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A DI AT RI BE P A T T E R N IN 1 C O R . 7 :21-22 :
A N E W P E R S P E C T I V E O N P A U L ' S D I R E C T I O N S T O
S L A V E S
by
WILL DEMING
Portland, O R
In addressing the themes of circumcision and slavery in 1 Cor.
7:17-24, Paul utilizes as his framework a teaching on the equality
in Christ of Jews and Greeks, and slaves and freemen. Var iat ions
of this teaching also occur in Galatians, Romans, and elsewhere in
1 Corinthians.1
As many commentators have noted, however, 1
Cor. 7:17-24 distinguishes itself from these other instances in that
it employs what are considered hallmarks of the diatribe style.2
Thus, vv. 18 and 21 both move with a brisk, staccato phrasing, and
v. 18 introduces a hypothetical person into the discussion, while v.
21 employs the direct address of the second person singular. Accep
ting these stylistic observations as valid, the present article willattempt to move beyond them and demonstrate that in writing 1
Cor. 7:17-24 Paul not only cast his thoughts in a diatribal style, but
he also made use of a specific diatribal pattern What I mean by this
is that the arrangement of Paul's argument in these verses actually
conforms to a distinctive syntactical formula or pattern that we find
in other Hellenistic authors. When I have presented the evidence
for this conclusion, I will then explore its implications for inter
pre ting Pau l' s direct ions to slaves in 1 Cor. 7:21-22.
From an examination of several Hellenistic authors, I have
isolated a diatribal pattern on which Paul seems to depend in 1 Cor.
7:17-24. This pattern consists of two, and sometimes three,
elements. First, a statement of fact is given in the form of a
1I e , Gal 3 28, 5 6, 6 15, Rom 10 12, 1 Co r 12 13
2E g , Johannes Wei, Der erste Korintherbrief (MeyerK 5, Gottmgen
Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht , 1925) 184-85, Hans Conzelmann, 1 Corinthians
(Hermeneia, Philadelphia For tress, 1975) 5, 126, and Rudolf Bultmann, Der Stil
der paulimschen Predigt und die kynisch-stoische Diatribe ( F R L A N T 13, GottmgenVandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1910) 69 Oddly, Gordon D Fee, The First Epistle
to the Corinthians ( N I CN T Grand Rapids Mich William Eerdmans 1987)
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A DIATRIBE PATTERN IN 1 COR. 7 : 2 1 - 2 2 131
rhetorical question.3
This is often in the direct address of the second
person singular. Next, an imperative follows, the main purpose of
this imperative being to deny that the statement of fact has anysignificance for a person's life. Finally, an explanation is sometimes
added as to why the statement of fact should be treated with such
indifference.
The first instance of this pattern in Greek literature is the well-
known parallel from Teles, a Cynic philosopher of the third century
B.C.E. In his treatise On Self-Sufficiency we find three statements of
fact (as rhetorical questions) coupled with three imperatives. Th e
whole is then followed by a combined explanation:
You have grown old?do no t seek the things of a young man'
Agai n, you have become weak?do not seek to carry and submit your neck to
th e loads of a strong man'
Agai n, you have become destitute?do not seek the rich man's way of life '
Therefore, as I say, I do not see how circumstances themselves have anything
troublesome, not old age or poverty or lack of citizenship4
A second instance of this pattern is found in the first century
C.E., in the Jewish theologian Philo. In his treatise OnJoseph, Philo
describes this patriarch's rise to power in Egypt as a matter of
philosophical necessity. This "statesman/' he explains, must come
on the scene and give teachings as to the truth of things. Among
these teachings are eight examples of our diatribe pattern, numbers
three, four, and eight having all three elementsthe statement of
fact, the imperative, and the explanation:
This is another's?don't desire it1
This is yours?use it, not misusing it'
You have abundance?share' For the be auty of riches is not m purses, but in
aiding those in need
You have littl e? d on' t begru dg e the rich ' For no one would show compassion to
a slanderous pauper
You're famous and have received honors?don't brag'
Yo ur fortunes ar e lo wly? nonetheless , don' t let yo ur spirits fall'
3
There is some debate as to whether the statement of fact should be translated
as an inter rogative BD F 262 (494), for example, rema rks that while it cor
resp onds to a condition al protas is, it need not be rend ered as a question But this
overlooks the examples from Seneca (below), where the Latin syntax is clearly
interrogative4
Teles frag 2 10 65-80, tra ns Edw ard O' Neil , Teles (The Cynic Teacher)
(S BL TT 11 Mi l M t S h l P 1977) 11 t ti difi d
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132 WILL DEMING
All adva nces for you as you pl ann ed?b ewa re of ch an ge '
You st umble of ten?hope for success' For when things turn among men, they
tend toward their opposites5
Still other examples of this diatribe pattern appear in two Stoic
authors, in Seneca (in Latin) in the mid first century, and in
Epictetus in the early second century. In his tractate On Tranquillity
of the Mind, in admonishing a person to pursue virtue regardless of
outward circumstances, Seneca gives several examples of our pat
tern. The last two include the explanation:
Is he not perm it ted to be a soldier?let him seek public office'
Must he live in a private station?let him help his countrymen by his silent
support'Is it dangerous even to enter the forum?in private houses, at the public spec
tacles, at feasts let him show himself a good comrade, a faithful friend, a
temperate feaster'
Has he lost the duties of a citizen?let him exercise those of a man' The very
reason for our magnanimity in not shutting ourselves up within the walls of one
city, in going forth into intercourse with the whole earth and in claiming the
world as our country , was that we might have a wider field for ou r vi rtue
Is the tribunal closed to you, and are you barred from the rostrum and the
husti ngs?look how many broad stretching countries he open behind you, how
ma ny peoples ' Ne ver can you be blocked from any par t so large that a still larger
will not be left open to you6
Epictetus, finally, supplies us with three more examples. Like those
from Teles, the statement-imperative pairs here are followed by a
combined explanation:
Re me mb er that you must conduct yourself as in a banq uet Has something been
passed around down to you?reach out your hand and politely take some'
It goes on by?don't hold it back'
It hasn't come yet?don't set your desire on it at a distance, but stay put until
it is dow n by you '
Thus toward children, thus toward a wife, thus toward public office, thus toward
wealth, an d some da y you will be worthy of the banquet of the gods 7
Returning now to 1 Cor. 7, we can see that the diatribal pattern
used by Teles, Philo, Seneca, and Epictetus appears no less than
five times in this chapterin 7:18-19, 7:21-22, and 7:27. In 7:18-
19 we find two statements of fact and two imperatives followed by
a combined explanation:
5
Philo Dejos 144, cited by Henry St John Thackeray, The Relation of St Paul
to Contemporary Jewish Thought (London Macmillan, 1900) 2396 Sen De tranquillitate animi 4 3-4, tra ns J oh n W Basore, Seneca Moral Essays
(LCL, London William Heinemann/New York G Pu tm an 's Sons, 1932-35)
2 229 t ti difi d li htl
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A DIATRIBE PATTERN IN 1 COR. 7 : 2 1-2 2 133
Someone was called having been circumcised?let him not remove the circum
cision'
Someone has been called in an uncircumcised state?let him not be circumcised'
Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, rather, keeping the commandments of God
A third statement of fact and a third imperative are found in v. 21a,
followed in v. 22 with an explanation. This time, however, v. 21b
interrupts the pattern with a qualification, the meaning of which we
will consider below:
You were called as a sla ve? don't let it concern you'
But if you can become free, rather use it
Fo r the slave who is called in the Lord is the Lord's freedman, likewise, the onecalled as a freeman is Christ's slave
Finally, two more instances of the pattern appear in 7:27, this time
without an explanation:
You are bound to a wi fe?don't seek release'
You ar e released from a wife? don't seek a wife'
This comparison of 1 Cor. 7:18-19, 21-22, and 27 with the
philosophical examples cited above leads to the conclusion that Paul
has used a relatively popular diatribe pattern to structure his material in these verses.
8Indeed, a closer inspection of 1 Cor. 7:21-22
reveals that Paul's interest in using this pattern has even prevented
him from finishing out his paradigm of Jew/Greek, slave/free, for
these verses lack the last part of that paradigm.9
This is because
Paul cannot very well add to v. 21a, "You were called as a
freeman?don't become a slave!" or "You were called as a
freeman?don't let it concern you! " , since the imperative in this
case would be nonsensical. All the same, v. 22b offers the explana
tion for this missing statement and imperative just as if they were
there, although the intervening qualification in v. 21b tends to
obscure this inconsistency.
8
Variations on this basic pattern may also be found in Posidippus,
Metrodorus, Sirach, and Plutarch, although, as variations, they have no
immediate bear ing on our analysis here For a discussion of these, see my forth
coming, Paul on Marriage andCelibacy (SNTSMS, Cambri dge Cambri dge Univer
sity Press, 1995) 161-649
See Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer, Critical and ExegeticalHandbook to the
Epistles to the Corinthians (Ed inb urg h and Clark, 1892) 1 218, Wei, Korin-therbrief 187, E Neuhaus ier, " R uf Gottes und Stand des Christen Bemerku ngen
zu 1 Kor 7 , " BZ s 3 (1959) 47, and Fee, First Epistle, 315, cf S Scott Bartchy,
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134 WILL DEMING
If, on the basis of this evidence, it is admissible to assume that
Paul has used a patterna predictable rhetorical structurein 1
Cor. 7:18-19, 21-22, and 27, then it is possible that this informationcan help to clarify his statement on slavery in 7:21b. As the many
studies on this verse attest, there are two camps of interpretation
and basically two lines of argumentation.1 0
On the one hand, many
scholars favor grammatical approaches, such as a syntactical
analysis of the phrases and ' et , or Paul' s
choice of the aorist as opposed to the present imperative of.
These scholars understand Paul as encouraging slaves to work
toward their manumission: "if indeed" slaves have the opportunity
to become free, they should use it. 1 1 On the other hand, there arescholars who interpret this verse based on their perception of the
Apostle's theology. They understand Paul as favoring the status
quo, either as a social conservative or from eschatological motiva
tions, and consequently interpret him as saying: "even if" slaves
have the opportunity to become free, they should use their present
state.1 2
To date, however, neither interpretation has prevailed, for
both have formidable shortcomings. The grammatical interpreta
tion rests entirely on general usage or analogy, while the alternative
argument involves the risky business of extrapolating from selected
principles of Pau l' s theology.13
1 0
For overviews, see Norbert Baume rt, Ehelosigkeit und Ehe im Herrn Eine
Neuinterpretation von 1 Kor 7(FB 47, Wurz bu rg Echter Verlag, 1984) 114-21, and
the comparative lists in Bartchy, , 6-7 Bart chy 's own inter
pretation falls into neit her cam p He unders tan ds Paul as inst ruct ing slaves to
make use of their Christian calling, rather than slavery or freedom {
, 120, 155-59, and "Slavery (Greco-Roman)" ABD 6 71) This inter
pretation is rightly dismissed as too contrived by Baumert, Ehelosigkeit und Ehe,
121, and Fee, First Epistle, 316 n 42, 317 nn 46 and 4811E g , Mar gar et E Thral l, GreekParticles in the New Testament Linguistic and
Exegetical Studies (NTTS 3, Grand Rapi ds, Mich Eer dman s, 1962) 78-82, and
Baumert, Ehelosigkeit und Ehe, 121-341 2
E g , Wei, Korintherbrief 187-88, Conze lmann, 1 Corinthians, 127, C Bar
rett, A Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians ( H N T C , New York and
Evanston Har pe r and Row, 1968) 170-71, and E Neuhaus ier, " R u f Gottes, "
49-52, 59, see also Roland Gayer, Die Stellung des Sklaven in den pauhnischen
Gemeinden und bei Paulus (Ber n Lang, 1976) 212-22 Re the not ion of Paul 's social
conservatism, see Peter Brown, The Body and Society Men, Women and Sexual Renun
ciation in Early Christianity (New York Col umb ia Univer sity , 1988) 54-55, and cf
Wa yne A Me eks, The First Urban Christians The Social World of the Apostle Paul
(New Haven/London Yale University, 1983) 161-621 3
A variety of supporting arguments also exists, including an evaluation of the
f f th i 22 ( B tt Fi t E i tl 171 d F Fi t E i tl
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A DIATRIBE PATTERN IN 1 COR. 7 : 2 1 - 2 2 135
If we approach the interpretation of 7:21b from the perspective
of this present study, however, the realization that this half-verse
appears in the context of a recognizable pattern of argumentationopens up a new possibility. Let us consider the following. First, all
exegetes agree that 7:21b serves to qualify the imperative in 7:21a
in some manner, either to reinforce its mandate or to take exception
with it. And second, as I noted above, it is evident that the difficult
statement in 7:21b, "But if indeed/even if you can become free,
rather use it," is actually an addition to our pattern, intruding, as
it were, between the imperative in v. 21a and the explanation in v.
22. Seen in this light, the central question in the debate over 7:21b
may be reformulated as, How did Paul intend to alter the diatribal
pattern with this additionor, more pointedly: What impact vis--
vis the imperative in v. 21a did Paul mean to effect by "inserting"
v. 21b? To answer this question it will be necessary to inquire more
precisely into the role of the imperative in our diatribal pattern.
As I stated at the outset, the main purpose of the imperative is
to deny that the statement of fact, which begins the pattern, has any
significance for one's life. Accordingly, the imperative in 7:21a,
"don't let it concern you!", denies the significance of thepreceding statement, "You were called as a slave?" Precisely how
the imperative functions in this way, however, is something I left
unexplained, and consequently must now clarify. If we inspect
closely the examples that I have supplied above, it becomes evident
that the imperative in this diatribe pattern functions not so much
as a command, but as a rebuff. Its effectiveness lies in its demand
that a person do the very opposite of what he or she is inclined to
dowhether it be acting like a youth or detaining the meat
platternot in its prescription of an act that Teles, Philo, Seneca,or Epictetus holds to be particularly meritorious in itself. Its aim,
in other words, is not direction, but correction through re
direc tion; and it achieves this aim by means of a rhetorical "s la p
in the face."
If I am correct in understanding the imperative as a rebuff, then
in answering the question of how Paul intended to qualify the
overall context (e g , Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza, In Memory of Her [New YorkCrossroad, 1983] 221), and the assumption that 21 repe ats a pattern of
imperative-exception that Paul uses thr oug hou t the chap ter (e g , Ba rtchy,
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136 WILL DEMING
imperative in 7:21a through the addition of 7:21b, it seems that we
have two choices. Either Paul added 7:21b to turn up the volume,
so to speak, on an already shrill pattern of rhetoricemphasizingstill further the "slap" of the imperative; or he intended to mute
its shrillness, so as to avoid being led by this diatribal pattern into
saying something that he really did not mean.
While both options are theoretically possible, we should observe
that the former now characterizes Paul as more than just a sup
porter of the status quo. Indeed, such emphatic rhetoric would
betray him as something of an activist, vehemently opposing the
idea of manumission. This, however, is a stance toward slavery that
is not only without parallel among Paul's contemporaries, 14 but it
is also one that is difficult to reconcile with Phlm. 16, if, as some
scholars suggest, this passage is Paul 's at tempt to secure freedom
for the slave Onesimus.15 Beyond these considerations, moreover,
Paul's choice of the imperative in 7.21a may itself indicate that he
wishes to mitigate, not increase, the rhetorical impact of this verse.
If we survey the examples above, we will see that the imperative
in our diatribe pattern is always derived from some aspect of the
preceding statement of fact, and more often than not it directlycounters an imagined reversal of the statement of fact. Thus, for
example, Teles follows a statement about growing old with an
imperative against seeking to be young, and one about being poor
with an imperative against seeking wealth. Likewise, Philo follows
statements on fame and failure with imperatives on bragging and
success; Seneca juxtaposes statements and imperat ives that draw on
contrasting public and private endeavors; and Epictetus pairs
statements about things passing by and anticipation with
imperatives against holding them back and impatience.
What is true of these authors, fur thermore, is even more evident
in 1 Cor. 7. In 7:18 Paul follows sta tements about being circum
cised and being un-circumcised with imperatives that object to
removing or submitting to circumcision; and in 7:27 he follows
14For discussion and literature, see Bartchy, * 'Slavery," 6 69-72
15E g , J M G Barclay, "P au l, Phi lemon and the Dil emm a of Chri stian
Slave-Ownership," NTS37 (1991) 170-86, and Bartchy, "Phi lem on , Epistle t o , "
ABD 5 308 We mig ht also consider what Pau l has invested in this brief mentionof slavery, for his real concern in 1 Co r 7 is marr iage and celibacy, not slavery
or circumcision (see Fee, First Epistle, 307-8, and Deming, Paul, 157-59) Thi s is
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A DIATRIBE PATTERN IN 1 COR. 7 : 2 1 - 22 137
statements about being bound to a wife and being single with
imperatives against seeking release from a wife and seeking a wife.
When we come to 1 Cor. 7:21a, however, we find a very differentsituation. On the basis of these other examples we would expect
Paul to have written, "You were called as a slave?don't seek to
become free1" Instead, Paul does not draw the imperative directly
from the preceding statement of fact, but writes the less obvious
and much less pointed, "don't let it concern you!"1 6
The effect
of this is a softening of the imperative's rebuff. This deliberate
softening of the imperative, in turn, would seem to rule out the idea
that 7:21b is somehow an attempt to heighten the imperative's
impact.
This study has presented evidence that in 1 Cor. 7:21-22 Paul is
employing a well-known pattern of rhetoric. By examining other
examples of this pattern we have been able to determine that Paul
has altered this pattern in two ways: he has inserted v. 21b, and he
has used an imperatival clause in v. 21a that is somewhat less direct
than expected. In determining what impact Paul intended by these
changes, I suggest that if we are required to choose between aninterpretation of 7:21b as heightening the rhetorical pitch of the
imperative in 7:21a or one that sees 7:21b as an attempt to control
it, then, for several reasons, the latter alternative makes the best
sense of our text. O n this basis I conclude that 1 Cor. 7:21 should
be interpreted to mean that while Christ ian slaves should regard
their disenfranchised state as a matter of indifference, they should
not, as a consequence, forgo an opportunity to gain their freedom.
1 6
Also noted by Gre gor y W Dawes, " 'But if you can gain you r freedom' (1Corinthians 7 17-24)," CBQ 52 (1990) 691 In fact, the imperatival clause here
sounds more like something that draws on or anticipates the third element of our
diat riba l patte rn, the explanatio n (cf 7 19 and Teles [above]) Fee, First Epistle,
316, 317 50, argues th at the wor din g of the imperat ive in 7 21a reflects P au l' s
realization that slaves could do nothi ng to br ing about their release anyway If this
were true, " d o n ' t seek to becom e free '" would have been an impossible alter
native to what Paul wrote But Fee overlooks the fact that man umi ssi on was often
a "reward for faithful work" which "encouraged a slave to exercise self-discipline
and work hard", and that hard work also helped a slave accumulate for his or her
master the necessary funds to buy a youn ger replacemen t (Bartchy, "S la ve ry ,"
6 70, cf Daw es, " 'But if you can gain your freedo m,' " 693-94) Aside from
this, slaves could an d did run away No r can it be argued that Paul would not,
in this context, have forbidden slaves to run away since he considered this wrong
th d i 7 27 h d i h "b d b if " t t k
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^ s
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