5 - The Crux of 1 Corinthians 7

Summary

As we have noted, two major interpretive challenges confront the exegete of 1 Corinthians 7, the first concerns reconstructing the question that the Corinthians raised to Paul and their motivations for asking it, and the second concerns understanding the relationship between the two major parts of the chapter introduced by περὶ δέ, 7:1–24 and 7:25–40, relative to the Corinthians’ question. The present chapter will examine a select series of essential preliminary questions before offering a proposal on the two major cruces interpretum.