Kenneth E. Bailey is an author and lecturer in Middle Eastern New Testament studies. An ordained Presbyterian minister, he also serves as Canon Theologian of the Diocese of Pittsburgh of the Episcopal Church, USA. He holds graduate degrees in Arabic language and literature, and in systematic theology; his ThD is in New Testament. His many books, in Arabic and English, include Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes (SPCK, 2008).

The result of over thirty years of research and lecturing, Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes is a ground-breaking study of Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians. Bailey examines this canonical letter through the lenses of Paul's Jewish socio-cultural and rhetorical background and the Mediterranean context of the Corinthian recipients. In a set of connected essays, he draws the reader's attention to the letter's rootedness in the Hebrew prophetic tradition, the intentional theological structure of Paul's epistolary organization and the Near Eastern cultural practices that inflect Paul's rhetorical performance. All of this is brought to bear in teasing out the nature of Paul's response to the critical situations facing the Corinthian community: racial, ethnic and theological divisions, sexual misconduct, intimate interaction with pagan practices and disputes about church practices.

Kenneth Bailey

Testimonials

Title page

Imprint

Dedication

2 Cor 1:13-14

Abbreviations

Preface

Introduction

Prelude: The Prophetic Homily Rhetorical Style and Its Interpretation

0.1 Greeting and Prayer of Thanksgiving 1:1-9.

1. THE CROSS and Christian Unity 1:10–4:16

1.1 The Problem: Divisions, Baptism and the Cross 1:10-16

1.2 The Wisdom and Power of God: The Cross 1:17–2:2

1.3 The Wisdom of God: Revealed Through the Spirit 2:3-16

1.4 Christian Unity: Paul, Apollos and Cephas as One 3:1–4:16

2. SEX: Men and Women in the Human Family 4:17–7:40

2.1 Immorality and the Church 4:17–5:6a.

2.2 (Three Roadblocks: Leaven, Immorality and the Law Courts 5:6b–6:8)

2.3 Theology of Sexual Practice: Kingdom Ethics 6:9-12

2.4 Theology of Sexual Practice: Joining the Body 6:13-20

2.5 Sexual Practice in Harmony with the Gospel 7:1-40

3. CHRISTIAN AND PAGAN: Freedom and Responsibility 8:1–11:1.

3.1 Food Offered to Idols: Freedom and Responsibility 8:1-13

3.2 Paul's Personal Freedom and Responsibility 9:1-18

3.3 Freedom in Mission: Full Identification 9:19-27

3.4 Old Covenant Sacraments and Idolatry: Partial Identification 10:1-13.

3.5 New Covenant Sacraments and Idolatry: No Identification 10:14-22

3.6 Food Offered to Idols: Freedom and Responsibility

4. WORSHIP: Men and Women in the Church 11:2–14:40

4.1 Men and Women Leading in Worship: Prophets and How They Dress 11:2-16.

4.2 Order in Worship: Sacrament —The Lord's Supper 11:17-34

4.3 Gifts and the Nature of the Body 12:1-30

4.4 The Hymn to Love 12:31–14:1

4.5 Spiritual Gifts and the Upbuilding of the Body 14:1-25

4.6 Order in Worship: Word—Prophets and Speakers in Tongues 14:26-33.

4.7 Women and Men Worshiping: No Chatting in Church 14:33b-40.

5. RESURRECTION: Faith, Christ and Victory 15:1-58

5.1 Resurrection: The Message and the Validity of Faith 15:1-20

5.2 Resurrection: Adam and Christ —The End of All Things 15:21-28

5.3 Resurrection and Ethics 15:29-34

5.4 Resurrection: Adam and Christ —The Nature of the Resurrected Body 15:35-50

5.5 Resurrection: Victory 15:51-58

6. CONCLUDING NOTES: Funding, Leadership, Greetings and Final Admonition 16:1-23

Appendix I: Common Themes in 1 Corinthians and Amos

Appendix II: Evidence from the Oriental Versions Used in This Study

Glossary

Bibliography

Notations on the Oriental Versions Used in this Study

Ancient Author Search items

Modern Author Search items

Ancient Text Search items

Scripture Search items

Bailey, Kenneth

The result of over thirty years of research and lecturing, Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes is a ground-breaking study of Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians. Bailey examines this canonical letter through the lenses of Paul's Jewish socio-cultural and rhetorical background and the Mediterranean context of the Corinthian recipients.

\["Interested in the culture at the time of Paul?","This mix of history and Bible study helps you see the New Testament world","A must-have for anyone interested in Paul's life"\]

If ever it seems like the Paul of the Bible and the Paul of Christian culture aren't the same person, this study is for you.

The Good Book Stall

The core argument of this challenging book is that St Paul wrote 1 Corinthians very deliberately within rhetorical conventions familiar to first century readers; that these conventions have been obscured in translation and overlooked in commentaries; and that reading 1 Corinthians very closely with careful attention to its references to other writings reveals it as a very determined and forceful proclamation of faith for all Christian churches – not just for the young church in Corinth. The rhetorical conventions it echoes, sometimes ironically but more often with high seriousness, derive from both Hebrew and Greek precedents. Most prominently, Bailey argues, this Epistle is based in the Hebrew tradition of parallelisms, where an idea is stated and is then immediately followed either by a repetition or by a contradiction. 1 Corinthians, he suggests through close commentary, uses this tradition both in details and in the overall structure of its argument. The resulting readings show that its affirmation of the cross and the resurrection would have carried huge rhetorical conviction. And alongside this, more episodic parallels with Greek oratory would have worked to affirm, for example, the triumph of humility and suffering in Christ as against the triumph of warlike heroism praised by Pericles.   
 This book demands close and patient attention from its readers. It thrillingly proposes a new way into an often puzzling, and perhaps undervalued, Epistle.

Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes

Cultural Studies in 1 Corinthians

Navigation Bar

Header Default

Download the Christian360 App to read eBooks and listen to Audiobooks bought at Christian360

Download the App

Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes

Description

Need support?

Customer reviews

Download the App

Download the App