Conflict and Community in Corinth: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on 1 and 2 Corinthians

by Ben Witherington III

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 1995

Overview

Here Witherington brings traditional exegetical and historical methods to the study of 1 and 2 Corinthians, analyzing Paul’s two letters in terms of Greco-Roman rhetoric and ancient social conditions and customs. This approach reveals the context and content of Paul's message in a new light and discloses Paul’s relationship with his Corinthian converts.

Praise for the Print Edition

Ben Witherington has produced an innovative commentary on 1 and 2 Corinthians, making use of both ancient and modern tools to highlight aspects of the Corinthian situation and of the argument of Paul’s letters that have not been unearthed by previous commentators.

—Bruce W. Winter, Tyndale House, Cambridge

Ben Witherington blends the best of recent sociological and rhetorical scholarship on Paul into a distinctive, rich, and accessible commentary on the Corinthian correspondence. His work operates at two levels: the main commentary offers an informative and edifying resource for students and preachers, while the more detailed investigations, bibliographies, and footnotes provide plenty to stimulate scholars. This is a bold, comprehensive, and impressive attempt to set Paul’s dialogue with the Corinthian church squarely in its social context and to illuminate the apostle’s art of persuasion.

—Andrew T. Lincoln, University of Sheffield, England

State-of-the-art interpretation of the Corinthian letters…Ben Witherington offers us a lively conversation between a host of disciplines. The voices of archaeology, classics, rhetoric, sociology, anthropology, and philosophy are brought together in fruitful dialogue on the Corinthian letters. We are transported to the first century, hearing the letters for the first time with the mind and ears of the Corinthian congregations as they received them from Paul.

—Duane F. Watson, Malone College

Product Details

• Title: Conflict and Community in Corinth: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary
• Author: Ben Witherington III
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Publication Date: 1995
• Pages: 503

About Ben Witherington III

Ben Witherington III is Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky. He received his M.Div. degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from the University of Durham in England. He is now considered one of the top evangelical scholars in the world, and is an elected member of the prestigious SNTS, a society dedicated to New Testament studies. A prolific writer, he has twice won the Christianity Today best Biblical Studies book-of-the-year award. Among his other books are The Christology of Jesus and Jesus, Paul, and the End of the World and The Jesus Quest. A popular lecturer, Witherington has presented seminars for churches, colleges and biblical meetings not only in the United States but also in England, Estonia, Russia, Europe, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Australia.

Contents

Top Highlights

“The argument is not about family relations but about praying and prophesying in Christian worship.” (Page 235)

“In a city where social climbing was a major preoccupation, Paul’s deliberate stepping down in apparent status would have been seen by many as disturbing, disgusting, and even provocative.” (Page 21)

“In any case, Paul is correcting an abuse of a privilege, not taking back a woman’s right to speak in the assembly, which he has already granted in ch. 11.” (Page 287)

“Such covering of the head was ‘not a general form of dress adopted by people attending a sacrifice’ but was done only by those ‘taking an active part.’¹² This is crucial because Paul in 1 Cor. 11:2ff. is only addressing those actively involved in praying and prophesying in Christian worship. Plutarch (Quaest. Rom. 266D–267A) indicates that Romans uncovered their heads in the presence of other people, particularly social superiors, to acknowledge them as worthy of honor.” (Page 234)

“First, why does Paul want to maintain for women, but not for men, the Roman practice of covering the head when engaging in a religious act?” (Page 235)

Product Details

• Title: Conflict and Community in Corinth: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on 1 and 2 Corinthians
• Author: Ben Witherington III
• Series: Socio-Rhetorical Commentary Series
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Print Publication Date: 1995
• Logos Release Date: 2008
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Bible. N.T. 1 Corinthians › Commentaries; Bible. N.T. 1 Corinthians › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Bible. N.T. 1 Corinthians › Socio-rhetorical criticism; Bible. N.T. 2 Corinthians › Commentaries; Bible. N.T. 2 Corinthians › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Bible. N.T. 2 Corinthians › Socio-rhetorical criticism
• ISBNs: 9780802801449, 0802801447
• Resource ID: LLS:SORHET67CO1
• Resource Type: Bible Commentary
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T03:04:49Z

About Ben Witherington III

Ben Witherington III (PhD, University of Durham) is Jean R. Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary. A prominent evangelical scholar, he is also on the doctoral faculty at St. Andrews University in Scotland. Witherington has written over forty books, including The Jesus Quest and The Paul Quest, both of which were selected as top biblical studies works by Christianity Today. His other works include The Indelible Image, Women and the Genesis of Christianity, The Gospel Code, A Week in the Life of Corinth and commentaries on the entire New Testament. He also writes for many church and scholarly publications and is a frequent contributor to Patheos and Beliefnet. Witherington is an elected member of the prestigious Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, a society dedicated to New Testament studies. He is a John Wesley Fellow for Life, a research fellow at Cambridge University and a member of numerous professional organizations, including the Society of Biblical Literature, Society for the Study of the New Testament and the Institute for Biblical Research. He previously taught at institutions like Ashland Theological Seminary, Vanderbilt University, Duke Divinity School and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. An ordained pastor in the United Methodist Church and a popular lecturer, Witherington has presented seminars for churches, colleges and biblical meetings around the world. He has led numerous study tours through the lands of the Bible and is known for bringing the text to life through incisive historical and cultural analysis. Along with many interviews on radio and television networks across the country, Witherington has been seen in programs such as 60 Minutes, 20/20, Dateline and the Peter Jennings ABC special Jesus and Paul—The Word and the Witness