Understanding Paul’s Advice to Virgins: An Exegetical Analysis of 1 Corinthians 7:1–2, 25–38
Zekewos, Simon
Understanding Paul’s Advice to Virgins: An Exegetical Analysis of 1 Corinthians 7:1–2, 25–38 - Johannesburg South African Theological Seminary 2020 - 87p PDF A4 Abstract, TOC
First Corinthians chapter 7 has had much attention from scholars and commentators. Generally, there are two opposite approaches to interpretation of this specific chapter. On the one side is the consideration that Paul is against marriage, so he forbids getting married as a resistive. he supports celibacy and asceticism. On the other side is the interpretation that in this chapter Paul is giving useful advice to the people who are going through challenges of life, but not forbidding marriage at all. First Corinthians chapter 7 is one of the most controversial and unclear messages for modern-day readers because of its social setting and cultural context. That is the reason why many of us err in giving our own interpretations. As we view the message from a different cultural setting, we cannot fully grasp the intended meaning of the writer unless we try to understand the message as the original recipients would have. There are three specific reasons for this mini-research. As a translator and consultant-in-training, the first challenge I faced was how to translate ‘It is good for a man not to marry’(7:1); second, the sentence ‘he should do as he wants, he is not sinning’(7:36);and finally, the statement ‘behaving improperly over his virgin’(7:36). The first seems to be against an overall principle of God from the beginning, the second seems to encourage engaged couples to have sexual relations before they get married, and the last has conflicting interpretations—who is acting improperly—the father or the betrothed? Was Paul against marriage and supporting asceticism? Was Paul sanctioning premarital sex? How should 21st–century believers, who live in completely different cultures, understand the message of the 1stcentury? This thesis tries to answer these questions.
Understanding Paul’s Advice to Virgins: An Exegetical Analysis of 1 Corinthians 7:1–2, 25–38 - Johannesburg South African Theological Seminary 2020 - 87p PDF A4 Abstract, TOC
First Corinthians chapter 7 has had much attention from scholars and commentators. Generally, there are two opposite approaches to interpretation of this specific chapter. On the one side is the consideration that Paul is against marriage, so he forbids getting married as a resistive. he supports celibacy and asceticism. On the other side is the interpretation that in this chapter Paul is giving useful advice to the people who are going through challenges of life, but not forbidding marriage at all. First Corinthians chapter 7 is one of the most controversial and unclear messages for modern-day readers because of its social setting and cultural context. That is the reason why many of us err in giving our own interpretations. As we view the message from a different cultural setting, we cannot fully grasp the intended meaning of the writer unless we try to understand the message as the original recipients would have. There are three specific reasons for this mini-research. As a translator and consultant-in-training, the first challenge I faced was how to translate ‘It is good for a man not to marry’(7:1); second, the sentence ‘he should do as he wants, he is not sinning’(7:36);and finally, the statement ‘behaving improperly over his virgin’(7:36). The first seems to be against an overall principle of God from the beginning, the second seems to encourage engaged couples to have sexual relations before they get married, and the last has conflicting interpretations—who is acting improperly—the father or the betrothed? Was Paul against marriage and supporting asceticism? Was Paul sanctioning premarital sex? How should 21st–century believers, who live in completely different cultures, understand the message of the 1stcentury? This thesis tries to answer these questions.