Direct Answer
According to the transcript, Corinthian Christians likely understood Paul’s words by their ordinary meaning in that day, not by analyzing ancient root meanings. Modern readers who focus on Greek roots may therefore be looking for meanings Paul’s original audience would not have considered.
Support from Transcript
- The speaker says Paul was not writing to “Greek grammatical scholars schooled in etymology.” - He adds that Paul’s readers “were probably not even aware of the origins of the words he used.” - He compares Paul’s letters to ordinary letters: “When you and I write letters to someone,” we do not expect readers “to look at the root meanings.” - He asks, “So why should we think it was any different with Paul and his readers?” - He states that the goal is to determine “what Paul’s words meant in his day.” - He rejects focusing on “what they meant when they were first coined centuries earlier.”
Discussion Follow-ups
The transcript does not provide the exact Corinthian interpretation of 1 Corinthians 11, but it clearly says their approach would have been ordinary comprehension, not etymological analysis.