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The typology of immersion into Moses / immersion into Christ
(1Cor 10:1-2)
as a source for St. Paul’s teaching on the Eucharist
Wojciech Kosek
This paper is a translation of the article: Wojciech Kosek, Typologia zanurzenia w Mojżesza / zanurzenia
w Chrystusa (1 Kor 10, 1–2) jako źródło nauczania św. Pawła o Eucharystii. It will be published soon in
2021 year by Uniwersytet Papieski Jana Pawła II w Krakowie [The Pontifical University of John Paul II
in Krakow] in Księga Pamiątkowa dla Księdza Profesora Stanisława Hałasa [Festschrift in Honor of
Rev. Prof. Stanisław Hałas].
Abstract.
Typology requires that the exegete first understand the biblical texts at their literal level and only on
this basis show the typological connections between them. Therefore, one will present a computer
grammatical analysis of Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians 10:1-2 to show precisely its meaning. This
paper will also use the results of computer analyses of the Book of Exodus 1-18, based on which the
passage from the place of eating Passover to the Red Sea and through its waters, cut in half, turn out to
be an act of covenant-making between God and Israel, analogous to the act of covenant-making between
God and Abram (cf. Gen 15) through the passage between the halves of animals cut in half.
One will study a New Testament teaching regarding the theology of immersion into Christ, into His
death. One will include the results of computer analyses of St. John’s Gospel, which proved that Jesus’
passage from Cenacle to Golgotha and from it into Abyss and through it was His act of covenant-
making. One will also include the results of computer studies of 1Cor 11:26 and 1Cor 12:3, showing that
each time gathered Eucharistic assembly is a community proclaiming the death of Jesus as the Sacrifice-
Anathema until He comes to them as the Lord-Kyrios, who has just now gone up from among the dead.
Based on this, one will show Paul’s teaching concerning participation in the Eucharist and prayers
immediately after it, which he conveyed through the typology of immersion into Moses / immersion into
Christ.
Keywords:
Jesus, Eucharist, Holy Mass, after-liturgy prayer, baptism, The First Letter to the Corinthians 10:1-
2, Book of Exodus 1-18, John’s Gospel, literary structure, Israel, Exodus, Passover, covenant, treaty,
Bible, exegesis, BibleWorks 6.0, computer grammatical analyses of Greek texts
Table of contents:
Introduction.
1. A precise reading of 1Cor 10:1-2.
Introduction.
1.1. The literary structure of 1Cor 10:1-2.
1.2. Computer analysis of the grammatical structure of 1Cor 10:1.
1.3. The final remarks about 1Cor 10:1.
1.4. The meaning of 1Cor 10:2 as a part of 1Cor 10:1-2.
2. A typological reading of 1Cor 10:1-2.
2.1. The passage of the Israelites through the sea in light of Ex 1-18 and Gen 15:17.
2.2. Immersion into Christ in the teaching of St. Paul.
2.3. The Gospel of St. John about Jesus’ passage from the Cenacle to Golgotha and through the Abyss
of death.
2.4. The scope of St. Paul’s warning to Christians in the typology of immersion into Moses / immersion
into Christ.
Conclusion.
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Introduction.
This paper will present the fruitfulness and extent of the typological
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relationship between two
realities: immersion of Israel into Moses in their passage under the cloud and through Abyss of the sea
(cf. 1Cor 10:1-2) and immersion of the Church into Christ in Eucharistic passage with Him through the
Abyss of His death.
The task at hand requires a precise grammatical analysis of the passage from Paul’s First Epistle to
the Corinthians 10:1-2; this analysis was done using the BibleWorks 6.0 computer program.
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Typology requires that the exegete first understand the biblical texts at their literal level and only on
this basis show the typological connections between them.
3
Therefore, this paper will use the results of
the study of the Book of Exodus 1-18, based on which the passage from the place of eating Passover to
the Red Sea and through its waters, cut in half, turn out to be an act of covenant-making between God
and Israel, analogous to the act of covenant-making between God and Abram (cf. Gen 15) through the
passage between the halves of animals cut in half.
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One will also study a New Testament teaching regarding the theology of immersion into Christ, into
His death. One will include the results of analyses of St. John’s Gospel, which proved that Jesus’ passage
from Cenacle to Golgotha and from it into Abyss and through it was His act of covenant-making.
One will also include the results of studies of 1Cor 11:26 and 1Cor 12:3, showing that each time
gathered Eucharistic assembly is a community proclaiming the death of Jesus as Sacrifice-Anathema
until He comes to them as the Lord-Kyrios, who has just now gone up from among the dead.
A study of the typology of immersion into Moses / immersion into Christ will show an important
analogy. Immersion into Moses, which took place historically once during the passage of Israel’s fathers
under the leadership of God from the place of eating Passover to the other side of Abyss of the sea and
which is made present in each annual Passover, is an act of Old Covenant making. Just as an immersion
into Moses, the same is with immersion into Jesus. Namely, it took place historically once during the
passage of apostles
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with Jesus from the Cenacle of Eucharistic Supper to the top of Golgotha, and from
there to the other side of Abyss of death; it is made present in each Eucharist; it is an act of New
Covenant making.
Based on such research, St. Paul’s teaching on the prayerful union of believers with Jesus, making
the New Covenant during and immediately after the Eucharist, will be presented in analogy to the union
of Jewish believers with Moses and the fathers during the Passover and immediately after its completion.
1. A precise reading of 1Cor 10:1-2.
Introduction.
Pope Pius XII, in his Encyclical Divino afflante Spiritu,
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pointed out that “it is the duty of the
exegete to lay hold, so to speak, with the greatest care and reverence of the very least expressions which,
under the inspiration of the Divine Spirit, have flowed from the pen of the sacred writer, so as to arrive at
a deeper and fuller knowledge of his meaning. Wherefore let him diligently apply himself so as to
1
Cf. E. NATHAN, The Pauline Moses at Corinth: Indications of a Transformation, [in:] P. ROUSSEAU, J. A. TIMBIE, The
Christian Moses: From Philo to the Qur’an (series: CUA studies in early Christianity), Washington 2019, p. 40 about 1Cor
10:2: “in this passage, Moses is very Christ-like, indicating a usage by Paul along the lines of a Moses-Christ typology.”
2
Cf. S. HAŁAS, Elektroniczna Biblia z najważniejszymi tekstami porównawczymi: «BibleWorks 6.0» [Electronic Bible with
the Most Important Comparative Texts: «BibleWorks 6.0»], “Zeszyty Naukowe Stowarzyszenia Biblistów Polskich” 2 (2005),
pp. 303-316.
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T. M. DĄBEK, Postulat jedności interpretacji Biblii i doświadczenia Kościoła w posynodalnej adhortacji Benedykta XVI
Verbum Domini [The Postulate of the Unity of Bible Interpretation and the Experience of the Church in Benedict XVI’s Post-
Synodal Exhortation ‘Verbum Domini’], [in:] R. PINDEL, S. JĘDRZEJEWSKI (ed.), Hermeneutyka Pisma Świętego w Kościele:
Wokół adhortacji ‘Verbum Domini’ Benedykta XVI, o słowie Bożym w życiu i misji Kościoła [Hermeneutics of the Holy
Scriptures in the Church: Around Benedict XVI’s Exhortation ‘Verbum Domini’ on the Word of God in the Life and Mission of
the Church] (Hermeneutica et Judaica, 6), Kraków 2012, p. 12 (it is necessary to know the literal sense, methodically
determined, in order to know the spiritual sense), p. 15 (the literal sense is based on the principles of correct interpretation).
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Cf. W. KOSEK, Pierwotny ryt Paschy w świetle schematu literackiego Księgi Wyjścia 1-18 [The Original Rite of the
Passover in the Light of the Literary Scheme of the Book of Exodus 1-18], Kraków 2008, p. 196.
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We must note that of those who participated in the historically singular, not repeated, event that was the Eucharistic Supper
preceding Jesus’ departure from the Cenacle, only the apostle John, the beloved disciple, walked closely (as far as was possible
in the circumstances of violence and judgment) with Jesus to Golgotha. He also continued there to co-dying with Him and His
Mother Mary and with several women until Jesus was laid in the tomb – see Jn 18:15; 19:25-42.
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POPE PIUS XII, Encyclical Divino afflante Spiritu, 15-16: See on the Internet:
https://www.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_30091943_divino-afflante-spiritu.html
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acquire daily a greater facility in biblical […] and to support his interpretation by the aids which all
branches of philology supply.” And then about the texts of the Bible he wrote: “ought we to explain the
original text which, having been written by the inspired author himself, has more authority and greater
weight than any even the very best translation, whether ancient or modern.”
The modern development of information technology
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has brought new opportunities to carry out the
task set by the Pope to exegetes. In this article, therefore, in obedience to the teaching of the Church, one
will use the BibleWorks 6.0 computer program
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to analyze an essential passage from The First Letter to
the Corinthians, leading to a precise reading of it.
1.1. The literary structure of 1Cor 10:1-2.
In 1Cor 10:1-2, the apostle wrote thus:
0 οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν
1 πάντες ὑπὸ τὴν νεφέλην ἦσαν
2 καὶ πάντες διὰ τῆς θαλάσσης διῆλθον
3 καὶ πάντες εἰς τὸν Μωϋσῆν ἐβαπτίσθησαν
ἐν τῇ νεφέλῃ καὶ ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ
0 our fathers
1 all under the cloud were
2 and all through the sea passed
3 and all in Moses were immersed
in the cloud and in the sea.
1.2. Computer analysis of the grammatical structure of 1Cor 10:1.
In 1Cor 10:1, that is, in the first sentence (parts 0+1+2) of the analyzed passage, the first of the
verbs – ἦσαν (remained) – is in the imperfect of the indicative mood,
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so it focuses the reader’s attention
on the duration of the action which took place in the past: the fathers were remaining under the cloud
from the moment they left Egypt after eating the Passover and were walking as far as the Red Sea – cf.
Ex 13:17-14:31.
In this sentence, the second of the verbs, διῆλθον (passed), is in the aorist of the indicative mood,
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and thus expresses the very fact of the fathers’ passage through the Red Sea (cf. Ex 14:15-31), without
focusing the reader’s attention on its duration.
It is worth analyzing precisely what logic this sentence has, that is, what is the relation between the
act expressed by the first predicate and the act expressed by the second predicate.
In order to explore this logic – the logic of sentences in which the predicate of the first clause is in
the indicative mood and of the second in the aorist, whereby these clauses are linked by καὶ – a research
schema was built in BibleWorks 6.0, a so-called query: a query to the BGM database, that is, to
BibleWorks’ Greek Morphology database:
7
Cf. S. HAŁAS, Komputerowy program Bible Works w warsztacie biblisty [Computer Program ‘Bible Works’ in the Biblical
Workroom], “Polonia Sacra” 2 / 46 (1998), pp. 81-93; Hałas, Komputerowy program «BibleWorks» – użyteczne narzędzie do
badań biblijnych! [Computer Program ‘BibleWorks’ – a Useful Tool for Bible Research!], “Ruch Biblijny i Liturgiczny” 55
(2002) No. 3, pp. 239-246. Cf. E. Tov, The Use of Computers in Biblical Research, [in:] P. W. Flint, E. Tov, J. C. VanderKam,
Studies in the Hebrew Bible, Qumran, and the Septuagint presented to Eugene Ulrich, Leiden–Boston 2006, pp. 337-359
(Supplements to Vetus Testamentum, 101), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789047417989_022. See on the Internet:
https://books.google.pl/books?id=OwOxjwEACAAJ (29.09.2021).
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M. S. BUSHELL, M. D. TAN (programmers), BibleWorks for Windows Version 6.0. The Original Languages Bible Software
Program for Biblical Exegesis and Research, Norfolk, Virginia, 2003. From now on, cited as BibleWorks 6.0.
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E. DE W. BURTON, Moods and Tenses of New Testament Greek, Chicago, 1898, an electronic version in BibleWorks 6.0.,
point The Imperfect Indicative, subpoint 21. The Progressive Imperfect: “The Imperfect is used of action in progress in past
time.”
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E. DE W. BURTON, Moods and Tenses of New Testament Greek, op.cit., point 35 – Aorist: “The constant characteristic of
the Aorist tense in all of its moods, including the participle, is that it represents the action denoted by it indefinitely; i.e. simply
as an event, neither on the one hand picturing it in progress, nor on the other affirming the existence of its result. The name
indefinite as thus understood is therefore applicable to the tense in all of its uses.”
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The following requirements are assumed to be met in the resulting string of keywords, separated by
up to any ten words:
• the first word is to be any verb in the imperfective of the indicative: *–via*,
• the second word has to be between 0 and 10 words from the first word: btn. 0 to 10
• the second word has to be a conjunction καὶ: και-*
• The third word has to be between 0 and 10 words from the second word: btn. 0 to 10
• the third word is to be any verb in the aorist of the indicative: *–via*,
• the first and third words must agree in kind, person, and number: All words agree V – Gender, Person,
Number
After giving the Go command, the result is a set containing a total of 533 sentences, of which 442
are from the Septuagint and 91 from the New Testament. Reading of these sentences, however, forces a
significant number of them to be removed from the result set, as they do not meet one more requirement:
both verbs are to refer to the same subject – for this is the case in 1Cor 10:1-2: the fathers were (under
the cloud), the fathers passed (through the sea). This requirement cannot be inserted into the query in
BibleWorks 6.0.
Based on such selected part of the sentences of the collection, it turned out that: in this grammatical
construction given by St. Paul to the verse 1Cor 10:1, the first clause describes an act/state preceding the
undertaking of the act expressed by the second clause, with the first state/act may also continue while the
second act is being performed.
It is worth quoting most of these sentences to ground yourself in the conviction that this is indeed
the case:
Gen 5:32 And Noah was five hundred years old, and [at that point in time] Noah begat three sons (καὶ ἦν
Νωε ἐτῶν πεντακοσίων καὶ ἐγέννησεν Νωε τρεῖς υἱούς).
Gen 7:19 And the water rose higher and higher above the earth, and [at one point] covered all the high
mountains (τὸ δὲ ὕδωρ ἐπεκράτει σφόδρα σφοδρῶς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐπεκάλυψεν πάντα τὰ ὄρη τὰ ὑψηλά).
Gen 24:45 Rebecca appeared, having a pitcher on her shoulder, and [at some point] she went down to the
spring (Ρεβεκκα ἐξεπορεύετο ἔχουσα τὴν ὑδρίαν ἐπὶ τῶν ὤμων καὶ κατέβη ἐπὶ τὴν πηγὴν).
Gen 26,34 And Esau was forty years old, and [in that time] he took Judith to wife (ἦν δὲ Ησαυ ἐτῶν
τεσσαράκοντα καὶ ἔλαβεν γυναῖκα Ιουδιν).
Gen 36:12 And Thamna was a concubine of Eliphaz, the son of Esau, and [at one time] she bore Amalek
to Eliphaz (Θαμνα δὲ ἦν παλλακὴ Ελιφας τοῦ υἱοῦ Ησαυ καὶ ἔτεκεν τῷ Ελιφας τὸν Αμαληκ).
Gen 39:21 The Lord was with Joseph and [at one point] poured down mercy on him (ἦν κύριος μετὰ
Ιωσηφ καὶ κατέχεεν αὐτοῦ ἔλεος).
Mt 21:28 A man had two sons, and [at one point], coming to the first, he said (ἄνθρωπος εἶχεν τέκνα δύο.
καὶ προσελθὼν τῷ πρώτῳ εἶπεν).
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Mk 12:12 They were trying to seize Him, and [at one point] they feared the multitudes (ἐζήτουν αὐτὸν
κρατῆσαι, καὶ ἐφοβήθησαν τὸν ὄχλον).
Lk 4:33 In the synagogue, there was a man who had a spirit of the demon, and [at one point] he cried out
with a great voice (ἐν τῇ συναγωγῇ ἦν ἄνθρωπος ἔχων πνεῦμα δαιμονίου ἀκαθάρτου καὶ ἀνέκραξεν
φωνῇ μεγάλῃ).
Lk 4:42 The crowds were seeking Him, and [at one point] they came to Him (οἱ ὄχλοι ἐπεζήτουν αὐτὸν
καὶ ἦλθον ἕως αὐτοῦ).
Lk 10:31 A priest was going down this road, and [at a certain moment of this descent] having seen him,
he passed by on the other side (ἱερεύς τις κατέβαινεν ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ ἐκείνῃ καὶ ἰδὼν αὐτὸν ἀντιπαρῆλθεν).
Lk 13:6 A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and [at one time] he came seeking fruit on it (συκῆν
εἶχέν τις πεφυτευμένην ἐν τῷ ἀμπελῶνι αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἦλθεν ζητῶν καρπὸν ἐν αὐτῇ).
Lk 15:32 This brother of yours was dead and [just] came back to life (ὁ ἀδελφός σου οὗτος νεκρὸς ἦν
καὶ ἔζησεν).
Lk 19:14 His fellow-citizens hated him and [at one point] sent a delegation after him (ἐμίσουν αὐτὸν καὶ
ἀπέστειλαν πρεσβείαν ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ).
Lk 22:44 He prayed more earnestly, and [at one point] his sweat became like great drops of blood
(ἐκτενέστερον προσηύχετο˙ καὶ ἐγένετο ὁ ἱδρὼς αὐτοῦ ὡσεὶ θρόμβοι αἵματος).
Lk 22:47 And the one called Judas, one of the Twelve, led them and [then] approached Jesus to kiss him
(προήρχετο αὐτοὺς καὶ ἤγγισεν τῷ Ἰησοῦ φιλῆσαι αὐτόν).
Acts 19:19 Many of those who practiced magic, having brought the books together, were burning them
in front of everyone and [then] counted the value of them (κατέκαιον ἐνώπιον πάντων, καὶ συνεψήφισαν
τὰς τιμὰς αὐτῶν).
Acts 22:22 And they listened to him until this word, and [then] they raised their voice (Ἤκουον δὲ αὐτοῦ
ἄχρι τούτου τοῦ λόγου καὶ ἐπῆραν τὴν φωνὴν αὐτῶν).
1Jn 1:2 We proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and [at one point] was manifested to
us (ἥτις ἦν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα καὶ ἐφανερώθη ἡμῖν).
Based on analyses – presented here – of the logic of sentences with the same grammatical structure
as in 1Cor 10:1, we can proceed to the analysis of this sentence. 1Cor 10:1 is a compound sentence
describing two successive events (the fathers were going under the cloud and then passed through the
sea) rather than one event composed of two aspects (the fathers, being under the cloud, passed through
the sea). The apostle does not limit himself to saying that fathers were under the cloud during their going
through the sea. The apostle points out that before the fathers reached the place of crossing the sea, they
were already going under the cloud, and then they crossed the sea. This crossing also was accompanied
by God’s presence, manifesting itself through the pillar of fire/cloud. In 1Cor 10:1-2, the term “under the
cloud” means that it was under the guidance of God, leading them three days through the sign of pillar of
cloud by day and the sign of pillar of fire by night – according to Ex 12:37; 13:20; 14:2; 15:22ff, the
Israelite were going to the sea for three days.
1.3. The final remarks about 1Cor 10:1.
If the apostle had wished to indicate in 1Cor 10:1 that he was only writing here about the passing of
the fathers with their simultaneous remaining under the cloud, he would have used verbs in the same
grammatical tense to denote both simultaneous acts. Instead of the form διῆλθον as the aorist of the verb
διέρχομαι (to pass), he would have used διήρχοντο, i.e., the imperfect of the indicative mood of the same
verb διέρχομαι, as it is in Lk 9:6 and Acts 15:3.
In St. Paul, we can find examples
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of this very use of two verbs in the imperfect:
Gal 1:13 For you heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond
measure and tried to destroy it (ἐδίωκον τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἐπόρθουν αὐτήν).
Gal 2:12 But when they came, he was withdrawing and was separating himself (ὑπέστελλεν καὶ
ἀφώριζεν), fearing those of the circumcision.
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To find these places with the help of BibleWorks 6.0, we are to use the same scheme as before, modified only in respect to
the conditions imposed on the second verb: instead of *-via*, we are to enter here *-vii*. Then we are to command Go and
analyze the verses found by the program.
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There are other places in the New Testament as well, such as:
Acts 19:6 And when Paul laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them; and they were speaking
with tongues, and prophesying (ἐλάλουν τε γλώσσαις καὶ ἐπροφήτευον).
Heb 12:9 Then, indeed, we were having fathers of our flesh disciplining us, and we were reverencing
them (εἴχομεν παιδευτὰς καὶ ἐνετρεπόμεθα).
In interpreting the first sentence of 1Cor 10:1-2, therefore, we must not overlook the significance of
that first stage of the exodus from Egypt, when Israel’s fathers had not yet been passing through the Red
sea but were already under God’s cloud – going towards the sea, they were walking under the leadership
of the Lord visible in the sign of the cloud.
While it would seem that there is no more important event than the crossing through the Red Sea,
the apostle points out that Israelites’ passing from the place of their sojourn in Egypt to sea under the
leadership of the Lord revealing Himself in the sign of pillar of cloud or fire (cf. Ex 13:21) is just as
important as the subsequent passing between the divided waters of the sea, the passing which Israelites
made in the presence of the Lord revealing Himself in the sign of the pillar of fire and of cloud (cf. Ex
14:19-20. 24).
One should note that the same thought is confirmed by the structure of 1Cor 10:1-2 presented
above, in which each of the parts 1, 2, 3 ends with a predicate, and the final “in the cloud and in the sea”
placed at the very end – and therefore easy to notice – not only plays the role of an adverbial of place for
the third part but at the same time emphatically sums up the content of each of the three parts:
0 our fathers
1 all under the cloud were
2 and all through the sea passed
3 and all in Moses were immersed
in the cloud and in the sea.
1.4. The meaning of 1Cor 10:2 as a part of 1Cor 10:1-2.
The second verse of 1Cor 10:1-2 – part 3 in the above schema – begins in the same way as the
second part of the first sentence, i.e., with καὶ πάντες (and all), with the subject here still being “our
fathers,” mentioned in part 0.
Predicate ἐβαπτίσθησαν – were immersed – is in the aorist of the indicative, and thus focuses the
reader’s attention on the very fact of immersion into Moses, while the adverbial of place, ending this
sentence, emphases that the immersion took place while the Israelites were under the cloud and while
they were passing through the sea. It is worth noting that for 1Cor 10:2, there are two other versions:
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it
is either ἐβαπτίσαντο (they immersed themselves – the middle aorist of the indicative) or ἐβαπτίζοντο
(they were immersing themselves – the imperfect of the indicative). The last version indicates that the act
of immersion into Moses was taking place over a more extended time, taking place in the cloud and the
sea. However, this does not significantly change the meaning of the whole consisting of the first two
sentences of 1Cor 10.
Together, then, the two sentences indicate that the immersion of the Israelites into Moses, baptizing
them into Moses, took place as they were passing under the Lord’s leadership from the place of eating
the Passover lamb to the sea and across the sea to the other side of it.
Contrary to the reader’s first impression, especially the one directed towards an allegorical reading
of this passage,
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this baptism/immersion into Moses is connected not only with water, not only with
passing through water.
14
Indeed, in the first two verses of 1Cor 10, St. Paul teaches that this immersion
into Moses occurred in passing into the sea and through it.
12
Cf. Grecko-polski Nowy Testament. Wydanie interlinearne z kodami gramatycznymi [Greek-Polish New Testament.
Interlinear Edition with Grammar Codes]. Translation by R. POPOWSKI, M. WOJCIECHOWSKI (Prymasowska Seria Biblijna),
Warszawa 1997, p. 800. Cf. also ΠΡΟΣ ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΟΥΣ Α 10, [in :] Tyndale House Greek New Testament, ed. Dirk Jongkind,
Peter Williams, Cambridge 2017:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ΠΡΟΣ%20ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΟΥΣ%20Α%2010&version=THGNT (24.10.2021).
13
A. SIEMIENIEWSKI, Ojcowie Kościoła uczą duchowości biblijnej [Fathers of the Church Teach Biblical Spirituality],
“Wrocławski Przegląd Teologiczny” 20 (2012) No. 1; DOI: 10.34839/wpt.2012.20.1.77-85, p. 84: 1Cor 10:1-11 contains
allegories of baptism, Eucharist, and punishment for sins.
14
Cf. for example, the commentary on this event by Origen in his Fifth Homily on Exodus: ORIGENES, Homilien zum
Hexateuch in Rufins Übersetzung. Teil 1: Die Homilien zu Genesis, Exodus und Leviticus (Die griechischen christlichen
Schriftsteller der ersten Jahrhunderte, 29), Berlin 2012. See on the Internet: https://books.google.pl/books?id=Sp_iA81rukQC, p.
184, lines 9-10: “quod Iudaei transitum maris putant, Paulus baptismum vocat” – “what the Israelites consider a crossing of
the sea, Paul calls ‘baptism’.”
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2. A typological reading of 1Cor 10:1-2.
1Cor 10:1-2 discusses the passage of the Israelites from the place of Passover supper to and through
the sea. Subsequent verses of 1Cor 10 discuss different stages of the Exodus from Egypt: the ones after
crossing the sea. Nevertheless, the apostle states in them twice (1Cor 10:6.11) that the Old Testament
events, which he described in chapter 10, should be read according to typological thinking.
In 1Cor 10:11, the apostle wrote: “And this typologically (τυπικῶς
15
) happened to them, and is
written for the instruction of us, upon whom the end of the ages has come.”
From the beginning to the present day, the Church appreciates the value of typology. Pope Benedict
XVI taught:
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“From apostolic times and in her living Tradition, the Church has stressed the unity of
God’s plan in the two Testaments through the use of typology; this procedure is in no way arbitrary, but
is intrinsic to the events related in the sacred text and thus involves the whole of Scripture. Typology
«discerns in God’s works of the Old Covenant prefigurations of what he accomplished in the fullness of
time in the person of His incarnate Son» (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 128).
So what happened in passage to sea and through it – immersion of Israel into Moses – one should
read as typological announcement and explanation of the immersion of the New Israel into Christ.
Therefore, we cannot interpret the text 1Cor 10:1-2 in the key of some arbitrary – that is, not given by the
inspired author – an allegory for presenting the validity of the sacrament of baptism. We should perceive
and understand the typology given here by God, which allows us to deeply enquire into God’s salvific
plan regarding the meaning of this immersion into Moses as an announcement and explanation of the
immersion into Christ and the place where this immersion into Christ takes place. A typological reading
makes it possible to understand more fully an Old Testament event, but also conversely, an Old
Testament event may occur – according to God’s plan – as being necessary/useful for understanding
what is written in the New.
17
It is important, however, that in this method of studying Bible, one should
adhere strictly to what the text itself says so as not to descend into the subjectivity of “allegorizing,” that
is, seeing in almost every detail of the Old Testament a foreshadowing of the counterpart in the New
Testament.
18
To understand the typology of immersion into Moses – immersion into Christ, it is necessary to
know what immersion into Christ is in the light of the New Testament, but at the same time to exactly
read what took place in Israel’s passage from the place of eating the Passover to the sea and its other
side.
2.1. The passage of the Israelites through the sea in light of Ex 1-18 and Gen 15:17.
As one proved,
19
the passage of the Israelites between the parted waters of the sea was an
irrevocable act of covenant-making – this passage was the same way of covenant-making as when God
made a covenant with Abram:
20
God did it in the night, God passed between the halves of animals, God
did it in two signs:
15
Cf. T. FRIBERG, B. FRIBERG, Analytical Lexicon to the Greek New Testament, without the place of the edition, 2000, in
BibleWorks 6.0.: τυπικῶς (adverb); typically, as an example or warning, figuratively (1Cor 10:11); τύπος c – as a person or
event serving as a prophetic symbol to prefigure a future person or event type (Rom 5:14). Cf. also R. POPOWSKI, Wielki słownik
grecko-polski Nowego Testamentu. Wydanie z pełną lokalizacją greckich haseł, kluczem polsko-greckim oraz indeksem form
czasownikowych [The Great Greek-Polish Dictionary of the New Testament. Edition with Complete Greek Localization, Polish-
Greek Key, and Index of Verb Forms] Warszawa 1997, p. 613: “τυπικῶς – typically, as a type, figuratively, as a foreshadowing:
1Cor 10:11; τύπος 5 – it is of someone or something given by God as a foreshadowing of things to come, type, symbol, pattern,
announcement, e.g., of Adam: Rom 5:14; 1Cor 10:6.11 (verse 11 as a variant of the text).” See also a different understanding,
for example, M. E. TAYLOR, 1 Corinthians (The New American Commentary. An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of
Holy Scripture, volume 28), Nashville, Tennessee 2014, p. 235: “Paul can use the term typos to refer to an Old Testament type
with a New Testament counterpart, or he can use the term to refer to a model or example. Translations opt for the latter in this
case.”
16
POPE BENEDICT XVI, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini, 41. See on the Internet:
https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20100930_verbum-domini.html.
17
Cf. POPE BENEDICT XVI, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini, 41.
18
Cf. THE PONTIFICAL BIBLICAL COMMISSION, The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church, Vatican 1993, No. 150 (point
II. B. 2. The Spiritual Sense): “ancient exegesis labored to find a spiritual sense in the minutest details of the biblical text.”
See on the Internet: https://catholic-resources.org/ChurchDocs/PBC_Interp-FullText.htm.
19
Cf. W. KOSEK, Pierwotny ryt Paschy w świetle schematu literackiego Księgi Wyjścia 1-18, op.cit., passim.
20
Because commentators do not see an analogy linking the passage between halved waters of the sea with the covenant-
making by God with Abram in the passage between the halved animals, they point only to a “paradigm of redemption”
illustrated in the Exodus from Egyptian bondage. Cf. A. C. THISELTON, The First Epistle to the Corinthians: A Commentary on
the Greek Text, Michigan 2000, p. 724; M. SCHNEIDER, Gottes Gegenwart in der Schrift: Intertextuelle Lektüren zur Geschichte
Gottes in 1Kor (Neutestamentliche Entwürfe zur Theologie 17), Tübingen 2011, p. 204.
8
“When the sun had set, and it was dark, there appeared a smoking brazier and a flaming torch,
which passed between those pieces” (Gen 15:17).
The passage of the Israelites also took place in darkness; they passed between the halves of the sea,
about which the prophet Isaiah (51:9-10) revealed that it acted as Rahab, i. e., the great beast that God cut
in half.
21
Thus, passing between the halves of the sea-Rahab during the Exodus is the same situation as
Gen 15:17 describes. As we can read the explanation in Gen 15:18: “On that day the Lord made a
covenant with Abram.”
Furthermore, the pillar of fire and cloud, that is, the signs of God passing between the halves of this
Rahab, were visually the same as in Gen 15:17.
What is more, the Exodus of Israelites, described in four successive parts of Ex 6:2-15:21 (6:2-
11:10; 12:1-13:16; 13:17-14:31; 15:1-21), was a four-part ancient quasi-liturgical procedure for making a
covenant between rulers of two states.
Moreover, Ex 1-18 is a six-part tractate of this covenant, namely:
• At the beginning (Ex 1:1-6:1), it has a historical prologue – it describes the relationship between the
two parties that were between them before the day the covenant-making procedure began.
• In the middle, it describes the fulfillment of this four-part procedure.
• At the end, it has an epilogue (Ex 15:22-18:27) – it describes the rules of the daily life of the
contracting parties, especially the weaker partner. Thus, it describes the regulations concerning the
Sabbath for the Lord and the establishment of judges for Israel by Moses, with God’s approval. God’s
role as suzerain is also evident, namely in His care for His people: He was providing them with food
(manna, quail), water, and victory over their enemies.
A close examination of the structure of Ex 1-18 shows that the act of covenant-making itself is
described in 13:17-14:31. It means that this act consists not only in passing through the sea but also in
passing from Egypt to sea: the irrevocable act of covenant-making consisted in passing from the place of
eating Passover lamb to the sea and between its divided waters.
The very same part of Israel’s way from Egypt, which Ex 13:17-14:31 describes, was typologically
presented by the apostle Paul. He wrote about the fathers of Israel in 1Cor 10:1-2 that they were all
immersed in Moses in the cloud and in the sea, thus during the passage from the place of eating the lamb
to the sea and between the divided waters of the sea to its other side. One must infer from it that St. Paul
knew the division of Ex 1-18 into six pericopes – it is possible because the four-part structure of the
Passover liturgy is built on this structure,
22
and Paul was educated by Gamaliel, one of the eminent
teachers of the Law in the first century. What is more, he must have known that Ex 13:17-14:31 is the
pericope of the immersion into Moses and fulfillment of an irrevocable act of covenant-making between
God and Israel through this tremendous effort of cooperation with Him, to which only he – Moses – was
engaging all of himself.
2.2. Immersion into Christ in the teaching of St. Paul.
In St. Paul’s teaching, immersion into Christ is an immersion into His death, a burial with Him. It is,
therefore, a spiritual, absolutely genuine union with Christ in His paschal passage through the Abyss of
death to new life in the Resurrection, participation with Him in this passage:
Rom 6:3-4 Do you not know that all of us who were immersed into Christ Jesus were immersed into His
death? Therefore we were buried with Him through immersion into death, so that as Christ was raised
from among the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too will walk in the newness of life.
ἢ ἀγνοεῖτε ὅτι, ὅσοι ἐβαπτίσθημεν εἰς Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν, εἰς τὸν θάνατον αὐτοῦ ἐβαπτίσθημεν;
συνετάφημεν οὖν αὐτῷ διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσματος εἰς τὸν θάνατον, ἵνα ὥσπερ ἠγέρθη Χριστὸς ἐκ νεκρῶν διὰ
τῆς δόξης τοῦ πατρός, οὕτως καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐν καινότητι ζωῆς περιπατήσωμεν.
Col 2:12 [you,] having been buried with Him in baptism (immersion), in which you were also raised
with Him through faith in the power of God, who raised Him from among the dead.
συνταφέντες αὐτῷ ἐν τῷ βαπτισμῷ, ἐν ᾧ καὶ συνηγέρθητε διὰ τῆς πίστεως τῆς ἐνεργείας τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ
ἐγείραντος αὐτὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν˙
Immersion into Christ also means incorporation into His Body (cf. Eph 1:22-23), which is the
Church, and consequently being given to drink of the same Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit:
21
Cf. W. KOSEK, Pierwotny ryt Paschy w świetle schematu literackiego Księgi Wyjścia 1-18, op.cit., p. 209-212.
22
Cf. W. KOSEK, Pierwotny ryt Paschy w świetle schematu literackiego Księgi Wyjścia 1-18, op.cit., p. 285-378.
Cf. W. KOSEK, Чотири чаші Пасхи. Чому чотири?, “Studia Catholica Podoliae”, VIII (2014–2015) No. 8-9, p. 57-109.
9
1Cor 12:13: For in one Spirit (by the power of one Spirit) we all were immersed into one Body, whether
Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.
καὶ γὰρ ἐν ἑνὶ πνεύματι ἡμεῖς πάντες εἰς ἓν σῶμα ἐβαπτίσθημεν, εἴτε Ἰουδαῖοι εἴτε Ἕλληνες εἴτε δοῦλοι
εἴτε ἐλεύθεροι, καὶ πάντες ἓν πνεῦμα ἐποτίσθημεν.
Jesus made a New Covenant with God not only by His act of dying (Jesus’ death was an act of
entering into Abyss, i.e., the place where the dead were under the power of the devil, who was then the
ruler of this world – cf. John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; Acts 2:27,31; Rom 10:6-7; 1Pet 3:19-20), but also by
passing through Abyss connected with His victorious battle against the devil.
23
It was the passage
through the darkness of Abyss into the light of His Resurrection, which God bestowed on Him in
response to His sacrifice, which was the act of making an eternal covenant: “The God of peace […]
brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the eternal covenant, our Lord
Jesus” (Heb 13:20).
Based on cited texts, it is evident that St. Paul understands the immersion into Christ as an
immersion into His passing through death, which is at the same time the conclusion of the New
Covenant. The apostle, however, does not give – what can be read in St. John’s Gospel only – that the
passage of Jesus from Cenacle to Golgotha and from it to Abyss and through it is the place of the New
Covenant conclusion, analogous to the conclusion of the covenant of God and Israel in their passage
from Cenacle of Passover in Egypt to sea and through to its other side.
2.3. The Gospel of St. John about Jesus’ passage from the Cenacle to Golgotha and through
the Abyss of death.
Careful analyses
24
of the Gospel of St. John show that it has a six-element literary structure, the
same as the Book of Exodus 1-18, namely:
• At the beginning is the Prologue (Jn 1:1-18)
• In the middle are four interior pericopes (Jn 1:19-12:50; 13:1-17:26; 18:1-19:42; 20:1-31).
• At the end is the Epilogue (Jn 21:1-25).
We showed in earlier works that four successive stages of Jesus’ life – presented by the four
successive internal pericopes of Jn 1:19-20:31 – are His four-stage Exodus from this world to eternity.
Based on the thesis proven in earlier works also that Ex 1-18 is a six-element tractate of a four-stage
covenant-making ceremony between God and Israel, we can see that Jesus’ entire life is analogous to that
Exodus – it is the realization of the successive four elements of the New Covenant ceremony. It means
that the Gospel of John is a six-element tractate of New Covenant, and its pericopes are analogous to
those of Ex 1-18. It follows from this key statement that the Pericope of Jesus’ passion and death (Jn 18-
19) describes Jesus’ irrevocable act of covenant-making, accomplished by His passage from the Cenacle
of Eucharist to Golgotha and from Golgotha to Abyss of death and between its darkness to the light of
Resurrection day. Jn 18-19 as the fourth pericope of John’s Gospel is analogous to the fourth pericope of
the Book of Exodus (13:17-14:31), describing the act of the covenant-making between God and Israel
during their passage from the Cenacle of Passover in Egypt to the Abyss-sea and between its divided
waters to the morning of Israel’s Resurrection on the other side of the sea.
2.4. The scope of St. Paul’s warning to Christians in the typology of immersion into Moses /
immersion into Christ.
One cannot limit the typology of immersion to the sacrament of baptism, which is widely known as
an immersion into Christ’s death. Eucharist is also such an immersion since it makes-present the
conclusion of the covenant in the Blood of Jesus.
23
Cf. W. KOSEK, Christ’s “Anamnesis” as the Sacrifice Offered Before his Fight Against the Devil, “The Polish Journal
Of Biblical Research” Vol. 15, No. 1-2 (29-30) 2016, pp. 521-564.
24
W. KOSEK, Dlaczego uczta paschalna w Ewangelii św. Jana (J 13–17) nie zawiera słów konsekracji? [Why does the Last
Supper in the Gospel of St. John (13-17) contain no words of consecration?], [in:] W. CHROSTOWSKI, M. KOWALSKI (ed.), Kogo
szukasz? (J 20, 15): Księga pamiątkowa dla księdza profesora Henryka Witczyka w 65. rocznicę urodzin [Whom are you
seeking? (Jn 20:15): Festschrift in Honor of Rev. Prof. Henryk Witczyk on his 65th Birthday] (Ad Multos Annos 21), Warszawa
2021, p. 226-257. See the translation into English of this article: DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4445354. See also on the
Academia.edu website https://www.academia.edu/44918109/.
10
By the power of this typology, St. Paul in 1Cor 10 warns Christians against imitating Israel in evil:
25
although Israel received great blessings from God, including immersion in Moses (i.e., making a
covenant with God through Moses’ extraordinary determination to cooperate with Him), being fed with
heavenly manna and water from the rock, they gave themselves over to idolatrous pleasures of eating and
drinking (cf. 1Cor 10:7) and worshiping the calf, which took place after receiving such great gifts (cf. Ex
32:1-23)!
The apostle points out that Christians, who not only by baptism but also by Eucharist are immersed
into Christ, into the New Covenant-making procedure, and who are being fed with the Body and Blood
of Christ, cannot imitate Israel in idolatry, in indulging in such pleasures (cf. 1Cor 10:16.21) after having
received such great gifts.
Paul’s teachings flow from the typological relationship between immersion into Moses and
immersion into Christ, and thus between immersion into death of Moses / death of Jesus, between
immersion into covenant-making through the passage of Moses/Jesus from Cenacle of
Passover/Eucharist into Abyss and through it.
These typological teachings, which Paul began in 1Cor 10, he develops in the following chapters
with regard to the Eucharist itself, rebuking the Corinthians first for the fact that during the Eucharistic
gatherings they, like the Israelites of old, indulge in the pleasures of eating and drinking (cf. 1Cor 11:22)
and no longer come to the eating of the Body and Blood of the Lord (11:20: οὐκ ἔστιν κυριακὸν δεῖπνον
φαγεῖν).
26
Then the apostle, in strong words of warning, pointed out that eternal damnation threatens those
who eat the Body and Blood of the Lord without perceiving the difference between Eucharistic and
ordinary bread (1Cor 11:29: ὁ γὰρ ἐσθίων καὶ πίνων κρίμα ἑαυτῷ ἐσθίει καὶ πίνει μὴ διακρίνων τὸ
σῶμα). Although commentators usually see in these words an exhortation to come to the Lord’s Table in
a state without grave sin, St. Paul’s thought, presented here and in 1Cor 12-15, is richer: it is necessary to
eat the Bread and drink the Wine as the Body and Blood of Christ, that is, to eat with the consciousness
of participating in the Lord’s death, and this should be expressed both in devout participation in the
Eucharist and in communion with Christ on His paschal way through the Abyss of death until He comes
to those gathered as the Risen Lord, bestowing the Holy Spirit, enabling believers to live a genuinely
new life – something the Law of the Old Covenant was incapable of providing. Believers should be
aware that giving them the Holy Spirit is the fruit of Jesus’ passion, the Father’s response to the
Covenant made in the Blood of Christ, but also the fruit of their participation in that passion, their
conscious immersion in Jesus.
One should note that to this day, pious Jews do not end the celebration of the annual Passover with
the conclusion of the prayers contained in the “Passover Haggadah,” which is for them what the Missal
27
is for Christians, but continue until morning to pray
28
– because in the morning the fathers came out of
the Abyss of waters (cf. Ex 14:24-31). In the same way, Christians are called by St Paul to abide in
prayer after the Eucharist is over – because Christ will come to them, will make present the moment of
his return from the Abyss to the Upper Room (cf. Jn 20:19-23), from which he emerged at the end of the
Eucharist (cf. Jn 18:1).
The Jews are called by Tradition
29
not to hold any revelry after Passover but rather to remain in
25
Cf. R. A. HORSLEY, Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: 1 Corinthians. Nashville, 1998, p. 161.
26
It could have to happen solely at the end of the second part of Eucharist because this sub-part, as originating from an
analogical sub-part of Passover, originally included participation in an ordinary (i.e., with dishes not ordered by the Law)
supper, only after which they used to begin the third part with the transubstantiation and Holy Communion. Cf. W. KOSEK,
Łamanie Chleba w 1Kor 11,24 a łamanie paschalnego Afikomanu w Hagadzie na Pesach i traktacie Pesachim [‘Breaking of
bread’ in 1Cor 11:24 and breaking of Paschal Afikoman in ‘The Passover Haggadah’ and ‘The Tractate Pesahim’], [in:]
T. JELONEK, R. BOGACZ (editors), Biblia w kulturze świata. Aspekty biblijnego przesłania. Część pierwsza [The Bible in the
Culture of the World. Aspects of Biblical Message. Part one], Kraków 2012, p. 59. The English translation of the article see on
the Internet: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3296223.
27
Cf. R. CANTALAMESSA, Pascha naszego zbawienia. Tradycje paschalne Biblii i pierwotnego Kościoła [The Passover of our
Salvation. The Paschal Traditions of the Bible and the Original Church], translated by M. BRZEZINKA, Kraków 1998, p. 35. The
author also uses a term referring to the Christian liturgical book: “Ordo hebdomadae sanctae” – The order of the Holy Week.
28
Cf. חספ ל הדגה Hagada. Opowiadania o wyjściu Izraelitów z Egiptu na pierwsze dwa wieczory święta Pesach
[Haggadah. Stories About the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt on the First Two Evenings of Pesach]. Wydawnictwo
Księgarni M. Zalcmana, Wiedeń 1927, p. 33. This Hagada is currently available in the Bibliofilska Edycja Reprintów as a
reprint, made from a copy from private collections at the Interdruck GmbH Printing House in Leipzig, Warszawa 1991.
29
Cf. M. JASTROW, A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature,
New York 1950; t. I, s. 104: ן ָמקיּ ִפ ֶ. Por. H. DANBY, The Mishnah, translated from the Hebrew with Introduction and Brief
Explanatory Notes, London 1950, p. 151: „After the Passover meal they not disperse to join in revelry.”
11
prayer until morning. Following St. Paul, one must understand it as a call to conscious participation in
the covenant-making by immersing oneself in Moses in his passage from the place of eating Passover to
the other side of the sea Abyss. Similarly, St. Paul urges Christians to, having perceived a warning in the
miseries of Israel caused by their indulgence in carnal pleasures after passing through the Abyss of the
sea, abide on prayer in co-participation in Jesus’ passing through the Abyss of death until He comes to
them.
The celebration of Passover / Eucharist is a relocation of its participants into all four stages of
successive salvific events closely connected with the person of Moses / Jesus, described in Ex 6:2-15:21 /
Jn 1:19-20:31, including – in the third part – the passage from the place of the supper meal to the place of
entry into the Abyss and passing through it (Ex 13:17-14:31 / Jn 18-19). Despite it all, the liturgical
community is called to worship God in prayer at the time of after-Passover / after-Eucharist part by
uniting itself to that original, historically singular Event which took place not under cover of the signs of
the Paschal/Eucharistic meal, but in the sensually perceptible and acute realities of human history. The
reality in question here concerns Moses’/Jesus’ passage from the place of celebration to the place of
entry into Abyss of sea / Abyss of death and through it, a passage through an overwhelming fear, a
passage that demands co-participation in this immense effort, and therefore co-suffering, co-dying, co-
burying, and co-existing in the Abyss.
It is to such participation, such immersion in Christ, that St. Paul called the Corinthians with the
words:
30
“Every time you eat this bread and drink from this chalice, you proclaim the death of the Lord
until He comes [to you as the Risen Lord]” (1Cor 11:26). Contrary to commentators,
31
apostle Paul does
not refer to Parousia in 1Cor 11:26. He tells about the Lord’s coming after every Eucharist to a
community lasting in prayerful being with Him who is passing through Abyss after death. A careful
grammatical analysis of 1Cor 11:26 as well as the wider passage reveals this truth.
Hence the apostle, after showing the necessity of eating the Body and Blood of Jesus worthily
during Eucharist, that is, eating with the proper awareness that man is now genuinely sharing in the death
of Christ (cf. 1Cor 11:26-30), and having concluded his consideration of the problems of the Eucharist
itself (“The other matters I shall set in order when I come” – 1Cor 11:34), he begins to teach about the
gifts of Holy Spirit. It is about the gifts bestowed by Holy Spirit on the community that continues to pray
after Eucharist (cf. 12-15). The introduction to this extensive instruction is the sentence 12:3, which,
correctly translated,
32
turns out to be a link with 11:26, thus showing that the apostle is not talking here
about prayer unrelated to the Eucharist, but about this kind of communal prayer which is the
theologically legitimate continuation of the Eucharist:
11:26: Whenever you eat ... you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes [He will come, which
means He will be alive, the Risen One].
12:3: No one prophesying by the power of the spirit of any god will say “Jesus is Anathema,” and
no one will say “Jesus is Lord” unless he speaks in the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the only One God. Jesus
is the Anathema, that is, Sacrifice accomplished through His death. Jesus is the Lord, that is, the One
whom, after His death by crucifixion, the Father made Lord by rising Him from among the dead (cf. Acts
2:36; Rom 1:4).
The apostle teaches that no spirit knows the mystery of Jesus as the Sacrifice-Anathema
33
and as the
Lord-Kyrios except the Holy Spirit of God. Only the Holy Spirit can give an understanding of this full
30
Cf. W. KOSEK, Nakaz głoszenia śmierci Pana «aż przyjdzie» (1Kor 11,26) w świetle porównawczej analizy gramatycznej
[The Order to Proclaim the Death of the Lord ‘Until He Comes’ (1Cor 11:26) in Light of Comparative Grammatical Analysis],
[in:] W. CHROSTOWSKI (ed.), Jak śmierć potężna jest miłość. Księga pamiątkowa ku czci Księdza Profesora Juliana Warzechy
SAC (1944-2009) [Love Is as Strong as Death. A Commemorative Book in Honor of Rev. Professor Julian Warzecha (1944-
2009)] (Ad Multos Annos, 13), Ząbki 2009, p. 224-240. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4077350
See also on the Internet: https://www.adoracja.bielsko.opoka.org.pl/praca_doktorska/1Kor11_26_MUS.html
31
Cf. A. L. A. HOGETERP, Expectations of the End. A Comparative Traditio-Historical Study of Eschatological, Apocalyptic
and Messianic Ideas in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament (series Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah, 83),
Leiden 2009, p. 216: “The Pauline passage with directions for the Lord’s supper, 1 Cor 11:17-34, comprises Jesus-tradition
(1 Cor 11:23-26) which concludes on an eschatological perspective in 1 Cor 11:26.”
32
Cf. W. KOSEK, Jezus jako Anathema (1Kor 12,3) w świetle «Didache» 16,5 w tłumaczeniu A. Świderkówny [Jesus as
Anathema (1Cor 12:3) in light of Didache 16:5 in translation by A. Świderkówna], [in:] B. STRZAŁKOWSKA (ed.), Więcej
szczęścia jest w dawaniu aniżeli w braniu. Księga pamiątkowa dla Księdza Profesora Waldemara Chrostowskiego w 60.
rocznicę urodzin [It is more blessed to give than to receive. Memorial Book for Professor Waldemar Chrostowski in the 60th
Anniversary of His Birth], Warszawa 2011, vol. 2, pp. 872-890. Cf. an English translation of this article:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3272131.
See also on the Internet: https://www.adoracja.bielsko.opoka.org.pl/praca_doktorska/1Kor12_3_dr_Wojciech_KosekMUS.html.
33
The word ἀνάθημα does not always have the meaning of a curse, since there are places in the Bible where it occurs as
an offering to God – cf. Lev 27:28; Jdt 16:19; 2Macc 2:13; 9:16; Lk 21:5 (textual variant).
12
mystery of Jesus to those who prophesy in the Eucharistic assembly, contributing to the full knowledge
of Jesus by the whole community, to the full immersion of the community in Jesus, in his passage
through death to Resurrection. Only under the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, the community prophets were
capable of recognizing the moment in which the proclamation of Lord’s death (and through this
proclamation – the conscious participation in His death) had to be changed into a proclamation of His
Glory because He – invisible to senses but visible to the Spirit – came to them as the Risen One. In that
very moment also, they were raising under the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit the acclamation
“Kyrios Jesus” and simultaneously transformed the cry “Marana tha” (Lord, come!) into “Maran atha”
(The Lord has come!).
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Conclusion.
Presented by apostle Paul, the course of prayer immediately following the conclusion of Eucharist
(cf. 1Cor 12-15) is a particular testimony to the effectiveness of the deliverance from unbelief and its
effects on those who are included in this prayer (cf. 14:24-26). The Old Testament law, weakened by the
flesh, was powerless to give it (cf. Rom 8:3), what the God gives after every Eucharist in the time of
prayer, being a particular space for an encounter with the Risen Lord, the Moses of the New Covenant.
Hence the apostle’s exhortation, present in many of his letters, that those gathered together, being under
the influence of the grace of the Holy Spirit given by the Risen Lord, should prophesy, speaking to one
another in psalms and hymns, and spiritual songs (cf. Eph 5:19).
One sees that the apostle Paul draws wisdom from the typology of immersion into Moses –
immersion into Christ, which he gives to Christians in his instructions about the salutary fruits of not-
imitating the Israelites in wasting God’s most holy gifts, including wasting the time of grace after
receiving a share of immersion into Christ in the Eucharist. Christians, having received the gift of
immersion into Christ first in baptism and then in each Eucharist, are called not only not to indulge in the
pleasures of food and drink during the celebration of the Eucharist (at the end of its second main part).
St. Paul also exhorts them to not doing it after the Eucharistic celebration, as was the custom of pagans –
from which, after all, Corinthians descended – who got drunk during or after cultic feasts in honor of
their gods.
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Cf. E. A. NIDA, J. P. LOUW (ed.), Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains, 2nd Edition,
New York 1988, available in electronic version at BibleWorks 6.0, No. 12.11: μαρανα θα: „μαρανα (an Aramaic expression) –
‘our Lord.’ μαρανα θα ‘our Lord, come’ 1Cor 16:22. The expression μαρανα θα in 1 Cor 16.22 is an Aramaic formula evidently
associated with early Christian liturgy. It must have been widely used, since it occurs in 1Cor 16:22 without explanation.”
Cf. T. FRIBERG, B. FRIBERG, Analytical Lexicon to the Greek New Testament, op.cit., No. 17757: „μαράνα θᾶ (also μαράνα θά,
μαρὰν ἀθά or μαρὰν ἀθᾶ) an Aramaic formula used in early christian liturgy; either (1) at the Lord’s supper our Lord is present
or (2) as a petition for the Lord to return O Lord, come! The latter seems preferable in the context of 1Cor 16:22 (cf. Rev
22:20).” Cf. J. THAYER, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. Complete and Unabridged, Cambridge 2000, available in
electronic version at BibleWorks 6.0, No. 3321: “μαραναθα (so Lachmann, but μαρὰν ἀθα R G T Tr WH), the Chaldean words
ָנ ָר ָמ ה ָתֲ , i.e. our Lord cometh or will come: 1Cor 16:22.”
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Cf. R. Bogacz, Chrystusowe wskazania na czas próby: listy do siedmiu Kościołów Apokalipsy [Christ’s Indications for
Times of Trial: Letters to the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse], Kraków 2015, p. 174.