Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

1 Corinthians 10:7

μηδὲ εἰδωλολάτραι γίνεσθε, “And do not become idolaters”: in apposition to the εἰς τὸ μὴ clause of 1 Corinthians 10:6, the dependent sentence of purpose passing into a direct impv [1436]; for the like conversational freedom, cf. 1 Corinthians 1:31 1 Corinthians 4:16, 1 Corinthians 7:37; 1 Corinthians 9:15, and notes. The repetition of this warning in 1 Corinthians 10:14 shows its urgency. Even where eating of the εἰδωλόθυτα was innocent, it might be a stepping-stone to εἰδωλολατρεία. Enforcing his appeal by ref [1437] to the calf-worship at Sinai, the Ap. dwells on the accompaniments of this apostasy: here lay the peril of his readers who, when released from the superstition of the old religion (1 Corinthians 8:4), were still attracted by its feasting and gaiety: “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to sport” (following the LXX precisely). This παίζειν, as in idolatrous festivals commonly, included singing and dancing round the calf (Exodus 32:18 f.); there is no need to imagine a darker meaning. It was a scene of wild, careless merriment, shocking under the circumstances and most perilous, that Moses witnessed as he descended bearing the Tables of the Law. πεῖν, cf. 1 Corinthians 9:4 and note.

[1436] imperative mood.

[1437] reference.

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Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

1 Corinthians 10:7

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