Luise Schottroff - 1 Corinthians

Hellēnesdesignates the Greek ethnos /people, in a way fully analogous to the concept of the Jewish people. Here in 1:22–24 Corinthian believers in the Messiah who deny the discipleship of the cross are especially in view, as 1:23 shows. What is said in 1:22 is not a generalized characterization of the Greek and Jewish peoples as such, as those who seek wisdom and »demand« signs, as the translation often puts it (on this, see below). No, it is about specific people and their objections to solidarity with one who has been crucified. A distinction needs to be made in these verses between what Paul has to say about specific people—or to them—and what the text reveals about presuppositions that go beyond the words themselves. First, about the presuppositions:

1. Paul uses the concepts Hellēnes and ethnē here and in 1 Cor 10:32; 12:13 analogously to the concept of the Jewish people. In the social context of that time, their meanings overlap, although the concepts are not coterminous. People who speak Greek are called Hellēnes even if, as here, it is to be assumed that Greek is the language in which they communicate with one another, even though they are not Greek ethnically. 93From Rome’s perspective, ethnē are the peoples who have submitted or should submit themselves to the Roman Empire. 94From a Jewish perspective, ethnē are the non-Jewish peoples who serve false gods and do not live according to the Torah. This Jewish usage is found in 1 Corinthians (5:1, 10:20 and 12:2).

Davina Lopez uses good arguments to show that in order to understand Paul’s gospel for the ethnē /Nations one needs to consider not only the Jewish perspective but also the Roman. 95God’s call sends Paul to the Nations (Gal 1:16), who are ruled by Rome’s might. God has raised the Messiah to open the way of liberation for the people of Israel and the Nations. As God once sent Jeremiah as a prophet to the nations (Jer 1:5), 96now Paul and other Jews and non-Jews are sent to the nations in the Roman Empire. By means of official Roman works of art Davina Lopez shows how the nations are portrayed in Roman propaganda as inferior, effeminate and threatening in order to impress upon the masses how wise and necessary their subjugation by the Romans is. Thus, the gospel for the nations is one of the presuppositions that can be recognized in 1 Cor 1:22–24 (see especially v. 24). The congregation in Corinth is made up of Jews and Greek-speaking people from the nations whom God called into fellowship with the crucified and raised Messiah.

2. The precise conflict that Paul addresses in 1 Cor 1:22–24 concerns solidarity with the Crucified One. There are Jews who are seeking signs that a person who has been crucified is actually the Messiah. The issue is not that Jewish people in general »demand« signs (as 1:22 is so frequently translated). It is also not the case that Paul is fundamentally opposed to signs (see Rom 15:19, for example). Rather, the resurrection of the Messiah by God is this sign (cf. Matt 12:38–42) that must be recognized. And yet, there are people who do not understand this and consider the crucifixion to be a victory for Roman might that God has not contradicted. Therefore, for them the crucifixion becomes a skandalon . Going the way of the cross appears to them merely as incriminating behavior that unnecessarily provokes Roman might (cf. John 11:48).

From today’s perspective, considering the threat Roman might posed for daily existence in Corinth, the fear these Jewish and non-Jewish followers of Jesus the Messiah had should be taken seriously.

Those called by God into the messianic fellowship (1:24) are for Paul without restriction part of the diverse peoples from whom they came. In that the Messiah, as the one who was crucified, reveals for them God’s power and wisdom, they not only affirm Christ’s resurrection in their heads but put it into effect in their lives.

1:25With the resurrection of the Crucified One, God rendered »human« social structures null and void. Strength/power and wisdom happen in life through the resurrection brought about by God and not through success in a society built on violence (see also the basic information on »The Wisdom of this World«). »God’s foolishness …« refers to the crucifixion, but also to people (see 1:26–28). The genitive is a genitive of possession.

In 1:24 Paul calls believers in the Messiah from the [non-Jewish/Gentile] nations in the Corinthian congregation Hellēnes (»Greeks«) and distinguishes them from Jewish believers in the Messiah. The expression » Heidenchristen, « used in earlier literature is inappropriate because of the pejorative sense of the word Heiden [»heathen/pagan«], which corresponds neither to Jewish usage ( goyim, ethnē [Hebrew and Greek for »nations,« respectively]) nor to Paul’s. The word christlich [»Christian«] is not yet applicable for that period, as what follows also shows.

The believers in the Messiah from the nations do not become Jews through their call by the God of Israel. Ethnically (for this is the way the concepts Ioudaioi [»Jews«] and Hellēnes [»Greeks«] in 1 Cor 1:22–24 are to be interpreted), nothing about their identity changes. Strictly speaking, however, modes of worship are also part of ethnic identity, and they have indeed changed their modes of worship. Apparently, it is no concern of Paul’s to ponder questions of identity with any precision. The difficulty and imprecision connected with the concept Hellēnes (see on 1:22–24) cannot be resolved. It is possible that these people stem neither from Greek nor Roman peoples. They live in Corinth and participate in the culture, language and imperial cults that predominate there. 97Paul’s letter makes reference to the cults and cult meals in the temples (8:10) 98and to food offered to idols and sold at the market (see 10:25 and Chapters 8–10 as a whole). In 8:4–6 Paul mentions a multiplicity of gods, something incompatible, of course, with the oneness of the God of Israel. This oneness of God must lead to conflict when believers in the Messiah from the nations are expected to demonstrate their loyalty to the Roman Empire. The worship sites in the forum in Corinth and the games and plays in Corinth were probably the places that for the believers in the Messiah from the nations brought the possibility of conflicts with Roman expectations for loyalty. 99In this respect they were in the same situation as Jews who lived in Corinth.

What can be said about the identity of the believers in the Messiah from the nations in comparison with the Jews? Almost the only thing we have at our disposal to answer this question is the perspective of Paul. To begin with, only in 5:1–13 is there a differentiated view of the congregational assembly. The congregation interprets the Scripture differently from Paul with respect to the issue of a man who is living with his stepmother (see on 5:1–13). That the Scripture/the Torah(see nomos in 7:19) of the Jewish people is the basis for the way believers in the Messiah shape their lives is shown throughout 1 Corinthians (see on 7:19). Paul can presuppose that his addressees have detailed knowledge of the Scripture, as Chapter 10, for example, shows. Although many people in the congregation are not educated (1:26; see also what has already been said above on 1:4–9), they are accustomed to being active participants in the interpretation of Scripture going on at the time. 100They follow Jewish practices and live according to the Torah, but neither they themselves nor the Jewish people understand them to be Jews. Only after 70 CE did the fiscus Judaicus make it necessary for them and those like them to clarify for Roman authorities their status with respect to Jewish identity.