The Divine Comedy at Corinth: Paul, Menander and the Rhetoric of Resurrection

Authors

Michael B. Cover, Marquette UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Language

eng

Publication Date

10-2018

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Source Publication

New Testament Studies

Source ISSN

0028-6885

Original Item ID

DOI: 10.1017/S0028688518000140

Abstract

This article asks how the New Comedy of Menander might have influenced Paul's theological rhetoric in 1 Cor 5–15. An intertextual reading of Paul's letter against the backdrop of Menander's Samia reveals a number of shared topics, ethical concerns and dramatic characteristics. Paul's citation of Menander's Thais in 1 Cor 15.33 is part of this larger strategy to frame the struggles in Corinth within the ambit of Greek household ‘situation comedy’. Like Menander, Paul hybridises tragic and comic motifs throughout his epistle, inflecting the comedy of the Christ narrative with tragic examples of human misapprehension in this plea for ecclesial reconciliation.

Comments

Accepted version. New Testament Studies, Vol. 64, No. 4 (October 2018): 532-550. DOI. © 2018 Cambridge University Press. Used with permission.

Recommended Citation

Cover, Michael B., "The Divine Comedy at Corinth: Paul, Menander and the Rhetoric of Resurrection" (2018). Theology Faculty Research and Publications. 729.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/theo_fac/729