A D I A T R I B E P A T T E R N I N 1 C O R .

7:21-22: A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON PAUL'S DIRECTIONS T O SLAVES 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. Variations 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. Accepting these stylistic observations as valid, the present article will attempt 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 interpreting Paul's directions 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
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I e , Gal 3 28, 5 6, 6 15, R o m 10 12, 1 Cor 12 13 E g , J o h a n n e s Wei, Der erste Korintherbrief (MeyerK 5, Gottmgen Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1925) 184-85, H a n s Conzelmann, 1 Corinthians (Hermeneia, Philadelphia Fortress, 1975) 5, 126, and Rudolf Bultmann, Der Stil der paulimschen Predigt und die kynisch-stoische Diatribe ( F R L A N T 13, Gottmgen Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1910) 69 Oddly, Gordon D Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( N I C N T , G r a n d Rapids, Mich William Eerdmans, 1987) 315, makes n o mention of this
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E J

Brill, Leiden, 1995

Novum Testamentum X X X V I I , 2

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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 any significance for a person's life. Finally, an explanation is sometimes added as to why the statement of fact should be treated with such indifference. T h e first instance of this pattern in Greek literature is the wellknown 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. The whole is then followed by a combined explanation:
You have grown o l d ? d o not seek the things of a young m a n ' Again, you have become weak?do not seek to carry and submit your neck to the loads of a strong m a n ' Again, you have become destitute?do not seek the rich m a n ' 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 citizenship 4

A second instance of this pattern is found in the first century C . E . , in the Jewish theologian Philo. In his treatise On Joseph, Philo describes this patriarch's rise to power in Egypt as a matter of philosophical necessity. This " s t a t e s m a n / ' 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 a n o t h e r ' s ? d o n ' t desire it 1 This is yours?use it, not misusing it' You have a b u n d a n c e ? s h a r e ' For the beauty of riches is not m purses, but in aiding those in need You have little?don't begrudge the rich' For no one would show compassion to a slanderous pauper Y o u ' r e famous and have received h o n o r s ? d o n ' t brag' Your fortunes are lowly?nonetheless, d o n ' t let your spirits fall'

3 T h e r e is some debate as to whether the statement of fact should be translated as an interrogative B D F 262 (494), for example, remarks that while it cor responds to a conditional protasis, it need not be rendered as a question But this overlooks the examples from Seneca (below), where the Latin syntax is clearly interrogative 4 Teles frag 2 10 65-80, trans Edward O'Neil, Teles (The Cynic Teacher) ( S B L T T 11, Missoula, M o n t Scholars Press, 1977) 11, punctuation modified slightly

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All advances for you as you planned?beware of change' You stumble often?hope for success' For when things turn a m o n g men, they tend toward their opposites 5

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. T h e last two include the explanation:
Is he not permitted 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' H a s he lost the duties of a citizen?let him exercise those of a m a n ' T h e very reason for our magnanimity in not shutting ourselves u p 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 our virtue Is the tribunal closed to you, and are you barred from the rostrum and the hustings?look how many broad stretching countries he open behind you, how m a n y peoples' Never can you be blocked from any part so large that a still larger will not be left open to you 6

Epictetus, finally, supplies us with three more examples. Like those from Teles, the statement-imperative pairs here are followed by a combined explanation:
R e m e m b e r that you must conduct yourself as in a banquet H a s something been passed around down to you?reach out your hand and politely take some' It goes on b y ? d o n ' t hold it back' It h a s n ' t come y e t ? d o n ' t set your desire on it at a distance, but stay put until it is down by you' T h u s toward children, thus toward a wife, thus toward public office, thus toward wealth, and some day 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 7:1819 we find two statements of fact and two imperatives followed by a combined explanation:
5 Philo Dejos 144, cited by Henry St J o h n Thackeray, The Relation of St Paul to Contemporary Jewish Thought (London Macmillan, 1900) 239 6 Sen De tranquillitate animi 4 3-4, trans J o h n W Basore, Seneca Moral Essays ( L C L , London William Heinemann/New York G P u t m a n ' s Sons, 1932-35) 2 229, punctuation modified slightly 7 Epict Ench 15

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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 com m a n d m e n t s 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 slave?don't let it concern you' But if you can become free, rather use it For the slave who is called in the Lord is the Lord's freedman, likewise, the one called 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 wife?don't seek release' You are 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 mate rial in these verses. 8 Indeed, 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, " Y o u were called as a freeman?don't become a slave!" or " Y o u were called as a freeman?don't let it concern y o u ! " , 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.
Variations on this basic pattern may also be found in Posidippus, Metrodorus, Sirach, and Plutarch, although, as variations, they have no immediate bearing on our analysis here For a discussion of these, see my forth coming, Paul on Marriage and Celibacy ( S N T S M S , Cambridge Cambridge Univer sity Press, 1995) 161-64 9 See Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer, Critical and Exegetical Handbook to the Epistles to the Corinthians (Edinburgh and Clark, 1892) 1 218, Wei, Korintherbrief 187, E Neuhausier, " R u f Gottes und Stand des Christen Bemerkungen zu 1 Kor 7 , " BZ s 3 (1959) 47, and Fee, First Epistle, 315, cf S Scott Bartchy, First-Century Slavery and the Interpretation of 1 Corinthians 7 21 (SBLDS 11, Missoula, M o n t University of M o n t a n a , 1973) 157
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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 information can 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 O n 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 O n the other hand, there are scholars 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 T o 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 Paul's theology. 1 3
10 For overviews, see Norbert Baumert, Ehelosigkeit und Ehe im Herrn Eine Neuinterpretation von 1 Kor 7 (FB 47, Wurzburg Echter Verlag, 1984) 114-21, and the comparative lists in Bartchy, , 6-7 Bartchy's own inter pretation falls into neither camp H e understands Paul as instructing slaves to make use of their Christian calling, rather than slavery or freedom { , 120, 155-59, and "Slavery ( G r e c o - R o m a n ) " 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 48 11 E g , Margaret E Thrall, Greek Particles in the New Testament Linguistic and Exegetical Studies ( N T T S 3, G r a n d Rapids, Mich Eerdmans, 1962) 78-82, and Baumert, Ehelosigkeit und Ehe, 121-34 12 E g , Wei, Korintherbrief 187-88, Conzelmann, 1 Corinthians, 127, C Bar rett, A Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians ( H N T C , New York and Evanston H a r p e r and Row, 1968) 170-71, and E Neuhausier, " R u f G o t t e s , " 49-52, 59, see also Roland Gayer, Die Stellung des Sklaven in den pauhnischen Gemeinden und bei Paulus (Bern Lang, 1976) 212-22 R e the notion of Paul's social conservatism, see Peter Brown, The Body and Society Men, Women and Sexual Renun ciation in Early Christianity (New York Columbia University, 1988) 54-55, and cf Wayne A Meeks, The First Urban Christians The Social World of the Apostle Paul (New Haven/London Yale University, 1983) 161-62 13 A variety of supporting arguments also exists, including an evaluation of the force of the in 22 (e g , Barrett, First Epistle, 171, and Fee, First Epistle, 318who arrive at opposing conclusions), a consideration of 23 as a clue to the

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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 argumentation opens 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 i t , " 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? T o 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, " d o n ' t let it concern y o u ! " , denies the significance of the preceding 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 redirection; and it achieves this aim by means of a rhetorical "slap 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 York Crossroad, 1983] 221), and the assumption that 21 repeats a pattern of imperative-exception that Paul uses throughout the chapter (e g , Bartchy, , 9-10, 166-72, Fee First Epistle, 318) As supporting arguments, however, none of these offers a compelling proof

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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 rhetoricemphasizing still further the " s l a p " 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 supporter 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 attempt to secure freedom for the slave Onesimus. 1 5 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 directly counters 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 imperatives 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, furthermore, is even more evident in 1 Cor. 7. In 7:18 Paul follows statements about being circumcised and being un-circumcised with imperatives that object to removing or submitting to circumcision; and in 7:27 he follows
For discussion and literature, see Bartchy, * 'Slavery," 6 69-72 E g , J M G Barclay, " P a u l , Philemon and the Dilemma of Christian Slave-Ownership," NTS37 (1991) 170-86, and Bartchy, "Philemon, Epistle t o , " ABD 5 308 W e might also consider what Paul has invested in this brief mention of slavery, for his real concern in 1 Cor 7 is marriage and celibacy, not slavery or circumcision (see Fee, First Epistle, 307-8, and Deming, Paul, 157-59) This is another argument against supposing that Paul would take such a strong (and unusual) stand against emancipation in this context
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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 different situation. O n the basis of these other examples we would expect Paul to have written, " Y o u 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, " d o n ' t let it concern y o u ! " 1 6 T h e 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 an interpretation 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 Christian slaves should regard their disenfranchised state as a matter of indifference, they should not, as a consequence, forgo an opportunity to gain their freedom.
Also noted by Gregory W Dawes, " 'But if you can gain your freedom' (1 Corinthians 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 diatribal pattern, the explanation (cf 7 19 and Teles [above]) Fee, First Epistle, 316, 317 50, argues that the wording of the imperative in 7 21a reflects Paul's realization that slaves could do nothing to bring about their release anyway If this were true, " d o n ' t seek to become f r e e ' " would have been an impossible alter native to what Paul wrote But Fee overlooks the fact that manumission was often a " r e w a r d for faithful w o r k " which " e n c o u r a g e d a slave to exercise self-discipline and work h a r d " , and that hard work also helped a slave accumulate for his or her master the necessary funds to buy a younger replacement (Bartchy, " S l a v e r y , " 6 70, cf Dawes, " 'But if you can gain your freedom,' " 693-94) Aside from this, slaves could a n d did run away N o r can it be argued that Paul would not, in this context, have forbidden slaves to run away since he considered this wrong on other grounds in 7 27 he admonishes someone " b o u n d by a wife" not to seek release, even though such an act is already prohibited by a command of the Lord in 7 10-11 (see Deming, Paul, 174)
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