Conflict and Community in Corinth: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on 1 and 2 Corinthians

Praise for the Print Edition

Ben Witherington has produced an innovative commentary on 1 and 2 Corinthians, making use of both ancient and modern tools to highlight aspects of the Corinthian situation and of the argument of Paul’s letters that have not been unearthed by previous commentators.

—Bruce W. Winter, Tyndale House, Cambridge

Ben Witherington blends the best of recent sociological and rhetorical scholarship on Paul into a distinctive, rich, and accessible commentary on the Corinthian correspondence. His work operates at two levels: the main commentary offers an informative and edifying resource for students and preachers, while the more detailed investigations, bibliographies, and footnotes provide plenty to stimulate scholars. This is a bold, comprehensive, and impressive attempt to set Paul’s dialogue with the Corinthian church squarely in its social context and to illuminate the apostle’s art of persuasion.

—Andrew T. Lincoln, University of Sheffield, England

State-of-the-art interpretation of the Corinthian letters…Ben Witherington offers us a lively conversation between a host of disciplines. The voices of archaeology, classics, rhetoric, sociology, anthropology, and philosophy are brought together in fruitful dialogue on the Corinthian letters. We are transported to the first century, hearing the letters for the first time with the mind and ears of the Corinthian congregations as they received them from Paul.

—Duane F. Watson, Malone College