Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes: Cultural Studies in 1 Corinthians

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book even though I probably missed half of the message as I’m not great at deciphering language structures.I missed The understanding of the poetry of the text.However the introduction to a Mideastern mindset and how reading the Apostle Paul’s work through that mindset was fascinating.

Bailey's Cultural Studies in 1 Corinthians is a one-of-a-kind find. His unique insights regarding the people, places, and practices of Corinth and similar cultures enable one to see what Paul saw and understand what Paul intended.If for no other reason, Bailey's treatment of I Corinthians 14:34-35 ("Ladies, no chatting in church!") is worth this read. I respect how Kenneth Bailey acknowledges the tension between seemingly opposing views presented by the Apostle Paul. There is an appendix of thrilling parallels between 1 Corinthians and the book of Amos, suggesting that Paul was not writing from scratch. There is a convincing and supported explanation of why Paul didn't accept financial support under some conditions but did on others. A whole chapter is dedicated to Paul's theology of mission as it occurs naturally in 1 Corinthians 9; and Bailey soundly discusses missionary identification and echoes Paul's call for discipline and embracing culture as prerequisites to effective Gospel proclamation.Probably the most new-to-me find in Bailey's book was a clear and consistent description of Paul's writing style, demonstrating Paul's desire to connect his ideas to the writings of the Old Testament prophets (particularly Isaiah). Bailey defines and details the following composition patterns of apostolic homilies used throughout 1 Corinthians: 1) Ring composition; 2) Double-decker sandwich; 3) Prophetic rhetorical template; and 4) The high-jump format. He also highlights various internal features within these apostolic homilies. The climactic centering of the Old Testament quote has particularly caught my attention. If these composition descriptions are new to you as they were me, go to the glossary in the back of the book and connect to the complete list of definitions before starting the text of the commentary.If you haven't read Bailey's other book, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, you'll thank me for mentioning it.

The book brings together both Middle Eastern and Greek insights brilliantly. Dr. Bailey utilizes "Middle Eastern" insights to analyze Paul's remarkable letter written to the Corinthians and to all believers "in every place." A primary example is the "Ring Composition" form of Hebrew poetry, for which he provides numerous examples from Isaiah and which he identifies also in 1 Corinthians. This insight, which a well trained Rabbi or Middle Eastern scholar could spot more readily, Dr. Bailey helps make understandable to western readers who would otherwise miss this Middle Eastern rhetorical device that helps unlock 1 Corinthians.Dr. Bailey reveals Paul's brilliance in using not only Hebrew rhetorical style, but in using simultaneously a profoundly Greek style, in particular, the funeral oration style of Pericles (as in Pericles' "epitaphio").Dr. Bailey is neither arguing from an exclusively Middle Eastern point of view, nor from a purely Greek point of view. This is the brilliance of Dr. Bailey's insights which unlock the brilliance of Paul's work of carefully constructing a more broadly Mediterranean work, the breadth and brilliance of which has been lost to westerners who have viewed the text primarily through western eyes.That Dr. Bailey emphasizes the insights from the Middle Eastern point of view is a necessary corrective for westerners who miss what might be obvious to more trained Middle Eastern readers. But that emphasis is not an exclusive one and his use of Greek literary form (particularly that of Pericles) seems to justify well the title of the book as broadly Mediterranean.It is a glorious work filled with treasures, worthy of digesting carefully, a gift that comes from 35 years of work on this project. Thanks to Dr. Bailey for this unique work.

Useful book, Insightful. Worth reading as a New Testament study aid. Ask me again after I finish it. I might go up to 5 stars.

This is a great book for those who pursue Biblical scholarship. I gives depth and "meaty" insights into Paul, his language and the culture which are essential for understanding a book written to a people and time so different from us. At times it required a great deal of concentration, more so than Bailey's book, "Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes", an equally wonderful study. For those who long to understand the "tough" areas or conversations of the Bible, who have at times questioned whether there was something more concerning particular parables or lessons, this will help to answer those questions. Bailey's books have enriched my personal life and brought me into a closer relationship with God.

Sometimes you feel like that book in your hands, the one you base all your major life decisions on, the one that holds the keys to your eternal destiny... yeah that book is a little hard to relate to. And the mistake we make is assuming that it's a universal revelation. That the words of 1 Corinthians are a timeless, mystic communication from God directly to you. Well, that's not the case. And to love and appreciate the beautiful truths revealed in letters like 1st Corinthians you have to get to know the author (Paul) and the culture, believes and worldview of those he was writing to. Once you do this... wow the words fly off the page and you can see the "perfect words and the perfect time" Holy Spirit inspiration of the text. And then, we can apply those truths, to our lives. Kenneth Baily is a tireless academic, the works can be a bit dry and ridged... but if you use books like these to help you develop your understanding of the world of the Bible... then its truths come alive like never before. Good stuff!

The book is extraordinarily scholarly, extensively researched and addressed western assumptions about hermeneutical empathically and without apology correctly falsehoods directly and gave more than adequate academic evidence for the for author’s thesis. It is informative and has potential to address inadequate interpretation of scriptures and parochial distinctions of western scholars , readers and exegetes. It is a gift to those on a continuing learning journey in understanding of biblical concepts.

I've read other books by Kenneth Bailey and greatly enjoyed them. This one has been more difficult for me to read, perhaps because I am not as familiar with the biblical book of 1 Corinthians as I am with the other biblical books and subjects he's explained. I'm not finished the book yet and it's definitely rich with meaning but it's a more difficult read. Bailey goes into both Jewish thought/teaching and Greek thought and shows how the apostle Paul was using methods from both traditions to reach his audience. Quite scholarly.

Kenneth Bailey versteht es hervorragend durch die Textanalysen den Inhalt zu verdeutlichen. Auch Menschen, die ihre Bibel gut kennen, erhalten neue Einblicke in soziokulturelle Hintergründe, die das Verständnis vertiefen. Altbekannte Textstellen werden überraschend neu beleuchtet. Ein Gewinn!!!

This is a genuine eye-opener! Ken Bailey, who lived and taught in the Middle East for 40+ years has used his outstanding knowledge of semitic and other languages and culture combined with an awesome understanding of the text to show that Paul, who had been schooled in the Rabbinical Tradition, wrote the first letter to the Corinthians using a carefully crafted format throughout. The sheer skill and effort required to achieve this make one realise how much Paul had been influenced by and benefitted from his training under Gamaliel and the other Jerusalem academics. Ken Bailey shows the beauty of the chiastic structure in this unbelievably well planned letter and shows how this was cross-referenced to the Hebrew Scriptures over and over again. His demonstrates recurrent references to contemporary life in the port city of Corinth at the same time as addressing the pastoral concerns in the local church whilst sending a general pastoral letter to other churches.I have more admiration for Paul as an academically skilled apostolic writer than ever before and am grateful to Ken Bailey for this wonderful exposition. It is a must for anyone who wants understand the Pauline letters and Paul himself. He encourages the reader to re-examine the place of women in the church and head-covering and other subjects which often polarise opinion in the light of textual nuances and authorial intention in a refreshing way. At the same time he acknowledges and freely refers to the work of many other skilled commentators on the epistle, both from history (including sources unavailable to the average Western reader) and from the present.This book is essential reading for anyone (academic or otherwise) who wants to read and understand the First Letter to the Corinthians with more than a basic and possibly prejudiced outlook. It should stimulate debate and encourage lively discussion in churches and colleges. It joins Ken Bailey's book "Jesus through MIddle Eastern Eyes" as a contemporary classic which brings new and essential light to understanding the New Testament.

This is an extraordinary book written by an acknowledged master over a lifetime of study and prayer. Kenneth Bailey is an outstanding scholar who has ministered throughout the Middle East for decades, and has brought both his experience in Arabic culture and also his knowledge of the Christian literature in the Arabic and cognate languages to bear on his reading of what is perhaps Paul's most polished letter.For Bailey maintains that the First Letter to the Corinthians was written by Paul self-consciously using the rhetorical methods of the Hebrew Scriptures. Bailey reads the Letter as a well-structured series of homilies, each of which has its own well-defined rhetorical structure deriving directly from "prophetic rhetoric". Bailey points to specific passages in Isaiah as "rhetorical templates" that Paul deliberately used in constructing his own Letter. One thinks of Churchill using the rhetoric of Cicero to craft his own extraordinarily persuasive speeches.Bailey wishes to explicitly locate Pauline theology firmly in the Hebrew Scriptures. I myself have long thought that the answer to people who express a desire to know what Jesus said to the disciples on the road to Emmaus have only to read Paul's letters! And the massive recent work of N.T.Wright ("Paul and the Faithfulness of God", 2013) also details how very deeply Paul was immersed in the Hebrew Scriptures. Bailey takes this a step further, and shows how Paul actually uses the WAY Isaiah brings the Word of God: Paul follows Isaiah's methods, he echoes his voice.We are used to analytically extracting "what he says" from an author's text. But surely, paying attention to "the way he says it" is taking much more seriously Paul's own instruction to us to "conform" ourselves to Him (Phil.3:10)? This wise book will change the way you approach the Word.