translation_id: net-engnet

label: NET translator note

text: Grk “It is good for a man not to touch a woman,” a euphemism for sexual relations. This idiom occurs ten times in Greek literature, and all of the references except one appear to refer to sexual relations (cf., e.g., Josephus, Ant . 1.8.1 [1.163]; Gen 20:6 [LXX]; Prov 6:29 [LXX]). For discussion see G. D. Fee, First Corinthians (NICNT), 275. Many recent interpreters believe that here again (as in 6:12-13 ) Paul cites a slogan the Corinthians apparently used to justify their actions. If this is so, Paul agrees with the slogan in part, but corrects it in the following verses to show how the Corinthians misused the idea to justify abstinence within marriage (cf. 8:1, 4; 10:23 ). See also G. D. Fee, “ 1 Corinthians 7:1 in the NIV,” JETS 23 (1980): 307-14.


text: Grk “each man should have his own wife.” “Have” in this context means “have marital relations with” (see the following verse). The verb ἐχέτω ( ecetw , “have”) occurs twice in the Greek text, but has not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons. This verb occurs 8 times in the LXX ( Exod 2:1 ; Deut 28:30 ; 2 Chr 11:21 ; 1 Esd 9:12, 18; Tob 3:8; Isa 13:16; 54:1 ) with the meaning “have sexual relations with,” and 9 times elsewhere in the NT with the same meaning ( Matt 20:23; 22:28 ; Mark 6:18; 12:33 ; Luke 20:28 ; John 4:18 [twice]; 1 Cor 5:1; 7:29 ).


text: Grk “should have.” For explanation of the translation, see the note on “have relations with” earlier in this verse.


text: Grk “fulfill the obligation” or “pay the debt,” referring to the fulfillment of sexual needs within marriage.


text: א * A B C D F G P Ψ 33 1739 1881 2464 al latt co argues decisively against its authenticity.


text: Grk “and be together again.”


text: Grk “than to burn,” a figure of speech referring to unfulfilled sexual passion.


text: א * A B C D* F G P Ψ 33 1739 al co) are decisively in favor of ἀδελφῷ ( adelfw , “brother”), a word that because of the close association with “wife” here may have seemed inappropriate to many scribes. It is also for reasons of English style that “her husband” is used in the translation.


text: Grk “will save your husband?” The meaning is obviously that the wife would be the human agent in leading her husband to salvation.


text: Grk “will save your wife?” The meaning is obviously that the husband would be the human agent in leading his wife to salvation.


text: Or “only”; Grk “if not.”


text: Grk “Let him not pull over the foreskin,” that is, attempt to reverse the appearance of circumcision by a surgical procedure. This was sometimes done by Hellenistic Jews to hide the embarrassment of circumcision (1 Macc 1:15; Josephus, Ant. 12.5.1 [12.241]). Cf. BDAG 380 s.v. ἐπισπάω 3.


text: Grk “in the calling.” “Calling” in Paul is God’s work of drawing people to faith in Christ. As in 1:26 , calling here stands by metonymy for a person’s circumstances when he becomes a Christian.


text: Traditionally, “servant” (KJV), though almost all modern translations render the word as “slave” here.


text: Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:10 .


text: Grk “virgins.” There are three main views as to which group of people is referred to by the word παρθένος ( parqenos ) here, and the stance taken here directly impacts one’s understanding of vv. 36-38 . (1) The term could refer to virgin women who were not married. The central issue would then be whether or not their fathers should give them in marriage to eligible men. (This is the view which has been widely held throughout the history of the Church.) (2) A minority understand the term to refer to men and women who are married but who have chosen to live together without sexual relations. This position might have been possible in the Corinthian church, but there is no solid evidence to support it. (3) The view adopted by many modern commentators (see, e.g., Fee, Conzelmann, Barrett) is that the term refers to young, engaged women who were under the influence of various groups within the Corinthian church not to go through with their marriages. The central issue would then be whether the young men and women should continue with their plans and finalize their marriages. For further discussion, see G. D. Fee, First Corinthians (NICNT), 325-28.


text: Grk “should not seek a wife.”


text: Grk “these will have tribulation in the flesh.”


text: Grk “I am trying to spare you.” Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context. “Such problems” has been supplied here to make the sense of the statement clear.


text: א A 33 1739 1881 pc ). (3) The reading ἡ γυνὴ καὶ ἡ παρθένος ἡ ἄγαμος (“the woman and the unmarried virgin”) is found in Western mss (D F G) and the majority of Byzantine cursives. Based upon external evidence, the first and second readings are the strongest; the readings both reach deep into the second century with strong testimony from mss of the Alexandrian texttype. Internal evidence seems equally balanced: Scribes may have wanted to add ἡ ἄγαμος to παρθένος for stylistic reasons, but they might also have wanted to remove it because it sounded redundant. Because Paul’s meaning is not quite clear, a decision on the proper textual reading is difficult. On the whole scribes tended to add to the text, not take from it. Thus the first reading should be favored as original, but this decision should be regarded as less than certain. Grk “The unmarried woman and the virgin.” The identity of the “virgin” here is a matter of interpretation (see note on “people who have never married” in v. 25 for discussion), which has in fact contributed to textual variation at this point in the text (see the text critical note above). As far as the translation is concerned, one must determine if one group of women or two are in view. It is possible that Paul means to refer to only one class of women here, namely unmarried virgins, but the use of the adjective ἡ ἄγαμος ( Jh agamo" , “unmarried”) with “woman” and not “virgin” precludes that interpretation; in addition, the use of the article with both “woman” and “virgin” implies that two distinct groups are in view. If two groups are in view, English would more naturally use the conjunction “or” to indicate the distinction. Thus the translation “An unmarried woman or a virgin” has been used to make clear that two groups are in view.


text: Grk “virgin,” either a fiancée, a daughter, or the ward of a guardian. For discussion see the note at the end of v. 38 .


text: Or referring to an engaged man: “if he is past the critical point,” “if his passions are too strong.” The word literally means “to be past the high point.”


text: Or “who gives his own virgin in marriage.”


text: The verb κοιμάω ( koimaw ) literally means “sleep,” but it is often used in the Bible as a euphemism for the death of a believer.