}}</ref> Similarly, a scholarly footnote in the [[New American Bible]] notes that presence of the word "''authority'' ({{transliteration|grc|exousia}}) may possibly be due to mistranslation of an Aramaic word for ''veil''".<ref>{{cite book |title=The Catholic Study Bible |date=15 April 2016 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-026726-1 |language=en}}</ref> This mistranslation may be due to "the fact that in Aramaic the roots of the word ''power'' and ''veil'' are spelled the same."<ref name="Farrell">{{cite book |last1=Farrell |first1=Heather |title=Walking with the Women of the New Testament |date=2014 |publisher=Cedar Fort Publishing |isbn=978-1-4621-0872-5 |language=en |quote=...that the word translated in verses 5 and 13 as "uncovered" is ''akatakaluptos'' and means "unveiled" and the word translated in verse 6 as "covered" is ''katakalupto'' which means to "cover wholly, [or] veil". The word ''power'' in verse 10 may have also been mistranslated because the fact that in Aramaic the roots of the word ''power'' and ''veil'' are spelled the same.}}</ref> The last-known living connection to the apostles, Irenaeus, penned verse 10 using the word "veil" ({{lang-grc|κάλυμμα|kalumma|label=none}}) instead of "authority" ({{lang-grc|ἐξουσία|exousia|label=none}}) in ''[[Against Heresies]]'', as did other Church Fathers in their writings, including [[Hippolytus of Rome|Hippolytus]], [[Origen]], [[Chrysostom]], [[Jerome]], [[Epiphanius of Salamis|Epiphanius]], [[Augustine]], and [[Bede]].<ref name="Garland2003"/><ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Williams |editor1-first=Frank |title=The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis: Book I (Sects 1-46) |date=2009 |publisher=[[Brill Academic Publishers]] |isbn=978-90-04-17017-9 |page=196 |language=en}}</ref>
This ordinance continued to be handed down after the apostolic era to the next generations of Christians; writing 150 years after Paul, the early Christian apologist [[Tertullian]] stated that the women of the church in Corinth—both virgins and married—practiced veiling, given that Paul the Apostle delivered the teaching to them: "the Corinthians themselves understood him in this manner. In fact, at this very day, the Corinthians do veil their virgins. What the apostles taught, their disciples approve."<ref name="Bercot2021">{{cite book |last1=Bercot |first1=David W. |title=Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs: A Reference Guide to More Than 700 Topics Discussed by the Early Church Fathers |date=18 April 2021 |publisher=Hendrickson |isbn=978-1-61970-168-7 |page=667 |language=en}}</ref> From the period of the early Church to the [[late modern period]], 1 Corinthians 11 was universally understood to enjoin the wearing of the headcovering throughout the day—a practice that has since waned in Western Europe but has continued in certain parts of the world, such as in the [[Middle East]], [[Eastern Europe]], [[Northern Africa]] and the [[Indian subcontinent]],<ref name="Hunt2014">{{cite book|last=Hunt|first=Margaret|title=Women in Eighteenth Century Europe|date=11 June 2014|publisher=Taylor & Francis|language=en |isbn=9781317883876|page=58|quote=Today many people associate rules about veiling and headscarves with the Muslim world, but in the eighteenth century they were common among Christians as well, in line with 1 Corinthians 11:4–13 which appears not only to prescribe headcoverings for any women who prays or goes to church, but explicitly to associate it with female subordination, which Islamic veiling traditions do not typically do. Many Christian women wore a head-covering all the time, and certainly when they went outside; those who did not would have been barred from church and likely harassed on the street. [...] Veils were, of course, required for Catholic nuns, and a veil that actually obscured the face was also a mark of elite status throughout most of Europe. Spanish noblewomen wore them well into the eighteenth century, and so did Venetian women, both elites and non-elites. Across Europe almost any woman who could afford them also wore them to travel.}}</ref><ref name="BalzaniBesnier2021">{{cite book |last1=Balzani |first1=Marzia |last2=Besnier |first2=Niko |title=Social and Cultural Anthropology for the 21st Century: Connected Worlds |date=29 November 2021 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-57178-0 |language=English |quote=Head covers are generally associated with Islam, but until recently Christian women in Mediterranean countries also covered their heads in public, and some still do, particularly in religious contexts such as attending mass.}}</ref><ref name="Hammond2018">{{cite book |last1=Hammond |first1=Laura C. |title=This Place Will Become Home: Refugee Repatriation to Ethiopia |date=6 August 2018 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-1-5017-2725-2 |page=92 |language=English |quote=Inside her house a Christian woman usually did not cover hear head and only wore a ''netsela'' (ነጠላ, a shawl made from white, usually homespun cotton and often with a colorful banner woven into its edges) when working in the sun or going out of her compound.}}</ref><ref name="Ramdin2000">{{cite book |last1=Ramdin |first1=Ron |title=Arising from Bondage: A History of the Indo-Caribbean People |date=April 2000 |publisher=[[New York University Press]] |isbn=978-0-8147-7548-6 |page=222 |language=English |quote=As a mark of respect, Indian women were expected to cover their heads. And over the years, most rural Hindu, Muslim and Christian women have done so with the Orhni, a thin shawl-like head covering.}}</ref><ref name="Mitchell2007">{{cite book |last1=Mitchell |first1=Laurence |title=Serbia |date=2007 |publisher=Bradt Travel Guides |isbn=978-1-84162-203-3 |language=English |quote=Further north, in Vojvodina, some older Slovak women still regularly wear the headscarf, pleated skirt and embroidered apron that is their national dress. All across Serbia, as elsewhere in eastern Europe, many older women wear headscarves}}</ref><ref name="Walsh2019">{{cite book |last1=Walsh |first1=Harper |title=Saudi Arabia Undercover: Includes Bahrain, Bangkok and Cairo |date=1 November 2019 |publisher=Monsoon Books |isbn=978-1-912049-61-5 |language=English |quote=There are Christian women in the Middle East who cover their hair and heads daily. Some wear burkas too.}}</ref> as well as everywhere by [[Conservative Anabaptists]] (such as the [[Conservative Mennonites|Conservative Mennonite Churches]] and the [[Dunkard Brethren Church]]), who count veiling as being one of the [[ordinance (Christianity)|ordinances]] of the Church.<ref name="Hartzler2013">{{cite book |last1=Hartzler |first1=Rachel Nafziger |title=No Strings Attached: Boundary Lines in Pleasant Places: A History of Warren Street / Pleasant Oaks Mennonite Church |date=30 April 2013 |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |isbn=978-1-62189-635-7 |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Manual of Bible Doctrines|url=https://archive.org/details/manualofbibledoc00kauf|first=Daniel|last=Kauffman|date=1898|publisher=Mennonite Publishing Co.|location=[[Elkhart, Indiana|Elkhart]]|pages=160–168}}</ref> The early Church Father [[John Chrysostom]] explicates that 1 Corinthians 11 enjoins the continual wearing the headcovering by referencing Paul the Apostle's view that being shaven is always dishonourable and his pointing to the angels:<ref name="Schaff1889">{{cite book |last1=Schaff |first1=Philip |title=A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church: St. Chrysostom: Homilies on the Epistles of Paul to the Corinthians |date=1889 |publisher=The Christian Literature Company |page=152 |language=English}}</ref>
=== ''Agape'' ===
{{main|Agape}}
Chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians is one of many definitional sources for the original [[Greek language|Greek]] word {{lang-grc|[[wiktionary:ἀγάπη|ἀγάπη]]|[[agape]]|label=none}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://biblehub.com/greek/26.htm|title=Strong's Greek: 26. ἀγάπη (agapé) – love, goodwill|website=biblehub.com}}</ref> In the original [[Greek language|Greek]], the word {{lang-grc|[[wiktionary:ἀγάπη|ἀγάπη]]|[[agape]]|label=none}} is used throughout chapter 13. This is translated into English as "[[Charity (virtue)|charity]]" in the [[Authorized King James Version|King James version]]; but the word "love" is preferred by most other [[English translations of the Bible|translations]], both earlier and more recent.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/1%20Corinthians%2013%3A1|title=1 Corinthians 13:1 |publisher=Bible Gateway}}</ref>
1 Corinthians 11:17-34 contains a condemnation of what the authors consider inappropriate behavior at Corinthian gatherings that appeared to be [[agape feast]]s.
{{Anchor|Creed}}
=== Resurrection of Jesus ===
{{Main|Resurrection of Jesus|Salvation in Christianity}}
After discussing his views on [[Idolatry|worshipping idols]], Paul ends the letter with his views on [[resurrection]] and the [[Resurrection of Jesus]]. Key verses are often cited as a concise summary of core Christian doctrine or [[kerygma]], and are used in the construction of various [[List of Christian creeds|Christian creeds]]:
{{blockquote|3 For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures 4 and that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.|1 Corinthians 15:3–7, New Revised Standard Version<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|15:3–7|NRSV}}, NRSV</ref>}}
Belief in the death, burial, [[Resurrection of Jesus|resurrection]], and reappearance to Peter and the Twelve in verses 3–5, are assumed to be an early pre-Pauline kerygma or [[creed|creedal statement]].{{efn|Early kerygma:
* Neufeld, ''The Earliest Christian Confessions'' (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964) p. 47;
* Reginald Fuller, ''The Formation of the Resurrection Narratives'' (New York: Macmillan, 1971) p. 10 ({{ISBN|0-281-02475-8}});
* Wolfhart Pannenberg, ''Jesus – God and Man'' translated Lewis Wilkins and Duane Pribe (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1968) p. 90 ({{ISBN|0-664-20818-5}});
* Oscar Cullmann, ''The Early Church: Studies in Early Christian History and Theology'', ed. A. J. B. Higgins (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1966) p. 64;
* Hans Conzelmann, ''1 Corinthians'', translated James W. Leitch (Philadelphia: Fortress 1975) p. 251 ({{ISBN|0-8006-6005-6}});
* Bultmann, ''Theology of the New Testament'' vol. 1 pp. 45, 80–82, 293;
* R. E. Brown, ''The Virginal Conception and Bodily Resurrection of Jesus'' (New York: Paulist Press, 1973) pp. 81, 92 ({{ISBN|0-8091-1768-1}})}} Biblical scholars note the antiquity of the creed,{{efn|[[Geza Vermes]] states that the words of Paul are "a tradition he has inherited from his seniors in the faith concerning the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus".<ref>Geza Vermes (2008) ''The Resurrection''. London, Penguin: 121–2 ({{ISBN|0-7394-9969-6}}; {{ISBN|978-0-14-103005-0}})</ref> According to others, Paul's account is "a sacred tradition,"<ref>{{cite book |title=Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity |author=Larry W. Hurtado |author-link=Larry W. Hurtado |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-8028-3167-5 |page=71}}</ref> contained in "the oldest strata of tradition"<ref>{{cite book |title=Perspectives on Scripture and Tradition: Essays in Honor of Dale Moody |editor=Robert L. Perkins |author=Dale Moody |publisher=Mercer University Press |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-86554-305-8 |page=109}}</ref> using "the explicit language of oral transmission."<ref>{{cite book |title=The New Testament: A Historical and Theological Introduction |chapter=Part 2.7. The Origin and Reliability of the Gospel Tradition |author=Donald Hagner |author-link=Donald Hagner |publisher=Baker Books |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-4412-4040-8}}</ref>}} possibly transmitted from the [[Early centers of Christianity#Jerusalem|Jerusalem apostolic community]].{{efn|name="ancientcreed"|Ancient creed:
* Wolfhart Pannenberg, Jesus – God and Man translated Lewis Wilkins and Duane Pribe (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1968) p. 90;
* Oscar Cullmann, The Early church: Studies in Early Christian History and Theology, ed. A. J. B. Higgins (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1966) p. 66;
* R. E. Brown, The Virginal Conception and Bodily Resurrection of Jesus (New York: Paulist Press, 1973) p. 81;
* Thomas Sheehan, First Coming: How the Kingdom of God Became Christianity (New York: Random House, 1986) pp. 110, 118;
* Ulrich Wilckens, Resurrection translated A. M. Stewart (Edinburgh: Saint Andrew, 1977) p. 2}}{{efn|According to Paul's [[Epistle to the Galatians]], he had previously met [[James, brother of Jesus|James the Just]] and [[Saint Peter|Cephas/Peter]], two of the people to who Jesus appeared according to these verses. {{bibleverse|Galatians|1:18–20}}: "Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days. I saw none of the other apostles – only James, the Lord's brother. I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie."}} though the core formula may have originated in Damascus,<ref>Hans Grass, ''Ostergeschen und Osterberichte, Second Edition'' (Gottingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1962) p. 96; Grass favors the origin in Damascus.</ref> with the specific appearances reflecting the Jerusalem community.{{efn|[[Michael Goulder]] states that it "goes back at least to what Paul was taught when he was converted, a couple of years after the crucifixion."<ref>{{cite book|title=The Baseless Fabric of a Vision (as quoted in Gavin D'Costa's Resurrection Reconsidered, p. 48)|author=Michael Goulder|year=1996}}</ref>}} It may be one of the earliest kerygmas about Jesus' death and resurrection, though it is also possible that [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]] himself joined together the various statements, as proposed by Urich Wilckens.<ref>Wolfhart Pannenberg, Jesus – God and Man translated Lewis Wilkins and Duane Pribe (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1968) p. 90</ref> It is also possible that "he appeared" was not specified in the core formula, and that the specific appearances are additions.<ref>R. E. Brown, ''The Virginal Conception and Bodily Resurrection of Jesus'' (New York: Paulist Press, 1973) pp. 81, 92 ({{ISBN|0-8091-1768-1}})</ref> According to Hannack, line 3b-4 form the original core, while line 5 and line 7 contain competing statements from two different factions.<ref>Hans Conzelmann, ''1 Corinthians'', translated James W. Leitch (Philadelphia: Fortress 1975) p. 251 ({{ISBN|0-8006-6005-6}}</ref> Prive also argues that line 5 and line 7 reflect the tensions between Petrus and James.{{sfnp|Price|1995}}
The kerygma has often been dated to no more than five years after Jesus' death by Biblical scholars.{{efn|name="ancientcreed"}} [[Bart Ehrman]] dissents, saying that "Among scholars I personally know, except for evangelicals, I don't now[''sic''] anyone who thinks this at all."<ref name="BE_dating">Bart Ehrman, as quoted at [https://lutherwasnotbornagaincom.wordpress.com/2019/12/19/bart-ehrman-most-scholars-doubt-the-early-creed-was-written-within-3-6-years-of-jesus-death/ Bart Ehrman: Most Scholars Doubt the Early Creed Was Written Within 3-6 Years of Jesus' Death]</ref>{{efn|Bart Ehrman: "Among scholars I personally know, except for evangelicals, I don't now anyone who thinks this at all. And for a good reason: Paul never says he got this creed from Peter and James three years after his conversion. Doesn't even suggest it."<ref name="BE_dating"/>}} [[Gerd Lüdemann]] however, maintains that "the elements in the tradition are to be dated to the first two years after the crucifixion of Jesus{{nbsp}}[...] not later than three years".<ref>{{cite book|title=The Resurrection of Jesus|author=Gerd Lüdemann|year=1994|page=38}}</ref>
For orthodox Christians, the resurrection, believed by them to be a physical resurrection, is the central event of the Christian faith. While the authenticity of line 6a and 7 is disputed, MacGregor argues that linguistic analysis suggests that the version received by Paul seems to have included verses 3b–6a and 7.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Kirk R. |last=MacGregor |title=1 Corinthians 15:3b–6a, 7 and the Bodily Resurrection of Jesus |journal=Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society |volume=49 |issue=2 |year=2006 |pages=225–34 |url=https://www.galaxie.com/article/10572}}</ref> According to [[Gary R. Habermas]], in "Corinthians 15:3–8, Paul records an ancient oral tradition(s) that summarizes the content of the Christian gospel."<ref>{{cite book |title=To Everyone an Answer: A Case for the Christian Worldview |editor1=Francis J. Beckwith |editor-link=Francis J. Beckwith |editor2=William Lane Craig |editor2-link=William Lane Craig |editor3=J. P. Moreland |editor3-link=J. P. Moreland |publisher=InterVarsity Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-8308-7750-8 |page=182}}</ref> N.T Wright describes it as "the very early tradition that was common to all Christians."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ntwrightpage.com/2016/04/05/early-traditions-and-the-origins-of-christianity/ |title=Early Traditions and the Origins of Christianity |author=N.T. Wright |date=5 April 2016 |author-link=N.T. Wright |publisher=NTWrightPage}}</ref>
In dissent from the majority view, [[Robert M. Price]],<ref name="Price1995">{{cite journal | first =Robert M. | last =Price | author-link =Robert M. Price | year =1995 | title =Apocryphal Apparitions: 1 Corinthians 15:3–11 as a Post-Pauline Interpolation | journal =Journal of Higher Criticism | volume =2 | issue =2 | pages =69–99| url =http://depts.drew.edu/jhc/rp1cor15.html}}</ref> [[Hermann Detering]],<ref>{{cite journal | last1 =Detering | first1 =Hermann | year =2003 | title =The Falsified Paul | journal =Journal of Higher Criticism | volume =10 | issue =2 | translator =Darrell Daughty | pages =3–199| url =https://vridar.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/FabricatedJHC.pdf}}</ref> [[John V. M. Sturdy]],<ref>{{cite book | last =Sturdy | first =John | year =2007 | title =Redrawing the Boundaries: The Date of Early Christian Literature | publisher =Equinox Pub. Limited |page=64}}</ref> and David Oliver Smith<ref>{{cite book | last =Smith | first =David Oliver | year =2022 | title =The Pauline Letters: A Rhetorical Analysis | publisher =Wipf and Stock Publishers |page=176}}</ref> have each argued that 1 Corinthians 15:3–7 is a later [[Interpolation (manuscripts)|interpolation]]. According to Price, the text is not an early Christian creed written within five years of Jesus' death, nor did Paul write these verses. In his assessment, this was an [[Interpolation (manuscripts)|Interpolation]] possibly dating to the beginning of the 2nd century. Price states that "The pair of words in verse 3a, "received / delivered" (paralambanein / paradidonai) is, as has often been pointed out, technical language for the handing on of rabbinical tradition", so it would contradict Paul's account of his conversion given in Galatians 1:13–24, which explicitly says that Paul had been taught the gospel of Christ by Jesus himself, not by any other man.{{sfnp|Price|1995}}{{efn|Robert Jamieson, [[A. R. Fausset]], and [[David Brown (Free Church of Scotland)|David Brown]] (1871) comment: "which I ... received — from Christ Himself by special revelation (compare 1Co 11:23)."<ref>{{cite book |author=Robert Jamieson |author2=Andrew Robert Fausset |author3=David Brown |date=1871 |title=[[Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible]]}}</ref> {{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|11:23|KJV}}: "For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread..."}}
===Resurrection of the body===
[[Image:Signorelli Resurrection.jpg|right|thumb|''Resurrection of the Flesh'' ({{c.|1500}}) by [[Luca Signorelli]] – based on 1 Corinthians 15:52: "the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." Chapel of San Brizio, [[Orvieto Cathedral]], Italy ]]
Paul then asks: "Now if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no [[resurrection of the dead]]?"<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|15:12}}</ref> Chapter 15 closes with an account of the nature of the resurrection, claiming that in the [[Last Judgement]] the dead will be raised and both the living and the dead transformed into "spiritual bodies" (verse 44).<ref>E.P. Sanders (1991) ''Paul''. Oxford University Press: 29–30 ({{ISBN|0-19-287679-1}}). For a [[homiletics|homiletic]] application, see [[Charles Davis Tillman#References|"When I Get to the End of the Way" (References)]].</ref>
===Psalm 8 reference===
1 Corinthians 15:27<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|15:27}}</ref> refers to [[Psalm 8]]:6.<ref name=appkirkpatrick>{{cite book|last= Kirkpatrick| first= A. F. | author-link=Alexander Kirkpatrick| title= The Book of Psalms: with Introduction and Notes |series=The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges | volume = Book IV and V: Psalms XC-CL | place = Cambridge |publisher= At the University Press | year = 1901 | page = 838 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=SLJzlHElr6cC | access-date= February 28, 2019}}</ref> [[Ephesians 1]]:22 also refers to this verse of Psalm 8.<ref name=appkirkpatrick/>
===Evil company corrupts good habits===
1 Corinthians 15:33 contains the aphorism "evil company corrupts good habits", from classical Greek literature. According to the church historian [[Socrates of Constantinople]]<ref>''The Ecclesiastical History of Socrates ... '', London: George Bell, 1897. book III, chapter 16, verse 114, page 194. See also the introductory essay to [[Samson Agonistes]] by [[John Milton]], [http://www.dartmouth.edu/~milton/reading_room/samson/tragedy Of that sort of Dramatic Poem which is call'd Tragedy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208234423/http://www.dartmouth.edu/~milton/reading_room/samson/tragedy |date=2015-12-08 }}.</ref> it is taken from a Greek tragedy of [[Euripides]], but modern scholarship, following [[Jerome]]<ref>''Commentarium ad Titum'' 100.1</ref> attributes it to the comedy {{transliteration|grc|Thaĩs}} by [[Menander#Famous quotations|Menander]], or Menander quoting Euripides. Hans Conzelmann remarks that the quotation was widely known.<ref>
{{cite book
|author=Hans Conzelmann
|title=1 Corinthians: A Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians
|others=James W. Leach (translator)
|location=Philadelphia
|publisher=Fortress Press
|year=1975
|isbn=0-8006-6005-6
|pages=[https://archive.org/details/1corinthianscomm00conz/page/278 278–279 fn 132]
|url=https://archive.org/details/1corinthianscomm00conz/page/278
}}</ref> Whatever the proximate source, this quote does appear in one of the fragments of Euripides' works.<ref>Loeb Classical Library Euripides VIII, fragment 1024</ref>
===Baptism of the dead===
1 Corinthians 15:29 argues it would be pointless to [[Baptism for the dead|baptise the dead]] if people are not raised from the dead. This verse suggests that there existed a practice at Corinth whereby a living person would be baptized in the stead of some convert who had recently died.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What does 1 Corinthians 15:29 mean? |url=https://www.bibleref.com/1-Corinthians/15/1-Corinthians-15-29.html |access-date=2023-01-18 |website=BibleRef.com}}</ref> Teignmouth Shore, writing in [[Charles Ellicott|Ellicott]]'s ''Commentary for Modern Readers'', notes that among the "numerous and ingenious conjectures" about this passage, the only tenable interpretation is that there existed a practice of baptising a living person to substitute those who had died before that sacrament could have been administered in Corinth, as also existed among the [[Marcionites]] in the second century, or still earlier than that, among a sect called "the Corinthians".<ref>Teignmouth Shore, [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/ellicott/1_corinthians/15.htm Ellicott's Commentary for Modern Readers] on 1 Corinthians 15, accessed 12 April 2017</ref> The [[Jerusalem Bible]] states that "What this practice was is unknown. Paul does not say if he approved of it or not: he uses it merely for an ''[[ad hominem]]'' argument".<ref>Jerusalem Bible (1966), note at 1 Corinthians 15:29</ref>
The [[Latter Day Saint movement]] interprets this passage to support the practice of [[baptism for the dead]]. This principle of vicarious work for the dead is an important work of [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] in the [[dispensation of the fulness of times]]. This interpretation is rejected by other [[denominations of Christianity]].<ref>{{Citation
| title = LCMS Frequently Asked Questions: Other Denominations
| publisher = Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod
| ref = none}}</ref><ref>{{Citation
| title = Vatican Warns of Mormon 'Baptism of the Dead'
| url = http://www.catholic.org/news/national/story.php?id=27825
| publisher = Catholic Online
| access-date = July 3, 2016
| ref = none}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web
| title = Receive Guidelines for Ministering to Mormons Who Seek to Become United Methodists
| url = http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/receive-guidelines-for-ministering-to-mormons-who-seek-to-become-united-met
| publisher = United Methodist Church
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160819061025/http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/receive-guidelines-for-ministering-to-mormons-who-seek-to-become-united-met
| access-date = July 3, 2016
| archive-date = 2016-08-19
| ref = none}}</ref>
== Commentaries ==
St. [[John Chrysostom#Writings|John Chrysostom]], bishop of Constantinople and Doctor of the Catholic Church, wrote a commentary on 1 Corinthians, formed by 44 homilies.<ref>{{cite web | publisher = Clerus | url = http://www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/jp.htm | title = John Chrysostom's homilies on 1 Corinthians | language = en, la| archive-url = https://archive.today/
==See also==
* [[Pauline privilege]]
* [[Second Epistle to the Corinthians]]
* [[
* [[Third Epistle to the Corinthians]]
== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}
{{reflist|group=note}}
==References==
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