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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 CD 6:3 and 1 Corinthians 10:4

Dead Sea Scrolls, Sectarian and Community Texts · New Testament

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Summary

The Damascus Document and 1 Corinthians draw on a tradition where the wilderness well or rock means more than stone. At Qumran it becomes the Torah, “dug” by leaders seeking truth, and Paul speaks of the rock that “followed” Israel and links it to Jesus.

Passages

CD 6:3

Dead Sea Scrolls, Sectarian and Community Texts · Damascus Document
2 God. But God remembered the covenant of the first ones, and he raised up from Aaron men of understanding, and from Israel 3 wise men, and he made them hear. And they dug the well: “The well that princes dug, that 4 the nobles of the people excavated with a staff.” The well is the Torah, and those who dug it are 5 the returnees of Israel who went out from the land of Judah and sojourned in the land of Damascus, 6 all of whom God called princes, for they sought him, and their renown was not 7 turned back by the mouth of anyone. And the staff is the interpreter of the Torah, of whom 8 Isaiah said, “He brings out a tool for his work.” And the nobles of the people are 9 those who come to excavate the well with the staffs that the staff decreed,
100–80 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in CD

1 Corinthians 10:4

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

References

"... The final, and perhaps most interesting, link in our discussion is supplied by the Damascus Document 6:3-4. It is written: "And they dug the well: 'the well which the princes dug, which the nobles of the people delved with the stave'. The well is the Law Not only does the writer quote Numbers 21:18, but he identifies the well as the law. This demonstrates that the covenanters had equated the well with the law and had related Numbers 21:18 to the task of Torah interpretation. While it cannot be established with certainty that this identification was known at an early date beyond the confines of the Qumran community, there are indications which suggest that it was. What we do know for certain, however, is that by Paul's day the connection between the well and the interpretation of the Torah was suggested, at least among the covenanters, by Numbers 21:18. And, as we have indicated, there is considerable evidence to show that the well and the rock had come to be associated in the language and imagery of Jewish tradition. Therefore, it is quite possible, even probable, that Paul was aware of a figurative connection or association between the rock from which water flowed and the Torah ..."
James W. Aageson, “Paul's Use of Scripture: A Comparative Study of Biblical Interpretation in Early Palestinian Judaism and the New Testament with Special Reference to Romans 9–11” (PhD diss., Mansfield College, the University of Oxford, 1983), 266–267.

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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CD 6:3 and 1 Corinthians 10:4

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