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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 10:7 and Neofiti Exodus 32:6

New Testament · Targum

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Summary

In the Aramaic Targum Neofiti of Exodus, “getak” describes the Israelites’ celebration of the golden calf and can imply obscene behavior. In 1 Corinthians, Paul similarly connects the episode with sexual sin.

Passages

1 Corinthians 10:7

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

Neofiti Exodus 32:6

Targum
4 He received them from their hands and cast them into a mold. He made it into a cast-metal calf and said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!” 5 Aaron saw Hur the prophet before it and was afraid. He built an altar before it. Aaron made a proclamation: “A festival before the Lord tomorrow!” 6 They rose early the next day, arranged burnt offerings, and brought sacrifices of holy things. The people sat down to eat and drink, then rose to engage in obscene revelry in foreign worship. 7 The Lord spoke to Moses: “Go down, because your people, whom you redeemed and brought out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8 They quickly turned aside from the way I commanded them. They made themselves a cast-metal calf, bowed down to it, sacrificed to it, and said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’”
300–1000 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Neofiti Exodus

References

"... Paul enjoins the Corinthian Christians, "Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, 'The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.' We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did". Paul is quoting part of Exodus 32:6 and alluding to the sorry episode of the golden calf. But that story says nothing about sexual immorality. According to Exodus 32:6 in the Hebrew: 'They rose early the next day, and offered burnt offerings and brought sacrifices of well-being; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to revel [literally 'and rose up to laugh'].' The LXX reads, 'and the people sat down to eat and drink and arose to dance.' Paul has followed the LXX, but his warning not to indulge in sexual immorality may reflect the Aramaic paraphrase: 'and the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play obscenely [getak] in foreign worship' (Targum Neofiti). In Aramaic, getak means either 'to laugh' or 'to jest,' as does tsahaq in Hebrew, but it also means "to be obscene," particularly with reference to idolatry ... In antiquity, pagan worship often involved temple prostitutes. It is this aspect that the Targum may reflect and that Paul also presupposes; hence his warning to avoid sexual immorality ..."
Craig A. Evans, Ancient Texts for New Testament Studies: A Guide to the Background Literature (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2005), 212–213.

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 10:7 and Neofiti Exodus 32:6

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