Corpus-Paul

[Craig de Vos <csdevos AT trinity.unimelb.edu.au>]

 At 8:49 PM -0700 on 3/8/99, you wrote:
> When Paul says "I am what I am" in 1 Cor 15:10a he is, I think, alluding to
> his status as an apostle.  The phrase is rather brief, as one would expect,
> since it comes in 15:9-10, which is something of a digression from his main
> point.  Had he expanded on his point in 15:10 he would have lost his main
> thread which he picks up again rather hurriedly in 15:11.  But I think that
> with the phrase "I am what I am" he is not only trying to be brief: he is
> also pointedly avoiding boasting, for in 15:8-10 he positively oozes
> self-restraint. Notice the boasting in weakness in 15:8-9, the double
> negative in the middle of 15:10, and the way he qualifies his statement at
> the end of 15:10.
 snip

> For what it's worth, I believe (for numerous reasons) that the historical
> context of 1 Cor 9:1-5 and 15:9-10 is as follows. 

I think Richard missed my point. I wasn't asking about the situation or context of 1 Co 15:10, let alone of 1 Corinthians as a whole. I was simply asking about the form of words Paul chose to use in 15:10a. As I read the text, Paul's expression there struck me precisely because EIMI HO EIMI is what I would expect as a translation from the Hebrew of the divine name/claim in Ex 3:14. Is there an allusion to this? If so, why? If not, why not? How would it have been heard by the (largely) Gentile Corinthians? Those were the sorts of questions I was (implicitly) asking.

Craig



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Dr. Craig S. de Vos			       
Bromby Lecturer in New Testament	        
Trinity College Theological School	        
Royal Parade			        
Parkville VIC 3052			        
Australia				        
(O) +61 3 9349-0129  (F) +61 3 9349-0460   
csdevos AT trinity.unimelb.edu.au
http://www.trinity.unimelb.edu.au/~csdevos/CdVhome.html

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