1 Corinthians

This compact commentary on 1 Corinthians is both readable and full of insights that will engage students, ministers, and scholars alike. The Apostle Paul writes to a relatively new church in which members are failing to maintain solidarity with other members. They struggle to find their unique place in Roman society as Gentile followers of Jewish leaders that proclaim Christ as Lord. Their many problems include competition over leadership and social prestige, sexual impropriety, household conflicts, idol foods, table fellowship, protocols on gender and the use of spiritual gifts, and confusion about death, immortality, and Christ's return. Oropeza addresses Paul's response to these and other issues as he engages ancient biblical, Jewish, and Greco-Roman sources along with recent scholarship. This is a must-read for those who want to understand the Corinthian situation and Paul's response in a new way.

""This commentary deeply embeds Paul in Jewish, Greek, and Roman moral, political, mythical, and religious beliefs and practices in the ancient Mediterranean world. The challenge for the reader is how to translate, transfer, or reconfigure these beliefs and practices into a Christian lifestyle in a highly different but related world during the twenty-first Century.""
--Vernon K. Robbins, Emory University


B. J. Oropeza is Professor of Biblical and Religious Studies at Azusa Pacific University (Azusa, CA). Among his numerous publications are Exploring Second Corinthians (2016) and Exploring Intertextuality (2016, co-editor Steve Moyise)