1 Corinthians 12.2: a Pagan Pompe?

Abstract

1 Cor. 12.2 has presented translators and commentators with problems because of the terseness of expression and its unusual grammar. It is frequently taken in modem exegesis as referring to occurrences of ecstasy in the pagan worship in which the Corinthians formerly participated. The author proposes that the diction and imagery are better understood as a reference to participation in a cultic religious procession, the pompe. The pompe was a common event in Greek civic life and a reference to one would be readily recognized by the Corinthians. The participle attayou-evoi ('led away') is read as a circumstantial participle, not as a pleonastic construction with ητε.