Go to Related Reading
About this book

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 LXX Exodus 4:24 and 1 Corinthians 10:10

Septuagint · New Testament

Share:

Summary

Multiple ancient translations of Exodus 4, including the Septuagint, replace God with an intermediary who threatens Moses, calling it a destroyer or angel of death. Paul follows this same interpretive tradition in 1 Corinthians 10.

Passages

LXX Exodus 4:24

Septuagint
22 And you shall say to Pharaoh, These things says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn. 23 And I said to you, Send away my people, that they may serve me: now if you will not send them away, see, I will kill your firstborn son. 24 And it happened that the angel of the Lord met him by the way in the inn, and sought to kill him. 25 and Zipporah having taken a stone cut off the foreskin of her son, and fell at his feet and said, The blood of the circumcision of my son is staunched: 26 and he departed from him, because she said, The blood of the circumcision of my son is staunched. 27 And the Lord said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses; and he went and met him in the mount of God, and they kissed each other.
300–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Exodus

1 Corinthians 10:10

New Testament
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.
55–57 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Corinthians

References

"... The Septuagint identifies the attacker as an angel of the Lord instead of the Lord himself, since “It could not be accepted that the Lord in person would threaten the life of any man, and particularly not the life of his elect.” The Septuagint also has Zipporah fall at the feet of the angel and say, “The blood of the circumcision of my son has stood,” rather than making a statement about a bridegroom of blood; verse 26 specifies that it was because she said this that the angel left. The Armenian version reads, “Behold the blood of the circumcision of my son,” and the Ethiopic version has “May the blood of the circumcision of my son be in his place.” All three of these versions emphasize the sacrificial aspect of this circumcision: Moses is saved by his son’s blood. Targum Onkelos agrees with the Septuagint in verse 24. In verse 25, Zipporah says, “May my husband be given to us by the blood of this circumcision,” which is a similar interpretation to that of the Septuagint. Then, in verse 26, she says, “Were it not for the blood of this circumcision, my husband had merited execution.” Thus this Targum offers two interpretations of the phrase “bridegroom of blood,” the first being the sacrificial interpretation found in the Septuagint and the second being the possibility of the shedding of her husband’s blood. In Fragmentary Targum and Codex Neofiti, the attacker is identified as the “Destroyer,” the “Angel of Death,” and the reason for Zipporah’s son’s state of uncircumcision is that Jethro did not allow Moses to circumcise him ..."
Laura Mary Elizabeth Hare, The Transformation of Moses: An Exegetical Study of Exodus 4:24-26 (Knox College, 2013), 4–5.

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

Your feedback

LXX Exodus 4:24 and 1 Corinthians 10:10

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library