1 Corinthians 10 is the tenth chapter of the

First Epistle to the Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( 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 ...

in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

of the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

. It is authored by

Paul the Apostle Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

and

Sosthenes Sosthenes (Greek: Σωσθένης, ''Sōsthénēs'', "safe in strength") was the chief ruler of the synagogue at Corinth, who, according to the Acts of the Apostles, was seized and beaten by the mob in the presence of Gallio, the Roman governor ...

Ephesus Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἔφεσος, Éphesos; tr, Efes; may ultimately derive from hit, 𒀀𒉺𒊭, Apaša) was a city in ancient Greece on the coast of Ionia, southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in t ...

. In this chapter Paul writes about the Corinthians' ''

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...

'' journey and the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

, and returns to the subject of food offered to idols. The argument concerning meats offered to idols is resumed in 1 Corinthians 10:14.

Text

Originally written in

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

, this chapter is divided into 33 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are: *

Papyrus 129 Papyrus 129 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), designated by , is a papyrus manuscript of part of the New Testament epistle 1 Corinthians. Location It is currently held at the Museum of the Bible and in the Stimer Collection in California. In Oc ...

(mid 2nd century; extant verses 1–6) *

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), designated by siglum B or 03 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1 ( von Soden), is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old ...

(AD 325–350) *

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus (Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), designated by siglum [Aleph] or 01 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 2 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts) ...

(330–360) *

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...

(400–440) *

Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus The Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (Paris, National Library of France, Greek 9) designated by the siglum C or 04 {in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 3 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a ma ...

(~450; complete). * Codex Freerianus (~450; extant verses 29) *

Codex Claromontanus Codex Claromontanus, symbolized by Dp, D2 or 06 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1026 ( von Soden), is a Greek-Latin diglot uncial manuscript of the New Testament, written in an uncial hand on vellum. The Greek and Latin texts are on facing p ...

(~550) * Codex Coislinianus (~550; extant verses 22–29)

Old Testament references

* 1 Corinthians 10:28 references Psalm 24

Old Testament examples against idolatry (10:1–14)

The

Pulpit Commentary The ''Pulpit Commentary'' is a homiletic commentary on the Bible created during the nineteenth century under the direction of Rev. Joseph S. Exell and Henry Donald Maurice Spence-Jones. It consists of 23 volumes with 22,000 pages and 95,000 entrie ...

suggests that Paul's purpose in verses 1 to 14 is to warn "against over confidence in relation to idolatry and other temptations".Exell, Joseph S.; Spence-Jones, Henry Donald Maurice (Editors)
On "1 Corinthians 10".
In: ''The

''. 23 volumes. First publication: 1890. Accessed 2 April 2017. Although writing to a church made up of both Jews and gentiles, Paul finds no difficulty in using scriptural narratives to illustrate God's dealings with the church, since he regards the Israelites in the desert as "our ancestors" (10:1) or "our fathers", that is, the ewishforefathers at the time of the exodus from Egypt. He speaks, "as in Romans 4:1, from his national consciousness, which was shared in by his Jewish readers, and well understood by his Gentile ones".Meyer's NT Commentary on 1 Corinthians 10
Accessed 3 April 2017 Paul emphasises that all of "our fathers" had the blessing of the divine presence: (, "all") has strong emphasis, and is repeated four times. Paul uses the story of Israel's disobedience in the wilderness (also concerning idolatry and sexual immorality which makes it immediately relevant) to illustrate his warning to the Corinthians: "even those chosen by God can go badly astray; and if they do, whatever their privileges are liable to destruction".

Verse 13

*"No temptation has overtaken you" (NKJV;

KJV The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of K ...

: "There hath no temptation taken you"): Gill suggests that this statement is to comfort the believers, so they will not be distressed or regard it as "some strange or unusual thing" or that they "must unavoidably perish and be destroyed by it." *"Common to man": can be rendered as "is humane" or "suited to man" which is explained further as "a temptation which one is able to bear". Ellicott, C. J. (Ed.
''Ellicott's Bible Commentary for English Readers''. 1 Corinthians 10.
London : Cassell and Company, Limited,

905-1906 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the Brahmi numerals, beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshat ...

Online version: (OCoLC) 929526708. Accessed 28 April 2019. Paul does not mean that "they had been, or were, or would be entirely free from other temptations", but that the temptation might be endured while the believers are strengthened by the grace of God. *"God ..will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able": the believers are tempted, afflicted, or persecuted, only by a "divine permission", and within the determination of God, who also provide strength and always be with them until the end. *"The way of escape": Gill wrote that God knows how and when to deliver his people out of temptations, while also, "in His providence, open a way that they may escape out of them." *"You may be able to bear it": or "what you are in a position to bear" (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:2). According to Gill, God "does not always think fit to remove at once an affliction or temptation", although being asked earnestly by his people, as in the case of Paul himself (1 Corinthians 12:7–8), but he provides them grace enough to bear it or "stand up under it" and "triumph over it." Gill, John
''Exposition of the Entire Bible'', – 1 Corinthians 10:13
Accessed February 28, 2019.

The inherent disgracefulness of any tampering with idolatry (10:15–22)

At the

Lord's Supper The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted ...

, "the cup of blessing" is a "partnership" in the blood of Christ and similarly, "the bread which is broken" is a symbol of "partnership" in the body of Christ (10:16), so that the participation in this meal signals a bond between the participant and Christ, which must be exclusive of all others (10:21-2; cf. the parallel argumentation in 6:15-17). The reference to the 'bread' and the 'body' leads to an exposition about the 'one body' of the church (10:17, anticipating 11:17-34 and 12:12-31), as a model to encourage the people to take more care of their fellow 'limbs' with weaker consciences (cf. 10:23—4).

Verse 16

*"The cup of blessing" ( grc-x-biblical, Τὸ ποτήριον τῆς εὐλογίας, '' ''): translated from Hebrew: (cf. Psalm 116:13: hbo, כוס־ישועות, ''-'', "cup of salvation"),Hebrew Text Analysis: Psalm 116:13
Biblehub that is, toward the end of the

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Ancient Egypt, Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew calendar, He ...

celebration, a blessing was invoked by the head of the family over this cup. Here, the name is transferred to the "chalice in the

", over which Christ "gave thanks" (1 Corinthians 11:24; Matthew 26:27). A close connection is observed between the "blessing" (, Matthew 26:22; Mark 14:22) and "giving thanks" (, Luke 22:19). *"The bread" or rather, "the loaf", was "apparently passed from hand to hand", that each participant "might break off a piece". The best comment on the verse is John 6:41-59, where

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

taught that "there could be no true spiritual life without the closest union with him and incorporation into his life". *"The communion of": literally, "a participation in".

Verse 17

*"For we are all partakers of one bread": or linguistically can be rendered as "for we all have a share from the one bread".

Practical guidelines on eating and avoiding offence (10:23–33)

This part, concluding in 11:1, deals with the ban on participation in 'idolatry' in 'places and occasions where sacrificial food may be on offer without involving the believer in idolatry'. As in chapter 8, Paul maintains that "love is a more valuable criterion than knowledge" (8:1—3), so when acknowledging again the Corinthian principle of freedom (10:23, cf. 6:12), Paul insists on what "builds up", that is, "what is beneficial to others" (cf. 8:1).

References

Sources

External links

* King James Bible - Wikisource
English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
Multiple bible versions at ''Bible Gateway''
(NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.) {{First Epistle to the Corinthians 10