1 Cor 10 Study

1 Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary 1. A Reference to History (10:1–5)

It is interesting that in writing to a Gentile church he speaks of our forefathers. Clearly he sees the church as the true Israel.

1 Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary 1. A Reference to History (10:1–5)

The adjective does not mean that Paul doubts the physical reality of the manna. It is his way of directing attention to the heavenly origin of this food (cf. Ps. 78:24); RSV has ‘supernatural

1 Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary 1. A Reference to History (10:1–5)

Moses got water from a rock at the beginning and end of the wilderness wanderings (Exod. 17:1–7; Num. 20:2–13), and this apparently was the origin of a Jewish legend that a rock travelled with the people.

1 Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary 1. A Reference to History (10:1–5)

He refers to Christ and sees him as following the Israelites and continually giving them drink. He transfers to Christ the title, ‘the Rock’, used of Yahweh (Deut. 32:15; Ps. 18:2, etc.), a transfer that is significant for Christology, as of course is the clear implication of Christ’s pre-existence

1 Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary 1. A Reference to History (10:1–5)

Paul’s verb katastrōnnymi adds a picturesque touch; he sees the wilderness as strewn with bodies (‘their corpses littered the desert’, JB). This is not simply natural death. It is God’s sentence against the rebels.