Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Scriptural directions for husbands, annotated—1 Corinthians 7:1-7

This translation is from the New American Standard Bible.  Several other translations are available here.

 

Excerpts from definitions of what seem to be key the Greek words are set out following the scriptural text. The sources are hyperlinked.

 

That is followed by excerpts from the scriptural texts that tell us what about God or His ways, what we should do, and what we should not do. 

 

That is followed by commentary, in blue. The commentary is my own, so it is not entitled to any particular weight.

 

 

Scriptural Text:

 

1 Corinthians 7:1-7   

Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2But because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband. 3The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. 4The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6But this I say by way of concession, not of command. 7Yet I wish that all men were even as I myself am. However, each man has his own gift from God, one in this manner, and another in that.

 

Definitions:

 

fulfill = ποδδωμι = apodidōmi  

Blue Letter Bible

“to give away," hence, “to give back or up;” “to give up or back, to restore, return, render what is due, to pay, give an account;” “to reward;” “to give up of one's own will;”“to yield;” to deliver, to give away for one's own profit what is one's own, to sell;to pay off, discharge what is due; to requite, recompense; to put away by giving, to give up, give over; to give over something which might have been retained; relinquish what is one's own

 

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon

give up or back, restore, return; render what is due, pay, as debts, penalties, submission, honour, etc.; render, yield; concede, allow, suffer or allow; deliver over, give up, e.g. as a slave; give away of one's own will, sell

 

duty =φειλ= opheilē  

Blue Letter Bible

that which is owned; dues;a debt;obligation

 

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon 

owe, have to pay or account for; to be in debt, what is due, to be bound to render, to be due or liable to, to be bound, to be obliged

 

authority = ξουσιζω = exousiazō  

Blue Letter Bible

to exercise power, to have power or authority, use power; to be master of any one, exercise authority over one; to have full and entire authority over the body; to be brought under the power of anyone

 

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon

exercise authority, have power 

 

body = σμα =sōma   

Blue Letter Bible

the body as a whole, the instrument of life; slaves, the body both of men or animals; the body (as a sound whole); the instrument of the soul

 

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon

the living body; civic rights; a person, human being; a body, i.e. any corporeal substance, the body or whole of a thing 

 

depriving = ποστερω = apostereō   

Blue Letter Bible

to rob, defraud, deprive;despoil; kept back by fraud;to cause to fail, to withdraw, take away from; to fail (to make use of), to let the opportunity pass by

 

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon 

rob, despoil, defraud one of a thing; detach, withdraw oneself from a person or thing; filch away; withhold

 

come together =συνρχομαι = synerchomai

Blue Letter Bible

assembling together; to come, or go, with; of conjugal cohabitation; to convene; with one, unto one, come with one, to accompany one, company with

 

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon 

come together, assemble, meet;be united or banded together; come together, after quarrelling; sexual intercourse; to be joined in one 

 

 

What this passage tells us:

 

What this passage tells us about God & his ways:

the husband does not have authority over his own body

each man has his own gift from God, one in this manner, and another in that

 

What this passage tells us to do:

The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife

come together again 

 

What this passage tells us not to do:

depriving one another

 

Commentary:

 

This idea of “fufill[ing]” “dut[ies]” (v. 3) brings to mind:

·     The concept of the husband giving, being the source of blessing, to his wife

·     The husband sacrificing, subordinating his interests/desires, to fulfill the wife.

·     That is consistent with the direction in Ephesians 5:25-27 that husbands are to serve their wives as Christ served the church

·     That is also consistent with the principle that we gain our lives by giving them away

·     We are to do more than merely meet our obligations, we are to be whole hearted, “all in,” in doing so

 

Verse 4’s teaching about spouses not having authority over themselves, but instead being under the authority of the other, sounds a lot like Ephesians 5:21’s command to be subject to one another.

·     That is reinforced by v. 3’s statement about spouses being all in in fulfilling the mutual duties to each other.

·     Surrendering to the authority of your spouse is made safe, in a healthy marriage, by the other spouse’s adherence to/fulfillment of the duties required by v. 3.

 

This parallels Proverbs 5:15-19’s instruction to enjoy each other, to sexually gratify each other.

 

It also parallels Deuteronomy 24:5’s instruction to spend time together, to put the relationship ahead of other, even otherwise good/important, things.

 

In a way, this also parallels the statements in Genesis 2:18-25Proverbs 18:22, and Proverbs 19:14 about spouses being helps to each other.

·     Here it is in connection with resisting temptation. 

 

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