1 Corinthians 9

1 Corinthians 9 is the ninth chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It is authored by Paul the Apostle and Sosthenes in Ephesus. Paul defends himself as an apostle.

1 Corinthians 9
1 Corinthians 7:33–8:4 in Papyrus 15, written in the 3rd century.
BookFirst Epistle to the Corinthians
CategoryPauline epistles
Christian Bible partNew Testament
Order in the Christian part7

Text

The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 27 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:

Paul's apologia

This chapter is devoted to Paul's apologia: "a defence of the Apostolic authority of St Paul".[1] Paul opens this section of his letter with four rhetorical questions:

  • Am I not an apostle?
  • Am I not free? [2]
  • Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?
  • Are you not my work in the Lord?

He acknowledges that he may not be treated as apostle by others, but asserts that he is an apostle to the churches he has founded and the Corinthian church is the "seal of [his] apostleship in the Lord".[3] In 1 Corinthians 9:2 he speaks of τοῖς ἐμέ ἀνακρίνουσίν, tois eme anakrinousin, "those investigating [4] me, whether I am a true apostle". "The word used here, ἀνακρίνω (anakrino), is properly a forensic term, and is usually applied to judges in courts; to those who sit in judgment, and investigate and decide in litigated cases brought before them".[5] The "others" who do not recognise Paul as an apostle may have been emissaries from Jerusalem or the Petrine party,[6] those associated with the slogan "I am for Cephas" in 1 Corinthians 1:12, or possibly " to some who may have arrived at Corinth subsequent to St. Paul’s departure, and who, not recognising his Apostleship in relation to themselves, stirred up some of the Corinthians to repudiate it also".[7]

Verse 5
Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?[8]
  • "A believing wife" (KJV: "a sister, a wife"): The phrase "a sister, a wife" is an Hebraism derived from "my sister, spouse", (Song of Solomon 4:9-10, 12; 5:1). In Judaism men called their wives 'sisters' not on account of religion, which also is not the meaning here, but because of the common relation that men and women in all humankind stand in to one another, as that of man and wife.[9]

Verse 9

Cross reference: Deuteronomy 25:4

See also

References
  1. Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges on 1 Corinthians 9, accessed 30 March 2017
  2. The order of the first two questions is reversed in the Westcott-Hort text
  3. 1 Corinthians 9:3
  4. "Strong's Greek: 350. ἀνακρίνω (anakrinó) -- to examine, investigate". biblehub.com. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  5. Barnes' Notes on 1 Corinthians 9, accessed 31 March 2017
  6. Pulpit Commentary on 1 Corinthians 9, accessed 1 April 2017
  7. Ellicott's Commentary for Modern Readers on 1 Corinthians 9, accessed 1 April 2017
  8. 1 Corinthians 9:5 NKJV
  9. "1 Corinthians 9:5 - Commentary & Verse Meaning - Bible". Bible Study Tools. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
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