Using New Testament Greek (David A. Black)-Part IV

As we continue to discuss the book Using New Testament Greek, I will now concentrate on Black's observations about historical analysis; the next post will deal with literary analysis.
This paragraph serves as our guide for now:

"Typical concerns of historical analysis include author, audience, date, occasion, purpose, cultural and sociological influences, and all other related background matters. Sensitivity to these matters does not call for yawn-producing lectures on ancient history; a brief explanation of the most important details will suffice."  

In this entry, I want to illustrate what Black is referencing by using 1 Corinthians as a case example. Historical analysis involves the following:

Author: 1 Corinthians is one of the well-known letters written by the apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 1:1) and he mentions Sosthenes in the opening verse. While some might question Paul's having written the letter, scholarship exists that gives abundant testimony for the claim of Pauline authorship. I will not dwell on this point since I'm merely trying to illustrate how historical analysis works; nevertheless, I will provide sources within this entry for those who want to read further on the subject.

Audience: The letter is addressed to Christians living in ancient Corinth (Greece): Paul identifies the recipients as ones God has sanctified and called to be holy ones ("saints"). The ESV introduction claims that 1 Corinthians is one of four missives that Paul wrote to the Corinthian ecclesia. Regardless of how many letters he wrote, the evidence from his epistles themselves testify that Paul wrote more than two letters to the Corinthians. Not only have 1 and 2 Corinthians survived unlike some of his other correspondences, but they are canonical letters unlike the other proposed writings that ESV mentions.

Date: The ESV gives three potential dates for the writing of 1 Corinthians--possibly the spring of 53, 54 or 55 A.D. (CE). Most sources I've checked are similar: the NABRE reckons that Paul wrote the letter circa 56 CE.

Occasion: What caused Paul to write this epistle? What was taking place in the congregation? The Corinthians evidently had a number of spiritual problems that needed to be resolved. With the help of the NABRE, I will name some of the issues that occasioned this letter: factionalism or schisms (1 Corinthians 1:10-13); contentiousness and envying (1 Corinthians 3:1-3); spiritual immaturity; fornication and incest (1 Corinthians 5:1-13); bringing legal cases against one another (1 Corinthians 6:1-7); reviling and idolatry (1 Corinthians 6:9-11); possible religious prostitution (1 Corinthians 6:12-20); disrespect shown for the Lord's evening meal (1 Corinthians 11:17-22); marital problems (1 Corinthians 7:1-16); doubts about the resurrection and more (1 Corinthians 15:1-58). Besides these problems, a number of members had questions that needed to be addressed forthwith (e.g., 1 Corinthians 7:1).

Purpose: The apostle wrote in order to encourage obedience, resolve moral/spiritual problems, and answer the sincere questions raised by the Corinthians. The NABRE has some helpful information pertaining to Paul's reason for writing this letter:

"He always treats the questions at issue on the level of the purity of Christian teaching and conduct. Certain passages of the letter are of the greatest importance for the understanding of early Christian teaching on the Eucharist (1 Cor 10:14–22; 11:17–34) and on the resurrection of the body (1 Cor 15:1–58)."

Cultural and Sociological Setting: The Romans commandeered Corinth in 146 BCE: it became a Roman colony about one hundred years later in 44 CE. While the Romans "Latinized" much of the city, evidence now exists for not viewing the city as strictly Roman, but a mix of Latin and Hellenic elements. Archaeologists have made finds that show Greek continued to be employed even when the Romans took over the city. See https://www.bibleodyssey.org/en/places/main-articles/corinth

David Horrell plays down Corinth's supposed lasciviousness and blatant iniquities; he seems to think Corinth was no more idolatrous than any other city of its kind. Nevertheless, Paul suggests that fornication was prevalent and he indicates that other forms of iniquity existed within Corinth (1 Corinthians 7:1-2; 2 Corinthians 12:21).

This entry served as an example of historical analysis, whereas the next piece will address literary facets of Philippians.

Sources for Further Reading:

Jeremy Corley. "The Pauline Authorship of 1 Corinthians 13." The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 2004.

Joseph A. Fitzmyer. First Corinthians: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2008.

Anthony C. Thiselton. The First Epistle to the Corinthians: A Commentary on the Greek Text. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2000.