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1 Corinthians

About this book
Chapter 10

1 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea,⁠ 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they were all drinking from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.⁠ 5 But God was not pleased with most of them, for they were cut down in the wilderness. 6 These things happened as examples for us, so that we will not crave evil things as they did. 7 So do not be idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.”⁠ 8 And let us not be immoral, as some of them were, and 23,000 died in a single day.⁠ 9 And let us not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by snakes.⁠ 10 And do not complain, as some of them did, and were killed by the destroying angel.⁠ 11 These things happened to them as examples and were written for our instruction, on whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 So let the one who thinks he is standing be careful that he does not fall. 13 No trial has overtaken you that is not faced by others. And God is faithful: He will not let you be tried beyond what you are able to bear, but with the trial will also provide a way out so that you may be able to endure it. 14 So then, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. 15 I am speaking to thoughtful people. Consider what I say. 16 Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ?⁠ Is not the bread that we break a sharing in the body of Christ?⁠ 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all share the one bread. 18 Look at the people of Israel. Are not those who eat the sacrifices partners in the altar?⁠ 19 Am I saying that idols or food sacrificed to them amount to anything? 20 No, I mean that what the pagans sacrifice is to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons.⁠ 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot take part in the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Or are we trying to provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we really stronger than he is? 23 “Everything is lawful,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is lawful,” but not everything builds others up. 24 Do not seek your own good, but the good of the other person.⁠ 25 Eat anything that is sold in the marketplace without questions of conscience, 26 for the earth and its abundance are the Lord’s. 27 If an unbeliever invites you to dinner and you want to go, eat whatever is served without asking questions of conscience. 28 But if someone says to you, “This is from a sacrifice,” do not eat, because of the one who told you and because of conscience— 29 I do not mean yours but the other person’s. For why is my freedom being judged by another’s conscience? 30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I blamed for the food that I give thanks for? 31 So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. 32 Do not give offense to Jews or Greeks or to the church of God, 33 just as I also try to please everyone in all things. I do not seek my own benefit, but the benefit of many, so that they may be saved.

Texts in conversation

Compare Exodus 12:23 and 1 Corinthians 10:10

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

In 1 Corinthians, Paul reminds his readers how the Israelites were killed in the wilderness by a “destroying angel.” This is similar to the “destroyer” in Exodus, who brought death to Egypt but was prevented from entering homes marked with blood.

Passages

Exodus 12:23

Hebrew Bible
22 Take a branch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and apply to the top of the doorframe and the two side posts some of the blood that is in the basin. Not one of you is to go out the door of his house until morning. 23 For the Lord will pass through to strike Egypt, and when he sees the blood on the top of the doorframe and the two side posts, then the Lord will pass over the door, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you. 24 You must observe this event as an ordinance for you and for your children forever. 25 When you enter the land that the Lord will give to you, just as he said, you must observe this ceremony.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Exodus

1 Corinthians 10:10

New Testament
8 And let us not be immoral, as some of them were, and 23,000 died in a single day. 9 And let us not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by snakes. 10 And do not complain, as some of them did, and were killed by the destroying angel. 11 These things happened to them as examples and were written for our instruction, on whom the ends of the ages have come.
55–57 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Corinthians

References

"... Matthew says the king sent his armies and destroyed the guests who not only had refused to attend the wedding, but also murdered the king’s representatives. A destruction resulting in death is definitely the sense conveyed of ἀπόλλυμι in these parables. Similar observations apply to the other usages of ἀπόλλυμι in relation to divine judgement. In Luke 17:27 it describes the Flood that killed everybody. In Luke 17:29 it is what fire does when it killed the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. In 1 Corinthians 10:10 it is used of the Israelites who, for their disobedience, perished in the desert by the hand of the “destroyer,” probably God’s avenging angel. (compare Exodus 12:23) Finally, in Jude 5 and 11, the author twice uses ἀπόλλυμι to describe the death of some Israelites because of their unbelief and during Korah's rebellion. Thus in the nine times in the New Testament that derivatives of the verb ἀπόλλυμι are used in relation to God’s acts of judgement, a destruction leading to death is always involved ..."
Kim Gary Papaioannou, “Places of Punishment in the Synoptic Gospels” (PhD diss., University of Durham, 2004), 83.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Exodus 12:23 and 1 Corinthians 10:10

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