Gyní toú Patrós: : Analytic Kin Circumlocution and the Case for Corinthian Adultery

Modern exegesis of 1 Cor 5 has functioned under two assumptions: first, Paul's phrase γυνὴ τοῦ πατρός echoes similar locutions found in Leviticus or Deuteronomy, and, second, sexual liaisons between sons and their stepmothers were considered incestuous in Greco-Roman antiquity. By examining the...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Reno, Joshua M. ca. 21. Jh. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Scholar's Press [2016]
In: Journal of Biblical literature
Year: 2016, Volume: 135, Issue: 4, Pages: 827-847
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Bible. Corinthians 1. 5 / Periphrasis / Stepmothers / Son / Love relationship / Concord / Incest
IxTheo Classification:HC New Testament
NCF Sexual ethics
Further subjects:B Bible. Corinthians
B Bible Commentaries
B ROMAN antiquities
B periphrasis
B ADULTERY in the Bible
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:Modern exegesis of 1 Cor 5 has functioned under two assumptions: first, Paul's phrase γυνὴ τοῦ πατρός echoes similar locutions found in Leviticus or Deuteronomy, and, second, sexual liaisons between sons and their stepmothers were considered incestuous in Greco-Roman antiquity. By examining the use of analytic kin circumlocution, this article argues that Paul's periphrasis not only is a standard circumlocution for μητρυιά ("stepmother") but also is constructed to highlight the particularly egregious nature of this affair: it is an inner-οἶκος adultery. Roman, Greek, and Second Temple Jewish data indicate that son-stepmother trysts, while especially offensive, were considered adulterous. By removing this perceived pentateuchal anchor, this article opens new possibilities for reading 1 Cor 5 as a test case in Paul's homonoia argument in 1 Cor 1-4 and suggests marriage and the οἶκος as a new latticework for holding together the disparate elements of 1 Cor 5-7.
ISSN:1934-3876
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of Biblical literature
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.15699/jbl.1354.2016.157466