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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 1 Corinthians 10:24 and Pesachim 51a

New Testament · Rabbinic

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Summary

In 1 Corinthians, Paul limits the use of freedom when another person's conscience is involved. Rabbinic tradition in tractate Pesachim similarly limits permitted behavior in front of people who consider it forbidden, giving custom practical authority.

Passages

1 Corinthians 10:24

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

Pesachim 51a

Rabbinic · Babylonian Talmud
After mentioning halakhot relating to customs, the Gemara returns to discuss the matter itself. If matters are permitted but others were accustomed to treat them as a prohibition, you are not allowed to permit these actions in their presence. Rav Ḥisda said: We are dealing with Samaritans, not with Jews. The Gemara is surprised at this: And doesn’t this apply to everyone? Wasn’t it taught in a baraita to the contrary? Two brothers may bathe together, and there is no concern that doing so is immodest or will lead to sinful thoughts. However, the custom was that two brothers do not bathe together in the city of Kabul (see I Kings 9:13). And there was an incident involving Yehuda and Hillel, sons of Rabban Gamliel, who bathed together in Kabul, and the entire city denounced them and said: In all our days we have never seen that type of conduct. Hillel stole away and went out to the outer chamber and did not want to tell them: You are permitted to do so. He preferred to obey the city residents rather than rule it permitted for two brothers to bathe together.
450–550 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Pesachim

References

... Paul’s argument follows the outline and order of the baraita. This does not mean that Paul was aware of this baraita or that the author/redactor of the baraita was aware of Paul’s epistle, especially considering the fact that this baraita is a development of a baraita that originally concerned vows. Nonetheless, the positions taken by the rabbis and Paul are very similar. They use similar methods to assert their authority over a population that includes the knowledgeable and those who do not possess knowledge. Both rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity were made up of elite groups of people with knowledge of the law, who at times were forced to interact with populations who had little knowledge of the law. The question became how to handle this interaction. How much should the sage respect stringent custom and how should this affect the assertion of authority over the rest of the population? ...
Aaron Amit, “The Knowledgeable and the Weak in 1 Corinthians and Rabbinic Literature,” in The Faces of Torah: Studies in the Texts and Contexts of Ancient Judaism in Honor of Steven Fraade, ed. Michal Bar-Asher Siegal, Tzvi Novick, and Christine Hayes (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2017), 42–43.

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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1 Corinthians 10:24 and Pesachim 51a

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