The Catholic Biblical Quarterly

In this book, based on a doctoral dissertation submitted to Emory University (2018; supervised by Luke Timothy Johnson), Michael Suh examines 1 Cor 5:1–13, 10:1–22, and 11:17–34 in light of temple discourse in the Mediterranean world to describe the experience of the Corinthians. S. maintains that these three passages "unpack in greater detail the concept of the assembly as the Temple of God that is first noted in 1 Cor 3.16" (p. 25). Nonetheless, the reader may recall that the temple is not mentioned in 1 Cor 5:1–13, 10:1–22, and 11:17–34. The table on pp. 19–20 shows the themes common to the three passages: the assembly, language of power/spirit, the exodus tradition, evil forces, judgment, danger, consequences of actions, and christology. Although none of these themes is explicitly related to the temple, S. regards 1 Cor 1:16 ("Do you not know that you are the temple of God?") as the key to understanding the entire letter, and he attempts to show that the three passages "explain further what it means for the Corinthians to be the temple of God" (p. 29). He claims, therefore, to offer the first comprehensive study of all three passages.

The first chapter serves as a methodological introduction to and survey of previous scholarship on Paul's temple discourse. S. criticizes as "overly simplified" the understanding of Paul's temple imagery as merely a rhetorical tool to maintain the unity of the Corinthian community (p. 11). [End Page 147]

In chap. 2 ("Constructing Temple and Identity in 1 Corinthians"), S. discusses the exodus tradition in all three passages. Most of the chapter deals with the subject of power in 1 Corinthians as well as the themes of power and peril. He concludes that in the three passages the assembly's meal involves power, either harmful or beneficial. God's spirit resides inside the community, whereas Satan and his demons reside outside of it.

Time and again S. associates meals with the temple of God (e.g., pp. 86, 104–8), but without any real justification apart from a reference to M. Douglas ("Deciphering a Meal," Daedalus 10 [1972] 61–81). One may argue that not every ritual is equivalent to sacrifice in a temple. He concludes that "the traditions about the tabernacle, participation in meals, experience of divine power, and potential for destruction all explicate the experience of the Corinthians' as God's temple" (p. 107). It should be noted, however, that the tabernacle is not really present in the relevant passages (with the possible exception of 1 Cor 10:18).

In chap. 3 ("Accessing Sacred Spaces in Greek and Roman Contexts"), S. seeks parallels for this experience of the sacred, especially in relation to sacred spaces and rituals, in the Greco-Roman milieu. Surely there are many, including those in which salvation and punishment are linked to one's behavior within the sacred space, especially in the Greek world. Yet the differences that mark Paul's discourse as special are his stress on moral behavior and the effect of the individual on the community. It is scriptural authority that justifies the requirements in relation to the sacred.

In chap. 4 ("Accessing Sacred Space in Jewish Contexts"), S. turns to Jewish parallels for the community as a sacred space. These are manifold, especially in the Qumran scrolls. The people of the scrolls, like Paul, apply the notion of sacred space to community gatherings. In the next chapter ("Temple Discourse in 1 Corinthians"), S. compares 1 Corinthians with the evidence collected earlier in chaps. 3 and 4. S. surveys the pagan cultic situation in Corinth during Paul's days and suggests that Paul resisted Qumranic self-exclusion, preferring to provide the Corinthians with guidelines for maintaining sanctity in their assembly, albeit with clear restrictions. To this end, Paul emphasized the community's cohesiveness and...