Scriptural Re-Interpretation and Social Identity Negotiation in the Corinthian Letters

Abstract

This article describes the socially formative function of the Corinthian letters and the role that Paul’s reinterpretation of scripture plays in shaping the Corinthians’ social identity. Paul’s sustained engagement with scriptural texts in 1 Cor 10:1–22 and 2 Cor 3:1–4:6 provide the focus for analysis as two different interactions with exodus and wilderness narratives in two different social situations within the same correspondence. Like others in Second Temple Judaism, Paul uses the exodus and wilderness narratives of Israel’s paradigmatic rebellion to interpret a social situation, define group identity, and increase intergroup differentiation from outsiders and intragroup cohesiveness. Social Identity Theory (SIT) provides the conceptual framework for a robust interpretive model that identifies specific textual features that realize each aspect of social identity. This approach shows that in 1 Cor 10:1–22, Paul addresses the idol food issue by establishing shared experiences with the wilderness generation to interpret the Corinthians’ situation as parallel with the deviant idolatrous behavior of their forebears. In 2 Cor 3:1–4:6, Paul addresses tensions with the Corinthians using the veiling language of Exod 34 to differentiate the ingroup from outgroups according to their sight or blindness, respectively, which correlate to response to his ministry.