I’m currently working on a resource which brings together a whole heap of significant backgrounds to 1 Corinthians, including:
- Old Testament citations/allusion (including probable sources of citation – eg Septuagint)
- Photos of Corinth (eg. temples, marketplace, etc)
- Photos of artefacts (eg. examples of curse tablets, writing materials, coins, etc)
- New translations of parallel/related/interesting material from Greco-Roman writers prior to and contemporary to Paul
- New translations of parallel/related/interesting material from Jewish writers prior to Paul
I’m setting all of these useful backgrounds alongside the translated text of 1 Corinthians, at appropriate places. I’m currently in discussion with a publisher about it, but nothing’s definite yet. The point of it all is to be a sort of “background source materials” commentary on the letter – including my own annotations and explanations of the relevance of the various materials. I’m not seeking to claim that Paul is consciously drawing on all these backgrounds – I’m simply trying to illuminate the world in which 1 Corinthians came to be.
So I suppose I’m asking for help in a couple of ways:
- What do you think would make this sort of resource most helpful/usable/worthwhile?
- Are you aware of any helpful backgrounds to 1 Corinthans that I might not have thought of, such as particular illuminating parallels in Jewish or Greco-Roman literature?
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Matthew, it seems to me that the internet, rather than paper, is the best medium for your project. The internet has the following advantages
1. Easy access to all
2. Others can link to it from other web pages
3. You can present the text of 1 Corinthians unbroken, and embed links to your background material
4. You can correct mistakes and add material as it becomes available.
5. You can provide links to on-line articles for which there would not be space in a book
6. You don’t need a publisher
Concerning background material, Acts provides useful background, particularly on the roles of Prisca, Aquila, Timothy, and Crispus (and Sosthenes and Stephanas if they are Crispus and Titius Justus respectively).
Also, I would argue that 2 Corinthians provides useful background in the sense that it alluminates 1 Corinthians. The common assumption that the two letters were separated by 18 months and numerous intervening developments is wrong, I believe.
If you decide to discuss Paul’s travel plans you should give a map and make reference to 2 Cor 1:15-16, Acts, and the death of Claudius.
I expect you have already scanned Bruce Winter’s work for general background material on patronage and benefaction, as well as Sophists.
You may wish to include the Gallio inscription and a discussion of when 1 Cor was written. Then there are the questions of whether the church met in one house, the architecture of houses and how it might have affected the social dynamics, and so on.
You might also want to give background material on individual word studies.
It’s potentially limitless, isn’t it? The good thing about doing it all on the web is that you can extend the scope at a latter date without disrupting the flow of what you have already done. For example, you could later extend it to include Acts 18, 2 Corinthians, and information about the church of Corinth from Romans and 1 Clement.
Anyway, good luck with this project.
Thanks for this Richard.
I can see the appeal of the internet as a medium. It’s certainly more flexible and accessible. On the other hand, I don’t know if I could be bothered doing the same amount of work on it if it’s just going out into cyberspace, rather than being published. For my own purposes, I’ll definitely want something on paper, as it’s just the way I work – and this is primarily something I’ve been preparing for my own use. But yes, perhaps if the publisher ends up changing their mind about it, I might end up doing some sort of internet version of the material.
You have a really good point about architecture and social dynamics – I’ve read a bit about this (eg Murphy O-Connor), and possible implications for the practice of the common meal etc – but I haven’t included any of this in the material so far. I can see it would be worth adding this.
And I’ll have to think further about how other parts of the New Testament might provide important illuminating backgrounds, as you’ve suggested – so far I haven’t emphasised this.
Thanks again
One additional resource you may find helpful, since you mentioned images, is Cities of Paul, a CD-ROM put out by Fortress Press edited by Helmut Koester with a ton of images with expansive explanations. Corinthi is of course included.
Hey thanks for that – I wasn’t aware of it