George T. Montague - First Corinthians

Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture

S ERIES E DITORS

Peter S . Williamson

Mary Healy

A SSOCIATE E DITOR

Kevin Perrotta

C ONSULTING E DITORS

Scott Hahn , Franciscan University of Steubenville

Daniel J . Harrington , SJ , Weston Jesuit School of Theology

William S . Kurz , SJ , Marquette University

Francis Martin , Sacred Heart Major Seminary

Frank J . Matera , Catholic University of America

George Montague , SM , St. Marys University

Terrence Prendergast, SJ , Archbishop of Ottawa

2011 by George T. Montague

Published by Baker Academic
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakeracademic.com

Ebook edition created 2012

Ebook corrections 04.02.2014

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

ISBN 978-1-4412-3202-1

Imprimatur : Most Rev. Gustavo Garca-Siller, MSpS, Archbishop of San Antonio
Nihil obstat : Rev. John A. Leies, SM, STD, Censor deputatus

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the New American Bible, Revised Edition 1991, 1986, 1970, 2011 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, DC, and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All rights reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Scripture quotations labeled JB are from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, copyright 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc. Reprinted by permission.

Scripture quotations labeled KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations labeled NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Scripture quotations labeled NJB are from THE NEW JERUSALEM BIBLE, copyright 1985 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc. Reprinted by permission.

Scripture quotations labeled NRSV are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations labeled RSV are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

This series promises to be spiritually and doctrinally informative, based on careful, solid biblical exegesis. The method and content of this work will be helpful to teachers of the faith at different levels and will provide a reliable guide to people seeking to deepen their knowledge and thereby nourish their faith. I strongly recommend the Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture .

Cormac Cardinal Murphy - O Connor , Archbishop of Westminster

In preparing for the international Synod of Bishops on The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church , Pope Benedict XVI reminded the Church that a prayerful study of the Scriptures is at the heart of the Churchs renewal. The Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture promises to directly serve that purpose. Drawing on sound biblical scholarship, the commentaries present the reader with the rich harvest of that study, reflecting on the message of the biblical text and engaging the life of faith from a Catholic perspective .

Donald Senior , CP , president, Catholic Theological Union

A landmark achievement in theological interpretation of Scripture in and for the Church. Everything about this series is inviting and edifying, from the format, photos, background notes, and cross - references ( to Scripture and the Catechism ) to the rich exposition of the text, quotations from the Churchs living tradition, and reflections for contemporary life. It is a wonderful gift to the Catholic Church and a model for the rest of us. Highly recommended for all !

Michael J . Gorman , St. Marys Seminary and University, Baltimore

The Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture is an ideal tool for living our faith more deeply. This extraordinary resource combines superior scholarship and a vivid, accessible style that will serve the interested layperson and the serious scholar equally well. It should be on the shelf of every committed Catholic believer. I highly recommend it .

Charles J . Chaput , OFM Cap , Archbishop of Denver

When the Scripture is read in the liturgy, it is heard as a living voice. But when expounded in a commentary, it is too often read as a document from the past. This fine series unites the ancient and the contemporary by offering insight into the biblical textverse by verseas well as spiritual application to the lives of Christians today .

Robert Louis Wilken , University of Virginia

This great project of a seventeen - volume commentary on the New Testament represents a much - needed approach, based on good scholarship but not overloaded with it. The frequent references to the Catechism of the Catholic Church help us to read Holy Scripture with a vivid sense of the living tradition of the Church .

Christoph Cardinal Schnborn , Archbishop of Vienna

Contents

Illustrations

Editors Preface

The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures just as she venerates the body of the Lord.... All the preaching of the Church should be nourished and governed by Sacred Scripture. For in the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven meets His children with great love and speaks with them ; and the power and goodness in the word of God is so great that it stands as the support and energy of the Church, the strength of faith for her sons and daughters, the food of the soul, a pure and perennial fountain of spiritual life .

Second Vatican Council, Dei Verbum

Were not our hearts burning [within us] while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us ?

Luke 24:32

The Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture aims to serve the ministry of the Word of God in the life and mission of the Church. Since Vatican Council II , there has been an increasing hunger among Catholics to study Scripture in depth and in a way that reveals its relationship to liturgy, evangelization, catechesis, theology, and personal and communal life. This series responds to that desire by providing accessible yet substantive commentary on each book of the New Testament, drawn from the best of contemporary biblical scholarship as well as the rich treasury of the Churchs tradition. These volumes seek to offer scholarship illumined by faith, in the conviction that the ultimate aim of biblical interpretation is to discover what God has revealed and is still speaking through the sacred text. Central to our approach are the principles taught by Vatican II : first, the use of historical and literary methods to discern what the biblical authors intended to express ; second, prayerful theological reflection to understand the sacred text in accord with the same Spirit by whom it was written t hat is, in light of the content and unity of the whole Scripture, the living tradition of the Church, and the analogy of faith ( Dei Verbum 12 ).