Tool Beta
The Ancient World Behind the Text
Pick a passage anywhere in the New Testament. See the customs and ideas a first reader knew without being told.
1 Corinthians 15:1-11, What I received
Paul reminds the Corinthians of the good news he handed on to them as he had received it: that Christ died for sins, was buried, was raised on the third day, and appeared to Cephas, the Twelve, more than five hundred, James, all the apostles and last of all to Paul.
1 Corinthians 15:1-11, in every translation this tool compares.
Paul reminds the Corinthians of the core message he passed on to them, a tradition he had himself received. It runs like this: Christ died for sins as the Scriptures foretold, was buried, rose on the third day, and appeared to Peter, the Twelve, a crowd of over five hundred, James and the apostles. Paul adds himself as the last witness, unworthy because he had persecuted the church, yet made what he is by God's grace.
- {"u":"https:\/\/jayms.com\/bible-study-tools-2\/ancient-world-ideas\/following-a-teacher\/","n":"Following a teacher","s":"A disciple walked behind his teacher, lived with him, learned his ways and carried his reputation. Jesus chose his own, which only radical teachers did.","r":""}
- {"u":"https:\/\/jayms.com\/bible-study-tools-2\/ancient-world-ideas\/burial-and-mourning\/","n":"Burial and mourning","s":"Mourners came at once, the dead were buried the same day, wrapped in linen in rock tombs, and family carried the duty of burial. Pagan mourning, with little hope beyond a shadowy underworld, could be bleak.","r":""}
- {"u":"https:\/\/jayms.com\/bible-study-tools-2\/ancient-world-ideas\/resurrection-of-the-dead\/","n":"The resurrection of the dead","s":"Most Jews, with the Pharisees, expected God to raise the dead to bodily life at the end of the age. The Sadducees denied it. Nobody expected one man to rise ahead of everyone else.","r":""}
- {"u":"https:\/\/jayms.com\/bible-study-tools-2\/ancient-world-ideas\/the-twelve\/","n":"The Twelve","s":"Jesus chose twelve men to be with him and to be sent out. The number matched Israel's twelve tribes.","r":""}
Received and handed on were the words for passing on a tradition: the Mishnah tractate Abot opens with Moses receiving the Torah at Sinai and handing it on to Joshua, and Jewish teachers expected students to memorize what they learned (Bailey; Keener and his notes). Keener thinks the tradition may be quoted word for word in verses 3-5 or 3-7, Bailey, citing Wright, dates it within two or three years of Easter, and Carson, Moo and Morris call this the earliest written list of witnesses to the resurrection. Jewish law required burial even for executed criminals, and since resurrection meant a new body, the mention of burial presupposes an empty tomb (Keener and his notes). Many people believed in ghosts, so a claim to have seen Jesus' spirit would not have been controversial; it was the claim to have seen him bodily that stood out, and the dying and rising gods of fertility myth are poor parallels (the cultural backgrounds article Resurrection). Appealing to witnesses still alive invited readers to check (Keener and his notes). One untimely born usually meant a miscarried fetus, and Paul is probably running himself down (Keener).
- Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, on 1 Corinthians 15:3, 15:4, 15:6 and 15:8
- NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, notes on 1 Corinthians 15:3, 15:4 and 15:6, and article Resurrection
- Kenneth E. Bailey, Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes, sections 4.1 and 5.1
- D. A. Carson, Douglas J. Moo and Leon Morris, An Introduction to the New Testament, ch. 9, 1 and 2 Corinthians, The Contribution of 1 and 2 Corinthians
